New  York  Historical  Society 


The  John  D.  Jones  Fund  Series 

OF 

Histories  and  Memoirs. 


Committee  on  Publications. 


p:vert  a.  duyckinck. 

EDWARD  F.  de  LANCEY. 
GEORGE  H.  MOORE,  LL.D. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/historyofnewyorkOOjone 


History  of  New  York 

DURING 

THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR. 


THE   LEADING   EVENTS   IN  THE  OTHER  COLONIES 
AT   THAT  PERIOD, 

BY 

Thomas  Jones, 

Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Province. 

EDITED  FY 

EDWARD   FLOYD  DE  LANCEY. 
With  Notes,  Contemporary  Documents,  Maps,  and  Portraits. 

Volume  I. 


NEW  YORK: 
PRINTED  FOR  THE  NEW  YORK  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


Entkrbd  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1879, 

By  Edward  Floyd  de  Lancey, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington, 
For  the  S-ociety. 


Trow's 

Printing  ft  BOOKBINDING  Co., 
205-213  East  11th  St., 

NEW  YORK. 


Officers  of  the  Society,  1879. 


PRESIDENT, 

FREDERIC  DE  PEYSTER,  LL.D. 

FIRST  VICE-PRESIDENT, 

CHARLES  O'CONOR,  LL.D. 

SECOND  VICE-PRESIDENT, 

BENJAMIN  H.  FIELD. 

FOREIGN  CORRESPONDING  SECRETARY, 

ERASTUS  C.  BENEDICT,  LL.D. 

DOMESTIC  CORRESPONDING  SECRETARY, 

EDWARD  F.  DE  LANCEY. 

RECORDING  SECRETARY, 

ANDREW  WARNER. 

TREASURER, 

BENJAMIN  B.  SHERMAN. 

LIBRARIAN, 

JACOB  B.  MOORE. 


MDCCCLXXIX. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


"The  John  D.  Jones  Fund  Series"  has  been  so  named  by  the 
New  York  Historical  Society  in  honor  of  their  enlightened  and  generous 
fellow-member,  John  Divine  Jones,  whose  great  interest  in  the  history  of 
his  native  State  has  led  him  to  endow  the  Society  with  a  fund  of  six 
thousand  dollars  for  publishing  works  of  an  historical  nature  which  may 
not  fall  within  the  scope  of  its  ordinary  "  Publication  Fund." 

The  object  of  the  Series  is  fully  set  forth  in  the  Plan  and  Declaration 
of  Trust  on  which  the  Society  formally  accepted  the  gift  of  the  Fund 
for  its  establishment.  It  is  to  print,  publish,  and  sell,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Publication  Committee  of  the  Society  : 

First,  Such  manuscript  historical  and  biographical  writings,  memoirs, 
documents  and  records,  private  or  public,  official  or  not  official,  ecclesi- 
astical or  secular,  civil  or  military,  which  shall  relate  to,  or  illustrate, 
the  history  of  New  York  as  a  Colony  or  a  State  ;  or  the  history  of  any 
of  the  Dutch,  English,  or  French,  colonies  in  America,  and  which  shall 
have  been  written  prior  to  the  year  1800. 

Second,  Such  historical  works  or  documents  relating  to  the  history  of 
New  York,  or  that  of  the  United  States,  or  of  cither  of  them,  which  shall 
treat  of,  or  relate  to,  events  or  persons,  which  shall  have  happened,  or 
who  shall  have  died,  at  least  fifty  years  prior  to  the  publication  of  the 
same. 

Third,  That  the  cost  of  the  volumes  be  paid  out  of  the  Fund  ;  the 
volumes  so  printed  to  be  sold  under  the  direction  of  the  Publication 
Committee  ;  and  when  the  proceeds  have  been  received,  the  same  to  be 
employed  in  the  printing  of  other  volumes,  which  in  their  turn  are  to 
be  sold,  and  thus  permanently  to  continue  the  issue  of  the  Series. 

Fourth,  That  under  no  circumstances  shall  any  new  volume  or  vol- 
umes be  put  to  press  until  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  preceding 
volume  or  volumes  shall  be  in  the  possession  of  the  Society,  to  an  amount 
which  shall  in  the  judgment  of  the  Executive  Committee  be  equal  to  the 
cost  of  producing  such  new  volume  or  volumes. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Portrait  of  Judge  Jones  Facing  Title-page. 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Jones,   '«       page  105 

Map  of  the  City  of  New  York  at  the  period  of 

the  Revolution  "       page  389 

Map  of  the  Provinces  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  with  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Quebec,  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution,      .    "       page  748 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Portraits  of  Judge  and  Mrs.  Jones,  engraved  by  Burt  for  this  work,  were 
painted  by  Arnold,  of  London,  in  1791,  for  Mrs.  Jones's  brother,  the  late  John 
Peter  de  Lancey,  of  Heathcote  Hill,  Mamaroneck,  Westchester  County,  New 
York.  At  Mr.  de  Lancey's  death,  in  1S2S,  his  son,  the  late  Rt.  Rev.  William 
H.  de  Lancey,  gave  the  portrait  of  the  former  to  the  late  General  Thomas  Floyd- 
Jones,  his  first  cousin,  the  then  owner  of  Fort  Neck  House  and  Estate,  from 
whom  it  passed,  with  the  old  House,  in  which  it  still  hangs,  to  his  eldest  son,  the 
late  Lieutenant-Governor  David  Richard  Floyd-Jones,  whose  family  now  possess 
it.  The  date  "  1730"  in  the  lettering  of  the  plate  should  have  been  1731.  The 
Portrait  of  Mrs.  Jones  which  descended  to  the  editor  is  in  his  possession. 

The  Map  of  New  York  City  is  a  reproduction,  two-thirds  the  size  of  the 
original,  of  Lieutenant  Bernard  Ratzer's  "  Plan  of  the  City  of  New  York," 
surveyed  in  1767.  It  is  not  his  large  map  of  "  New  York  and  its  Environs," 
which  has  lately  been  republished  several  times,  but  one  of  the  City  alone,  and  on 
a  larger  scale.  Editions  of  it  were  published  in  England  in  1776  and  1777,  dated 
in  those  years ;  but  as  they  were  merely  copies,  it  was  deemed  best  to  reproduce 
the  original  for  this  work,  which  gives  the  localities  precisely  as  they  were  at  the 
time  of  the  Revolution. 

The  Map  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  shows  the  Province  of  New  York  as  it 
was  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  with  the  boundaries  of  its  original  counties  as 
they  then  were,  the  manors  entitled  to  representatives  in  the  Assembly,  and  other 
topographical  features  of  historic  interest.  It  is  a  reproduction,  about  one-thini 
less  in  size,  of  a  map  now  in  the  State  Library,  at  Albany,  which  was  compiled 
and  published  by  Albert  Lotter,  a  German,  at  Augsburgh,  in  1777. 


PREFACE. 


The  work  now  first  given  to  the  world  in  these  volumes  is 
a  Loyalist  history  of  the  subject  of  which  it  treats,  not  an 
English  account.  Whoever  takes  it  up  with  the  impression 
that  it  is  a  British  history  will  assuredly  be  mistaken. 

It  is  a  common  belief  that  the  loyal  inhabitants  of  America, 
at  the  era  of  its  first  great  Revolution,  the  truly  loyal,  those 
who  acted  from  principle,  were  the  unhesitating  supporters 
of  the  British  Government  in  its  unjustifiable  and  tyrannic 
invasions  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  its  American  people. 

United  States  writers  have,  naturally  perhaps,  so  described 
them,  while  the  few  English  historians  who  have  treated 
American  history,  have  either  taken  a  similar  view,  or  have 
ignored  them  altogether.  The  ideas  of  "  loyalty  "  and  "  loyal 
men,"  and  "  rebellion"  and  "  rebels,"  which  have  been  cur- 
rent in  the  United  States  since  the  Revolutionary  war,  were 
rudely  shocked,  and  quite  changed,  by  the  outbreak  and  sub- 
sequent crushing  of  the  late  civil  war  at  the  South.  Ameri- 
cans then  learned  by  experience  for  the  first  time,  and  in  a  way 
never  to  be  forgotten,  that  "  loyalty  "  was  a  virtue,  that  the 
supporters  of  "  the  powers  that  be  "  were  worthy  of  honor,  and 
that  "  rebels  "  and  "  rebellion  "  were  to  be  put  down  at  any 
cost  by  the  strong  hand.  A  precisely  similar  view  did  very 
large  masses  of  the  people  of  the  British  Colonies  take  when 
the  war  of  the  American  Revolution  broke  out,  and  not  till  a 
very  late  period  of  that  contest  did  they  change  that  view. 
And  when  the  change  did  come, — and  it  came  very  gradually 
and  very  slowly — it  was  produced  quite  as  much,  if  not  more, 
by  the  weak,  bad,  and  timid  policy  of  the  British  Government, 
and  the  infamous  and  corrupt  conduct  of  the  war  by  its 
commanders-in-chief,  as  by  the  statesmanship  of  the  Con- 


X 


PREFACE. 


tinental  Congress  and  the  military  deeds  of  its  armies. 
The  history  of  the  course  of  the  loyalists  at  the  American 
Revolutionary  epoch,  and  of  their  plans  for  relief  from  the 
British  tyranny  which  then  oppressed  America,  has  never  been 
written.  There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to  suppose  that 
the  loyalists  as  a  whole  were  willing  to  submit  quietly  to  the 
exactions  of  the  mother  country,  and  her  invasions  of  their 
rights  and  liberties  as  English  subjects.  As  Americans 
they  felt  those  grievances,  and  were  as  indignant  at  the 
treatment  they  were  subjected  to,  as  those  of  their  country- 
men who  took  up  arms.  But  they  wished  to  fight  the 
battle  for  those  rights  and  liberties  and  the  redress  of  those 
grievances,  with  the  powerful  weapons  which  the  Consti- 
tution of  England  gave  to  them  as  to  other  Englishmen 
— weapons  which  had  proved  successful  before,  as  they 
have  proved  successful  since,  in  similar  emergencies,  free- 
dom of  speech,  freedom  of  the  pen,  freedom  of  the  press. 
They  desired  by  political  agitation  to  force  the  home  Gov- 
ernment to  a  change  of  policy,  or  to  drive  it  from  power  and 
place  in  office  the  foes  of  the  oppression  of  the  colonies. 
Their  enemy  was  the  ministry  of  Lord  North,  not  the  King 
of  England  to  whom  they  owed,  and  had  sworn,  allegiance. 
This  object  they  were  prevented  from  carrying  out.  Royal 
folly  in  England  and  demagogic  fanaticism  in  America  eager- 
ly joined  hands  to  crush  such  a  constitutional  settlement  of 
the  dispute,  brought  about  a  bloody  civil  war,  and  finally 
effected  a  termination  of  the  quarrel  unlooked  for  by  either 
party  at  its  commencement. 

This  history  of  the  early  phases  of  the  dispute  and  of  the 
conduct  of  the  war,  in  New  York,  and  of  its  leading  events  in 
the  other  colonies,  depicts  the  origin  of  the  difficulties  in  that 
province,  the  measures  adopted,  the  events  which  happened, 
the  men  who  took  part  in  them,  and  the  results  which  fol- 
lowed, on  both  sides  ;  and  as  they  were  seen,  and  known,  and 
noted,  by  an  educated  gentleman  of  the  highest  social  and 
official  position,  who  personally  knew  the  subject  thoroughly, 
and  has  not  hesitated  to  describe  it  fully,  and  without  regard, 
to  the  fear,  or  favor,  of  either  side. 


PREFACE. 


xi 


The  Honorable  Thomas  Jones,  of  Fort  Neck,  Queens 
County,  Long  Island,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  Recorder 
of  the  City,  and  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  Province  of  New  York,  is  the  author.  It  was  written,  as 
appears  from  allusions  in  the  text,  between  the  years  1783 
and  1788,  during  that  dark  period  between  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  and  the  establishment  of  the  existing  form 
of  government  of  the  United  States  in  1789,  which  is  so 
little  known  and  understood  at  this  day.  A  period  when  the 
wisest  and  the  best  of  the  men  who  carried  through  the 
American  Revolution  almost  despaired  of  the  existence  of  the 
colonies  which  they  had  contributed  to  make  independent 
states  ;  and  which  existence  was  only  rendered  possible  by  the 
slow  and  extremely  unwilling  adoption  of  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution framed  by  the  Convention  of  1 787,  an  adoption,  as 
John  Ouincy  Adams  expressed  it,  "  extorted  by  the  grinding 
necessities  of  a  reluctant  nation." 

Judge  Jones,  whose  health  had  become  impaired,  sailed 
from  New  York  with  his  wife,  his  niece  Miss  Elizabeth 
Floyd,  and  two  servants,  in  1 78 1 ,  for  a  visit  to  Europe,  his 
especial  object  being  to  try  the  efficacy  of  the  famous  warm 
springs  of  the  city  of  Bath,  then  in  the  height  of  their  popu- 
larity. The  negotiation  of  the  peace  in  1782,  which  took  effect 
the  succeeding  year,  prevented  his  return,  as  he  was  one  of 
the  fifty-six  gentlemen  and  three  ladies  included  by  name  in 
the  New  York  Act  of  Attainder,  which  became  operative  on 
the  conclusion  of  peace,  and  by  which  their  lives  were  ipso 
facto  forfeited,  and  their  estates  confiscated  ;  a  thing  never 
done  before  and  never  done  since  by  any  civilized  people. 

Judge  Jones  died  at  Hoddesdon,  in  Hertfordshire,  Eng- 
land, which  he  had  finally  adopted  as  his  residence,  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  July,  1792.  He  appears  to  have  employed  his 
leisure  in  recording  the  remarkable  events  he  had  witnessed 
and  known,  and  the  scenes  through  which  he  had  passed. 
The  manuscript  is  entirely  in  his  own  hand,  almost  free  from 
erasures,  and  from  the  difference  in  the  color  of  the  ink  of 
a  few  of  his  notes  it  is  evident  that  they,  as  well  as  a  very 
few  clauses  of  the  text,  especially  the  references  to  Chastellux 


xii 


PREFACE. 


and  Gordon,  must  have  been  written  just  after  the  works 
of  those  authors  were  published.  The  manuscript  remained 
in  the  possession  of  his  widow,  who  was  Anne,  third  daughter 
of  the  Honorable  James  de  Lancey,  twenty-seven  years 
Chief  Justice  and  nearly  five  years  Lieutenant  Governor 
and  Commander-in-Chief  of  New  York,  until  her  death  at 
Hoddesdon,  in  1817,  when  it  passed  into  that  of  her  niece 
and  adopted  daughter,  Anne  Charlotte  de  Lancey,  the  eldest 
child  of  the  late  John  Peter  de  Lancey,  of  Mamaroneck, 
Westchester  County,  New  York,  the  youngest  brother  of 
Mrs.  Jones,  whose  wife  was  the  Miss  Elizabeth  Floyd,  the 
author's  niece  mentioned  above.  Miss  Anne  Charlotte  de 
Lancey  subsequently  became  the  second  wife  of  John  Lou- 
don Macadam,  during  the  Revolution  a  merchant  in  New 
York,  and  afterwards  the  distinguished  engineer,  whose  sys- 
tem of  making  roads  has  immortalized  his  name.  In  the 
year  1835  Mrs.  Macadam  gave  the  manuscript  with  other 
papers  of  Judge  Jones  to  her  brother,  William  Heathcote 
de  Lancey,  the  late  Bishop  of  Western  New  York,  and  he 
gave  it  to  his  eldest  son,  the  editor,  in  1858  ;  a  gift  which, 
after  the  Bishop's  death  in  April,  1865,  proved  to  have  been 
but  the  anticipation  of  a  special  bequest  in  his  will.  In  the 
editor's  possession  it  has  since  remained,  and  is  now  first 
printed,  never  having  been  used  or  read  by  any  writer,  the 
editor  and  his  father  having  uniformly  declined  all  applica- 
tions for  such  purposes,  and  also  all  offers,  some  of  them 
very  liberal,  for  its  purchase,  believing  that  it  should  only  be 
published  as  a  fresh  and  whole  work. 

When  Bishop  de  Lancey  received  the  manuscript  in  1835, 
children  of  a  few  parties  mentioned  in  it  were  living,  and, 
from  a  feeling  of  delicacy,  he  thought  it  should  not  be 
printed  until  they  had  passed  away,  although  more  than  half 
a  century  had  then  elapsed  since  the  close  of  the  Revolution, 
and  the  author  himself  had  lain  in  his  grave  forty-three  years. 

When,  however,  the  Bishop  gave  it  to  the  editor,  it  was 
given  with  full  permission  to  publish  it  whenever  and  in 
whatever  way  the  latter  should  see  fit. 

The  active  duties  of  life  prevented  the  editor  from  giving 


PREFACE. 


Mil 


the  necessary  time  to  its  preparation  for  the  press  as  early  as 
was  desirable.  He  had,  however,  entered  upon  some  pre- 
liminary editorial  labors  in  1874,  with  a  view  to  publishing 
the  history  himself,  when  Mr.  John  Divine  Jones,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Atlantic  Mutual  Insurance  Company  of  New 
York,  and  the  head  of  that  great  commercial  interest  in 
America,  Marine  Insurance,  with  his  characteristic  thought- 
fulness  and  liberality,  conceived  the  design  of  making  a 
permanent  endowment  for  historical  purposes  in  the  New 
York  Historical  Society,  and  consulted  him  as  to  the  best 
method  of  carrying  it  out.  After  Mr.  Jones's  plan  of  endow- 
ment was  decided  upon,  the  editor,  desiring  to  aid  the  gen- 
erous and  admirable  design,  authorized  that  gentleman  when 
he  submitted  it  to  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  to  offer 
at  the  same  time  to  that  body  this  history  written  by  one  of 
his  own  father's  collateral  relatives,  as  the  first  issue  to  be 
made  under  its  terms.  Mr.  Jones's  plan  of  endowment  and 
this  offer  having  both  been  cordially  accepted,  the  work  is 
now  published  by  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  to  be 
sold  for  its  own  benefit  under  the  trust  endowment,  the  pro- 
ceeds to  be  solely  employed  by  the  Society  in  printing  other 
historical  works  and  memoirs,  which  in  their  turn  are  also  to 
be  sold,  and  their  respective  proceeds  also  employed  by  the 
Society  in  the  same  way,  thus  continually  providing  for  the 
printing  by  the  Society  of  writings  on  American  history 
which  would  not,  perhaps,  be  within  the  scope  of  its  ordinary 
publication  fund. 

The  manner  of  editing  adopted  for  the  present  work  re- 
quires a  few  words  of  explanation.  The  author's  text  and 
foot-notes  are  given  in  each  volume  first,  and  by  themselves. 
The  editor's  notes,  illustrative,  explanatory,  and  documen- 
tary, consecutively  numbered,  then  follow,  the  paging  being 
also  consecutive.  Each  note  has  its  own  heading,  following 
which  will  be  found  the  numbers  of  the  pages  of  the  text  to 
which  it  refers.  This  plan  was  adopted  after  full  considera- 
tion, as  on  the  whole  the  best  and  fairest,  both  for  the  reader 
and  the  author.  It  enables  the  former  to  read  what  the  latter 
has  written,  without  having  his  attention  distracted  by  the 


xiv 


PREFACE. 


annotations  and  ideas  of  another  mind,  while  it  allows  greater 
scope  for  notes,  corrections,  explanations,  and  illustrations, 
as  well  as  greater  space  for  such  cotemporary  letters,  docu- 
ments, and  other  information,  as  corroborate  or  throw  light 
upon  the  subjects  of  the  text.  It  also  brings  all  such 
matters  directly  in  connection  with  the  portions  of  text  to 
which  they  refer,  thus  giving  them  stronger  effect,  and  also 
avoiding  what  is  scarcely  ever  read  in  connection  with 
a  text, — an  appendix.  It  has,  however,  this  unavoidable 
disadvantage,  that  no  reference  to  the  editorial  notes  can  be 
given  at  the  foot  of  the  pages  of  the  text  to  which  they  re- 
late, the  reader  when  struck  with  any  statement,  is  therefore 
compelled  to  turn  to  the  end  of  the  volume  for  any  editorial 
note  there  may  be.  This  has  been  remedied  as  far  as  practi- 
cable by  placing  at  the  foot  of  the  contents  of  each  chapter  in 
the  "  Table  of  Contents  "  of  the  Text,  the  numbers  of  the 
editor's  notes  to  such  chapter  ;  by  prefixing  to  the  "  Editor's 
Notes  "  in  each  volume  a  separate  table  of  their  contents  ; 
and  by  a  very  full  index  to  the  entire  work  as  a  whole.  For 
much  advice  and  information,  and  for  great  care  in  preparing 
the  index  to  this  work,  the  editor  is  indebted  to  the  skill  of 
one  whose  great  labors  in  the  field  of  American  history,  and 
especially  in  that  of  this  State,  have  laid  all  historical  stu- 
dents and  writers  under  obligations  to  him,  which  can  never 
be  repaid, — Dr.  Edmund  13.  O'Callaghan,  who  has  been  well 
and  justly  styled,  "  the  Archivist  of  New  York." 

For  the  division  into  chapters,  the  editor  is  responsible, 
the  manuscript  being  without  headings  or  divisions,  except 
the  ordinary  spaces  between  paragraphs.  This  has  not 
been  an  easy  task,  and  has  caused  diversity  in  the  length  of 
the  chapters.  Unity  of  subject  has  been  regarded  as  far 
as  possible  in  all  cases.  But  in  some  instances  a  purely  arbi-  - 
trary  division  has  been  necessary  to  avoid  chapters  of  too 
great  length. 

The  text  has  been  given  with  merely  the  correction  of  a 
few  redundancies,  colloquialisms,  and  such  obvious  errors  of 
the  pen  as  occur  in  all  unprintcd  writings. 

The  author  was  a  man  of  very  strong,  honest,  and  decided 


TREFACE. 


XV 


character,  with  a  keen  perception  of  injustice,  and  a  horror  of 
all  laxity  of  principle  and  chicane;  slow  in  forming  his  opinions, 
and  as  firm  in  holding  as  he  was  clear  and  fearless  in  expressing 
them.  Had  he  prepared  his  own  work  for  the  press,  he  might 
have  modified  the  vigor,  force,  terseness,  and  occasional  indig- 
nation, of  some  of  his  expressions,  but  the  editor  has  not  deemed 
it  his  duty  to  do  so,  except  in  the  particulars  above  mentioned. 
It  would  have  been  unfair  to  both  author  and  reader.  The 
former  wrote  what  he  saw  fit,  and  the  reader  is  entitled  to 
know  what  he  did  write,  not  what  the  editor  might  think  he 
ought  to  have  written.  The  author's  opinions,  those  of  a  man 
of  education,  character,  and  the  highest  social  and  official  posi- 
tion, personally  acquainted  with  the  men  and  events  whom  he 
knew  and  which  he  witnessed,  must,  of  course,  go  for  what 
they  are  worth.  But  the  facts  he  gives,  so  many  of  which 
are  new,  speak  for  themselves,  and  must  and  will  have  their 
effect,  be  it  what  it  may. 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that  a  century  has  passed 
since  the  events,  the  acts,  the  scenes,  and  the  persons  he  de- 
scribes, occurred  and  existed  ;  that  the  leading  persons  men- 
tioned are  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  historical  characters, 
and  as  such,  by  their  words  and  deeds,  must  be  judged,  and 
will  be  judged,  by  posterity,  without  regard  to  private,  party, 
or  family  views. 

For  the  editor  to  have  adopted  any  other  course  than  he 
has  done  in  this  matter,  would  not  only  have  destroyed  the 
value  and  interest,  and  injured  the  authority,  of  Judge  Jones's 
work,  but  have  deprived  the  public  of  a  view  of  the  events 
and  men  of  the  American  Revolution,  on  both  sides,  which 
it  has  never  before  had,  and  which  it  is  not  likely  it  will  ever 
have  again. 

Some  obviously  erroneous  statements  of  the  particulars  of 
a  few  incidents,  none  of  them  of  great  importance,  have  been 
left  unchanged,  which  would  have  been  corrected  in  the  text, 
had  not  the  editor  decided  to  let  them  remain,  to  show  by 
comparison  how  generally  correct  the  author's  statements  are. 

This  Preface  cannot  be  concluded  without  the  editor's  sin- 
cere thanks  for  the  kind  assistance  in  his  labors  (which  have 


xvi 


PREFACE. 


taken  all  the  time  possible  to  be  spared  from  professional 
avocations  for  upwards  of  three  years),  that  has  been  ex- 
tended to  him  by  all  from  whom  he  has  sought  information, 
many  of  whom  it  is  impossible  for  want  of  space  to  mention 
here.  Much  that  is  new  and  which  has  never  before  been 
printed  will  be  found  scattered  through  his  notes.  Especially 
are  his  thanks  due  for  the  use  of  valuable  family  manuscripts, 
to  Mr.  William  Floyd-Jones,  of  Massapcqua,  Queens  County, 
Long  Island,  and  to  Admiral  Melancthon  Smith,  U.S.N.; 
to  Mrs.  Oliver  H.  Hubbard,  the  granddaughter  of  both  Gov- 
ernor Trumbull  and  Gen.  Silliman,  for  the  examination  and 
the  use  of  the  latter's  private  papers  ;  to  the  Hon.  Benjamin 
D.  Silliman,  of  Brooklyn,  for  valuable  information  of  which 
he  was  the  sole  depository,  and  for  his  great  zeal  and  labor 
in  obtaining  information  from  other  sources  ;  to  Mr.  John 
Russell  Bartlett,  the  learned  and  courteous  librarian  of  the 
Carter-Brown  Library  at  Providence,  for  Stedman's  His- 
tory of  the  American  War,  with  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  manu- 
script notes,  an  extraordinary  and  unique  source  of  authentic 
information,  kindly  sent  to  the  editor  in  this  city  for  use  in 
this  work  ;  to  Mr.  Samuel  P.  Bell,  of  New  York,  and  to 
Mr.  Samuel  J.  McCormick,  of  Pelham,  for  the  Peters  manu- 
scripts that  have  cleared  up  the  mystery  of  the  capture  of 
Mount  Washington,  and  thrown  entirely  new  light  on  the 
campaign  of  Burgoyne.  Brief  statements  of  the  new  facts  on 
these  two  subjects,  made  by  the  editor  at  two  meetings  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society,  have  already  caused  them  to  be 
mentioned  by  writers — in  one  case  without  acknowledgment — 
but  they  were  already  in  type  in  this  work  when  he  first  called 
to  them  the  attention  of  that  Society.  The  invaluable  collec- 
tion of  manuscripts  and  early  printed  broadsides  of  the  New 
York  Historical  Society,  and  the  family  papers  of  the  editor,  - 
have  afforded  great  and  important  information.  To  the  gentle- 
men officially  connected  with  the  New  York  State  Library  at 
Albany,  and  with  the  Historical  Societies  of  Pennsylvania, 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Buffalo,  and  the  New  England 
Historic-Genealogical  Society,  the  especial  thanks  of  the 
editor  are  due  for  the  promptness  and  kindness  with  which 


PREFACE. 


XVII 


they  have  made  examinations,  and  answered  all  inquiries  ; 
to  Mr.  Charles  B.  Moore,  Mr.  Henry  B.  Dawson,  Mr.  H.  K. 
Averill,  Jr.,  and  Mr.  Henry  T.  Drowne,  the  editor  is  indebted 
for  information  and  suggestions  of  great  assistance,  as  well 
as  to  his  lamented  friend,  and  brother-member  of  the  Pub- 
lication Committee  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  the 
late  Evert  A.  Duyckinck.  Mr.  John  Austin  Stevens,  the 
Librarian  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  has  given 
willing  and  courteous  assistance;  and  the  extensive  informa- 
tion of  Mr.  William  Kelby,  of  that  Society,  upon  the  details 
of  New  York  City  history,  and  his  ready  aid  in  the  library  of 
the  Society,  have  been  often  called  upon,  and  cannot  be  too 
fully  acknowledged.  To  his  friend,  Mr.  George  H.  Moore, 
LL.D.,  the  editor  cannot  too  deeply  express  his  thanks  for 
the  full  historical  knowledge  ever  at  his  service,  and  the  un- 
varying courtesy  and  ability  which  he  has  shown  in  carrying 
out  all  the  details  incident  to  the  publication  of  these  volumes. 

EDWARD  FLOYD  DE  LANCEY. 


NEW  YORK.  December,  1S7S. 


TABLE 


THE 


OF  CONTENTS 

OF 

FIRST  VOLUME. 


CHAPTER  I. 
New  York  Before  the  Revolution,  i  752—1 775. 

The  year  1752  the  Golden  Age  of  New  York — Religious  de- 
nominations— The  Church  of  England,  the  Dutch  Church, 
the  Presbyterians — Their  respective  positions  —  William 
Smith,  the  leader  of  the  Presbyterian  Meeting — Its  promi- 
inent  members — The  triumvirate,  William  Smith,  William 
Livingston,  and  John  Morin  Scott — Their  characteristics — 
The  Whig  Club  formed — The  Independent  Reflector  and 
the  Watch  Tower — The  triumvirate  attack  Trinity  Church 
— Their  defeat — King's  College  chartered  by  Lieutenant- 
Governor  de  Lancey  in  1754 — The  violent  opposition  of 
the  Presbyterians — Their  efforts  to  force  a  surrender  of  the 
Charter — The  triumvirate's  unscrupulous  method  of  political 
warfare — Their  Irish  petition  and  their  exposure  by  Hugh 
Gaine — They  try  to  have  the  Charter  repealed — They  fail 
and  abandon  the  contest  —  The  Assemblies  of  1759 
and  1760 — The  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  produces  gen- 
eral quiet  —  Election  of  1769,  the  members  returned — 
The  American  Whig  and  the  Watchman  appear — Their 
writers,  the  triumvirate  and  their  relatives,  the  Presbyterian 
ministers  Rogers  and  Treat,  and  the  English-preaching 
Dutch  minister,  Laidly — Sketch  of  Laidly,  and  the  bitter 
lawsuit  and  contest  between  his  English  party  and  the  old 
Dutch  party  for  the  revenues  and  control  of  the  Dutch 
Church — The  Watchman's  abuse  of  the  dead — Remarkable 
prediction  of  a  future  independent  American  empire  in  the 
American  Whig  in  1769 — Malicious  libels  against  the  Gov- 
ernor. Council,  and  Assembly  in  1770 — Reward  offered  for 


XX  ■  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

their  author — Found  to  be  Alexander  McDougal,  son  of  a 
Scotch  milkman,  from  Islay — Sketch  of  the  McDougals, 
father  and  son — The  latter  assists  his  father  in  two  ways — 
Goes  to  sea — Given  the  command  of  the  Tyger  sloop,  by 
her  owner,  William  Walton — Compels  Dutch  ships  to  ran- 
som themselves — Quits  the  sea,  and  opens  a  slop-shop  in 
New  York — Goes  to  the  West  Indies  after  the  war  in  1763 
— Marries  there  a  lady  of  some  fortune — Enters  upon  a 
larger  trade  in  New  York — Attracts  the  notice  of  and  is 
taken  up  by  the  triumvirate — Arrested  for  his  libels — Made 
a  hero  by  the  Presbyterian  party,  and  treated  to  feasts  while 
in  prison — Is  indicted — Ordered  to  be  tried — Escorted  to 
the  court  by  a  mob — William  Smith  refuses  to  obey  the 
order  of  the  Governor  and  Council  to  defend  him — Mc- 
Dougal's  friends  threaten  to  tar  and  feather  the  witness 
who  informed  upon  him — They  advertise  him  as  an  enemy 
to  America,  and  offer  a  reward  for  his  apprehension — He 
escapes  to  Boston,  and  thence  to  England — James  Parker, 
the  publisher  of  the  paper,  another  witness — Removes  to 
New  Jersey,  and  dies  suddenly  under  suspicious  circum- 
stances— The  witnesses  gone,  McDougal  is  discharged. . . .  1-33 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  I.  to  XII.] 

CHAPTER  II. 

New  York  at  the  Outbreak,  of  the  Revolution. 

The  meeting  in  April,  1774,  to  elect  a  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence— Election  of  delegates  to  the  first  Congress  of 
1774  at  Philadelphia — All  parties  in  New  York  desirous  of 
redressing  the  grievances  of  the  Colonies — The  delegation 
from  New  York  a  compromise  delegation — Entirely  approved 
of  by  the  Loyalists — Their  names,  Philip  Livingston,  Isaac 
Low,  James  Duane,  John  Jay,  and  John  Alsop — Their  re- 
spective positions  and  characteristics  —  Instructed  to  obtain 
a  redress  of  grievances  and  a  firm  union  with  Great  Britain 
upon  constitutional  principles — The  object  defeated  by 
the  adoption  of  the  Suffolk  Resolves — William  Smith's  ap- 
proval of  the  remark  of  Mr.  Lynch,  of  Carolina,  on  that 
occasion — The  New  York  Assembly  votes  against  taking  up 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


xxi 


the  Proceedings  of  the  Philadelphia  Congress — The  Loyal- 
ists, at  a  meeting,  decide  to  oppose  any  future  delegation 
to  Philadelphia — They  outnumber  their  opponents  four  to 
one — The  election  in  March,  1775,  carried  by  a  mob  under 
King  Sears,  Richard  Livingston,  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  and 
others — Arrival,  on  Sunday  morning,  April  23d,  of  the  news 
of  the  skirmish  at  Lexington — The  excitement  and  the  mob 
— The  city  in  its  power — Extraordinary  action  of  Leonard 
Lispenard — The  Council  and  Judges  summoned  by  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  Colden  to  meet  at  his  own  house — Extra- 
ordinary proceedings  thereat — Judge  Jones  proposes  to  call 
out  the  militia,  and  preserve  the  peace  of  the  city  by  force 
— Instantly  opposed  by  William  Smith,  who  advised  to  let 
the  people  act  as  they  pleased — The  council  adjourns  with- 
out a  decision — An  "Association,"  drawn  by  Jay,  Duane, 
and  Van  Schaack — Signed  at  a  public  meeting  on  the 
29th  of  April — Extraordinary  scene — William  Smith  absents 
himself,  and  does  not  sign — Is  called  on  to  explain  by  a 
Committee  of  the  Associators — Adopts  a  treacherous 
course  which  the  Committee  approve — Arrival  of  the 
Eastern  delegates  to  Philadelphia  in  New  York  in  May, 
1775 — Rudolphus  Ritzeina — The  men  who  met  them — Sur- 
prise of  Ticonderoga — Allen,  Warner,  and  Baker,  outlaws 
of  New  York,  with  a  price  set  on  their  heads  at  the  time — 
Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill — Its  result  the  effect  of  Howe's 
obstinacy  in  "taking  the  bull  by  the  horns" — Siege  and 
evacuation  of  Boston — The  city  plundered  by  British  Com- 
missaries and  other  officers  to  the  amount  of  ^500,000 
—  Enormous  plunder  of  Sheriff,  the  British  Quartermaster- 
General — Stupidity  of  the  British  commander  in  not  leaving 
a  ship  to  inform  incoming  vessels  of  the  evacuation  34~54 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  XIII.  to  XXII.] 

CHAPTER  III. 

Events  and  Occurrences  in  1775. 

Arrival  of  Governor  Tryon,  and  Washington  with  Lee  and 
Schuyler,  on  the  same  day  in  New  York — The  latter  in  the 
afternoon,  the  first  in  the  evening — The  Provincial  Conven- 


XXII 


TABLE  OF  CONTEXTS. 


tion  formally  receive  all — General  Schuyler  stops  at  the 
house  of  William  Smith,  in  Broadway  opposite  Governor 
Tryon's — He  calls  on  Tryon  in  his  uniform  as  General — 
Tryon  refuses  to  receive  him — Joshua  Hett  Smith  and  John 
Smith  and  a  mob  try  to  seize  and  maltreat  President  Cooper 
of  King's  College — Warned  by  a  student,  who  overheard 
their  plan,  he  escapes — Sketch  and  character  of  Dr.  Cooper 
—  His  burial-place  and  epitaph — Warned  by  Egbert  Du- 
mond  of  his  proposed  arrest  as  a  prisoner  by  the  Provincial 
Council,  Governor  Tryon  retires  on  board  ship — Holds  his 
Councils  there — William  Smith,  a  member,  informs  a  Re- 
publican club  regularly  of  all  that  is  done — The  intelli- 
gence sent  to  the  Provincial  Convention  and  to  Congress 
— "  Common  Sense  "  published — Replied  to  by  Dr.  Inglis 
— Loudon's  printing-office  broken  open  by  a  mob  under 
McDougal,  Sears,  and  others,  and  the  copies  and  manuscript 
of  the  reply  destroyed — A  printed  notice  to  destroy  the 
property  and  tar  and  feather  the  person  of  any  man  printing 
anything  in  favor  of  the  King  sent  to  all  the  city  printers — 
Destruction  and  robbery  of  Rivington's  press  by  Sears  and 
a  mob  from  Connecticut — He  seizes  Dr.  Seabury  and 
Mayor  Underbill  and  Judge  Jonathan  Fowler,  of  West- 
chester, on  his  way  back,  and  carries  them  prisoners  to 
Connecticut — Heard's  expedition  to  disarm  Queens  County 
— He  is  joined  by  John  and  Joshua  Hett  Smith  and  others 
from  New  York  55-7° 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  XXIII.  to  XXVIII.] 
CHAPTER  IV. 

Schuyler's  Expedition  to  Johnstown — Lady  Johnson  and 
the  Provincial  Convention,  1776. 

Treaty  of  1 775  between  Congress  and  the  Indians  violated  by  the 
former — Schuyler's  Militia  ordered  to  Johnstown — False 
charge  of  collecting  arms  and  men  made  against  Sir  John 
Johnson  for  private  vengeance — Arrangement  made  be- 
tween Schuyler  and  Sir  John — Subsequently  violated  on  a 
false  pretence  by  Schuyler— Johnson  Hall  and  Johnstown 
plundered — Continued  harassment  of  Sir  John  and  his 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


xxiii 


Highland  tenants,  and  violation  of  the  arrangement  with 
them,  by  the  Albany  Committee — The  former  leave  Johns- 
town for  Canada — Sir  John  commissioned  Colonel  by  Sir 
Guy  Carleton — Raises  a  Provincial  Corps — Spends  the 
winter  of  1776-77  in  New  York  City — The  Albany  Com- 
mittee, in  May,  1776,  on  hearing  of  Sir  John's  departure  for 
Canada,  with  a  detachment  of  militia  forcibly  seize  Lady 
Johnson — She  is  sent  a  prisoner  from  Johnstown  to  Albany 
in  an  advanced  stage  of  pregnancy — A  Lieutenant  put  in 
her  carriage  who  wears  Sir  John's  clothes — Compelled  to 
remain  in  Albany  on  pain  of  death  as  a  hostage  for  her 
husband's  action — Applies  in  November,  1776,  to  the  Com- 
mittee for  leave  to  go  to  New  York — Is  sent  to  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  at  Fishkill  for  an  answer — Applies  for  his 
influence  in  her  favor  to  James  Duane,  her  father's  friend — 
Is  rudely  repulsed — The  Convention  refuse  her  permission 
to  go  to  New  York,  but  give  her  the  choice  of  residing 
with  her  relatives  in  either  Dutchess  County  or  Ulster 
County — Selects  the  house  of  Cadwallader  Colden,  at 
Coldenham,  in  Ulster  County — Is  conveyed  thither,  and 
told  if  she  attempted  to  escape,  or  if  Sir  John  appeared 
in  arms,  she  should  be  treated  with  great  severity — Un- 
terrified  by  the  threats,  she  quietly  arranges  to  escape — 
Sends  to  Johnstown  for  a  trusty  tenant  to  meet  her 
with  a  sleigh  and  horses  at  a  given  time — Meets  him  at 
night  with  her  sister  and  children  disguised  as  country 
wenches — Drives  all  night  in  January  to  Paulus  Hook, 
where  Sir  John  meets  her — Narrowly  escapes  detection  on 
the  way  by  Major  Abeel,  of  the  Continentals — Her  ex- 
traordinary coolness  71-81 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  XXIX.  to  XXXI.] 
CHAPTER  V. 

Events  at  New  York,  in  the  Canadas,  and  at  the  South, 

EARLY  IN  1770. 

General  Lee  at  New  York — Anecdotes — Surprise  of  the  Island 
of  New  Providence — Washington's  army  arrives  at  New 
York — Flight  of  its  inhabitants — William  Smith  gives  up 


XXIV 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


his  house  to  Washington  for  his  use,  and  retires  to  his  farm  at 
Haverstraw — Arrival  of  Robert  Temple,  and  his  examina- 
tion by  Tryon,  Gen.  Skinner  and  Col.  Fanning — Hood- 
winks them  all — An  Emissary  of  the  Opposition  in  Eng- 
land to  Congress — The  information  he  brought  to  Phila- 
delphia revives  the  hopes  of  Congress — Sir  Guy  Carleton 
defeats  the  Americans  in  Canada — His  generous  conduct 
— Affair  of  the  Cedars — Punic  faith  of  Congress — Mc- 
Donald's defeat  at  Mooer's  Creek  Bridge,  in  North  Caro- 
lina— Sir  Henry  Clinton's  Southern  Expedition — Failure 
of  his  attack  on  Charleston — Stupidity  of  his  conduct. .  .82-100 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  XXXII.  and  XXXIII.] 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Events  in  the  Summer  and  Autumn  of  1776. 

Tories  ridden  on  rails  in  the  City  of  New  York,  in  June,  1776 — 
Arrivals  of  Sir  William  Howe,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  Earl 
Dunmore  with  their  forces  at  Staten  Island — Lord  Howe 
arrives  with  a  fleet  from  England — Washington  issues 
orders  forbidding  the  passing  of  ferries  without  a  written 
pass — Mrs.  Jones  and  Washington,  and  the  pass  of  July 
4th,  1776 — Lord  Stirling's  bad  conduct  in  relation  thereto 
— Mrs.  Jones  crosses  to  Long  Island,  notwithstanding  the 
orders,  and  without  a  pass,  escorted  by  Capt.  Anthony  Rut- 
gers— Attempt  and  failure  of  the  Howes  to  negotiate  with 
Washington — Washington's  measures  to  overawe  Queens 
County — Its  great  loyalty — Outlawed  by  the  Provincial 
Convention — Four-fifths  of  its  1,500  militia  loyal — Col. 
Cornell  and  his  Rhode  Island  Regiment  occupy  Hemp- 
stead— He  hunts  and  arrests  the  Loyalists  who  had  been 
disarmed  early  in  this  year — Flight  and  concealment  of 
great  numbers — John  Harris  Cruger  and  Jacob  Walton  hid- 
den in  a  farmer's  hay-mow  for  three  weeks,  Augustus 
Van  Cortlandt  hid  by  Lefferts  in  his  cow-house — Col.  Cor- 
nell desecrates  the  Episcopal  Church  and  Communion 
Table  at  Hempstead  —Sends  his  prisoners  to  a  Military 
Court  in  New  York,  who  order  them  transported  to  Con- 
necticut— The  two  armies  at  New  York  in  1776 — Their  re- 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


XXV 


spective  conditions  ami  numbers — The  Battle  of  Long 
Island — Defeat  of  the  Americans — Howe  refuses  the  press- 
ing requests  of  his  officers  to  enter  the  American  lines — 
Escape  of  the  Americans — Wretched  generalship  and 
management  of  the  British  Commanders  of  the  Army  and  the 
Navy — Indignant  comments  on  their  conduct — Infamous 
plundering  by  the  British  troops — Col.  Birch,  of  the  17th 
Light  Dragoons,  robs  Dr.  Tredwell  of  his  blood-horse  in 
open  day — Cattle  stolen  from  the  Loyalists  charged  to  the 
Crown  at  a  large  price  by  Commissary  Chamier — Judge 
Jones's  cattle  stolen  by  the  Americans,  recaptured  by  the 
British,  and  appropriated  by  Chamier — Interview  between 
the  Judge  and  the  Commissary — Five  hundred  cattle  for  the 
American  Army  at  Morristown  passing  through  Westchester 
in  the  winter  of  1776-77,  captured  by  the  Refugees,  taken 
by  the  Commissary  at  sixpence  currency  per  pound,  and 
charged  to  the  Crown  at  if.  dd.  sterling — Howe  takes 
possession  of  New  York  Island  on  the  15th  of  September, 
1776 — Burning  of  the  city  by  the  Americans — The  reasons 
the  Courts  were  not  opened  on  the  occupation  of  the  city 
by  the  British — Howe's  movements  to  Throgg's  Neck  and 
White  Plains — His  course  at  White  Plains — General  Silli- 
man's  ascription  of  the  salvation  of  the  American  Army  at 
White  Plains  to  an  act  of  the  Almighty — Retreat  of  Howe 
from  White  Plains,  and  his  attack  and  capture  of  Mount 
Washington — Pursuit  of  the  Americans  through  New  Jer- 
sey— Howe's  winter  lines  across  Jersey — Surprise  of  Tren- 
ton and  capture  of  the  Hessians — Carleton's  Canadian 
Campaign — Arnold  destroys  his  own  fleet  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain — Carleton  returns  from  Crown  Point  to  Canada..  .101-135 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  XXXIV.  to  XLV.] 

CHAPTER  VII. 

British  Plundering  of  Libraries — Politics  and  Politicians 
in  New  York — Sketches  of  two  Prominent  Families. 

The  City  Hall  pillaged  by  British  Soldiers — King's  College  Li- 
brary, the  City  Library,  and  the  Society  Library,  plundered 
in  September,  1776 — Nothing  taken  during  the  American  oc- 


XXVI 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


cupation  except  a  telescope  of  King's  College  for  Washing- 
ton's use — The  Colonial  Supreme  Court  sits  during  the  Ameri- 
can occupation — It  tries  and  punishes  American  soldiers 
for  larceny  in  April,  1776 — Their  Officers  thank  the  Judge 
—  Nassau  Hall  Library  robbed  by  the  British  in  December, 
1776,  and  Yale  Library  in  1779 — A  Morris  family  library 
removed  to  Nonvalk  for  safety,  destroyed  there  in  1779 — 
Origin  and  Sketch  of  the  Morrises  of  Morrisania — William 
Smith  retires  from  Haverstraw  to  Livingston  Manor — Aids 
the  Americans — Assists  in  forming  a  Constitution  for  the 
State  of  New  York — Favored  by  the  New  York  Provincial 
Convention — Understanding  between  him  and  them — His 
gross  duplicity — On  Chief  Justice  Horsmanden's  death  in 
1778,  and  Lord  North's  appointment  of  Peace  Commis- 
sioners, arranges  to  return  to  New  York  as  a  persecuted 
Loyalist — How  it  was  done — Illustrations  of  his  character 
by  Colonel  Worthington,  Governor  George  Clinton,  Major 
Colden,  and  his  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Keteltas — 
Favoritism  shown  him  by  the  Legislature  of  1779,  and  his 
estate  saved,  by  not  including  him  in  the  Act  of  Attainder — 
Some  who  were  included  in  the  Act — Succeeds  Horsman- 
den  as  Chief  Justice  in  1 780 — James  de  Lancey  included  for 
his  great  estate  and  his  opposition  in  the  Assembly  to  ap- 
proving the  proceedings  of  the  Congress  of  1774 — Son  of 
the  late  Lieutenant-Governor — Etienne  (Stephen)  de  Lan- 
cey the  first  of  this  family  in  America — His  origin  and  his 
children  136-158 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  XLVI.  to  LI.] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Political  and  Personal  Intrigues  in  New  York — Military 
Operations  of  17 76-1 7 7 7. 

Plot  of  William  Smith,  Andrew  Elliott,  and  Gen.  James  Robert- 
son, to  oust  Governor  Tryon  and  make  Robertson  Gover- 
nor, Elliott,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  Smith,  Chief  Jus- 
tice— Their  method  of  action — They  hoodwink  the  British 
Government,  succeed,  and  obtain  the  offices — Characters 
of  Robertson,  of  Elliott,  of  Smith — Military  operations  in 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


xxvii 


America — Capture  of  Trenton — Howe  coops  up  his  troops  at 
Brunswick  and  Amboy — Washington  retreats  to  Morristown 
— Distressed  condition  of  his  army — Barbarous  assassina- 
tion of  Captain  Erasmus  Phillips  at  Princeton  by  Ameri- 
cans— Generous  treatment  of  General  Charles  Lee  while  a 
prisoner  in  New  York — Inhuman  treatment  of  Colonel 
Campbell  in  Concord  Jail  by  the  Americans  on  the  false 
plea  that  Lee  was  maltreated — Execution  of  Captain  Dun- 
bar under  an  ex  post  facto  law  in  Connecticut — Inhuman 
treatment  of  his  wife  by  the  Committee  at  Middletown — 
Colonel  Bird  destroys  American  Magazines  at  Peekskill — 
Tryon's  expedition  to  Connecticut  —  Burns  Danbury  — 
Skirmishes  following  it — Sketch  of  the  career  and  character 
of  General  Wooster — Colonel  Meigs's  brilliant  "alert"  at 
Sag  Harbor — Sketch  of  Meigs — General  Parsons,  with  1,000 
men  from  Connecticut,  and  seventy  guns,  besieges  Brook- 
haven  Fort,  on  Long  Island — Summonses  Colonel  Richard 
Hewlett  and  his  garrison  of  300  men  of  De  Lancey's  Brigade 
to  surrender  under  penalty  of  a  storm — Hewlett  replies, 
"  that  they  were  determined  to  spend  the  last  drop  of  their 
blood  rather  than  surrender  to  a  rebel  banditti  commanded 
by  a  shoemaker"- — Parsons  cannonades  the  fort  for  twelve 
hours,  and  then  retreats — Sketch  and  personal  appearance 
of  Parsons  159-184 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  LII.  to  LVI.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Events  and  Military  Operations  in  1777. 

The  plunder  and  burning  of  General  De  Lancey's  seat  at 
Bloomingdale,  on  the  Hudson,  while  occupied  by  the  ladies 
of  his  family — Barbarous  treatment  of  the  ladies  by  the 
American  Water-guard,  who  did  the  deed — Howe  enters 
Jersey — Confronts  Washington  entrenched  at  Middlebrook 
— The  Americans  expect  to  submit — Howe's  Chief  of 
Engineers  reports  their  lines  cannot  be  forced — An  inhabi- 
tant offers  to  guide  Howe  to  a  spot  where  they  could  be 
forced  —  Howe  neglects  the  information,  and  after  two  days 
retreats  to  Amboy  by  way  of  Brunswick — Washington  fol- 


xxviii 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


lows  him — Attempt  of  Howe  to  surround  the  American 
Army — Its  failure — He  passes  his  army  to  Staten  Island, 
orders  it  embarked  in  Lord  Howe's  fleet,  and  returns  him- 
self to  New  York — Gloomy  correspondence  of  Alexander 
Hamilton  and  Governor  Livingston  on  Howe's  movements 
— Du  Portail's  letter — Success  of  the  Americans  due  only  to 
the  astonishing  conduct  of  the  British  General — The  fleet 
of  400  vessels,  with  30,000  troops,  sail  for  the  Head  of 
Elk — It  arrives,  and  the  army  lands  on  25th  of  August, 
1777 — Defeat  of  Washington  at  Brandy  wine — Instead  of  a 
pursuit,  Howe  orders  a  halt — Finally  enters  Philadelphia 
on  the  26th  of  September,  1777 — Wayne  surprised  at  night 
by  a  bayonet  attack  of  General  Grey,  hence  called  No- 
Hint  Grey — Brave  American  defence  of  Mud  Island  and 
Red  Bank — Death  of  Count  Donop — Reinforcement  of 
4,000  men  ordered  from  New  York  to  Red  Bank — Ameri- 
cans abandon  it  at  their  approach — Surrender  of  Mud 
Island — Washington's  plan  to  surprise,  attack,  and  destroy 
the  British  Army  in  Philadelphia —  It  is  told  to  a  Loyalist, 
who  sends  the  information  to  Howe,  with  all  the  particu- 
lars— He  mentions  it  en  passant  to  Sir  George  Osborne,  but 
takes  no  steps  to  guard  against  it — The  attack  made  at  the 
appointed  time — Its  success  only  prevented  by  Col.  Mus- 
grove's  brave  defence  of  Chew's  house,  at  Germantown — 
The  attack  finds  Howe  just  gone  to  bed,  after  a  night  at 
the  faro  table — Howe  marches  in  December  to  Whitemarsh 
to  attack  Washington — Finds  the  lines  strong  and  the 
weather  cold,  and  returns  to  Philadelphia— Du  Portai]  re- 
ports to  the  French  Government  that  the  result  of  the 
campaign  was  not  due  to  the  good  conduct  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, but  the  bad  conduct  of  the  English,  and  that  if  the 
English  had  pursued  after  the  Battle  of  Brandywine, 
"Washington's  army  would  have  been  spoken  of  no  more" 
— Clinton's  expedition  to  Jersey  in  September,  1777 — Bur- 
goyne's  expedition  and  campaign — Fatal  advice  of  Colonel 
Skene  to  proceed  to  Fort  Edward  direct  from  Skenes- 
borough,  instead  of  by  Ticonderoga  and  Lake  George — 
Private  object  of  Skene — Battle  of  Bennington — Battle  of 
Saratoga  of  the  19th  of  September,  1777 — Battle  of  the 
7th  of  October — Surrender  and  Convention  of  Saratoga — 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


xxix 


Discussion  of  Burgoyne's  and  Howe's  orders — Death  and 
funeral  of  General  Kraser — Convention  of  Saratoga  deliber- 
ately violated  by  Congress — St.  Leger's  expedition  to  the 
Mohawk — Siege  of  FortStanwix — Defence  of  Gansevoort — 
Sketch  of  Lt.-Colonel  Marinus  Willett — Gen.  Hercheimer, 
with  1,000  militia,  marches  to  its  relief — Sir  John  Johnson 
surprises  and  defeats  him  at  Oriskany — Death  of  Herchei- 
mer— The  Siege  of  Fort  Stanwix  continues — St.  Leger's 
army  hear  that  Arnold  with  4,000  men  is  inarching  to  at- 
tack them — The  Indians,  alarmed,  leave  St.  Leger,  and 
thereby  compel  him  to  raise  the  siege  and  retreat  to 
Canada — Sir  Henry  Clinton's  Hudson  River  Expedition — 
After  his  capture  of  the  Forts  Montgomery  and  Constitu- 
tion, is  ordered  to  send  4,000  of  his  troops  to  Sir  William 
Howe,  on  the  Delaware — Destroys  the  forts  and  obeys — 
Howe's  Red  Bank  atVair  costs  the  British  the  possession  of 
the  Highlands — The  American  Prison  Ships  at  Rondout 
filled  with  confined  Loyalists — Their  destruction  185-220 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  LVII.  to  LXV.] 
CHAPTER  X. 

History  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  York  from  1760  to 
the  Revolution. 

The  Chief  Justiceship  of  the  Supreme  Court  vacated  by  the  death 
of  Chief  Justice  De  Lancey,  on  July  30,  1760 — John 
Chambers,  Daniel  Horsmanden,  and  David  Jones,  the 
puisne  Judges  at  the  time — Sketches  of  the  three — Cham- 
bers, Horsmanden,  Robert  Hunter  Morris,  Chief  Justice  of 
New  Jersey,  and  William  Smith,  candidates  for  the  Chief 
Justiceship  of  New  York — Characters  of  Morris  and  Smith 
— Golden,  who  succeeded  to  the  Government  as  President 
of  the  Council  on  the  death  of  Lieutenant-Governor  De 
Lancey,  objects  to  the  first  three  of  them  on  special  grounds 
—  He  rejects  Smith  altogether — This  rejection  never  for- 
given by  the  Republican  faction,  and  the  source  of  all  the 
abuse  lavished  ever  after  on  him  and  his  friends — Golden 
appointed  Lieutenant-Governor,  and   General  Moncton 


XXX 


TABLE  OF  CONTEXTS. 


Governor  of  the  Province — Major  Horatio  Gates,  after- 
ward the  American  General,  made  Moncton's  Secretary  and 
Aid-de-Camp — Gates's  mean  capacity  and  intellect — Smith 
the  younger,  Livingston,  and  Scott,  make  him  their  tool — 
Through  Gates  they  lead  Moncton  unwittingly  to  do  a  low 
act  to  Colden,  for  which  the  Governor  never  forgave  Gates 
or  them  when  discovered — The  Ministry  in  England  ap- 
point Benjamin  Pratt,  of  Boston,  Chief  Justice,  "during 
pleasure  " — His  marked  personal  characteristics — The  death 
of  George  II.  having  vacated  the  Judges' commissions,  which 
were  during  "good  behavior,"  Colden  declines  to  renew 
them  except  "during  pleasure" — These  the  Judges  refuse, 
and  no  Courts  are  held — Chief  Justice  Pratt,  on  his  ar- 
rival, has  therefore  to  sit  alone — Chambers,  feeling  insulted 
by  Pratt's  appointment,  resigns — Colden  urges  the  other 
two  Judges  to  accept  new  commissions  during  pleasure — 
They  finally  do  so — Smith,  Livingston,  and  Scott  violently 
attack  the  Julges  for  taking  commissions  "during  pleas- 
ure," and  induce  the  Assembly  to  pass  severe  resolutions 
against  Colden  and  the  Judges — Colden  at  once  offers  to 
appoint  them  "  during  good  behavior "  on  condition  that 
the  Assembly  will  vote  permanent  salaries — The  faction, 
outwitted,  subsides  —  Death  of  Pratt  —  Colden  appoints 
Daniel  Horsmanden  Chief  Justice,  David  Jones,  second, 
William  Smith  the  elder,  third,  and  Robert  R.  Livingston, 
fourth,  Judge,  in  1762 — Brief  characters  of  the  appointees 
— Death  of  Smith  in  1769,  and  appointment  of  George 
Duncan  Ludlow  in  his  place — His  character  and  family — 
Justice  Jones  resigns  in  1773,  through  age  and  infirmity — 
Governor  Try  on  appoints  Thomas  Jones,  his  son,  then 
Recorder  of  New  York,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
his  father's  place — His  character — Death  of  Judge  Livings- 
ton in  1775,  and  appointment  of  Whitehead  Hicks  in  his 
room — Character  of  Justice  Hicks — Death  of  Chief  Justice 
Horsmanden  in  the  spring  of  1778 — Through  the  success 
of  the  plot  of  Robertson,  Elliott,  and  Smith,  described  in 
Chapter  VI II.,  William  Smith  the  younger,  is  made  Chief 
Justice  in  1780,  though  no  courts  were  in  existence,  and  he 
never  sat  upon  the  bench  in  New  York  22 1- 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  LXVI.  to  LXVII.] 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


xxxi 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Events  and  Military  Operations  in  1778. 

Predatory  expeditions  in  Jersey  and  on  the  Delaware,  and  in 
Rhode  Island — Such  expeditions  of  no  service  to  the  general 
cause — Howe's  inertness  at  Philadelphia — Approves  Gal- 
loway's plan  to  capture  the  Governor,  Assembly,  and 
Council  of  Safety  of  New  Jersey,  at  Trenton — Then  com- 
pels him  to  abandon  it  the  very  day  before  the  night  it  was 
to  be  put  in  execution — Is  superseded  in  May,  1778,  by 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  orders  to  evacuate  Philadelphia — 
Howe  advises  the  Philadelphia  Magistrates  and  Loyalists 
to  go  under  a  flag  to  Washington,  and  try  through  him  to 
make  their  peace  with  Congress — They  inform  Clinton, 
who,  surprised,  advises  them  to  do  nothing  of  the  kind — 
Comments  of  the  Royal  Register  on  Howe — The  Mischi- 
anza in  honor  of  Sir  William  Howe  and  Lord  Howe — De- 
tailed account  of  it — Opinions  of  the  Royal  Register  and 
Sir  Augustus  Elliott  regarding  it — Review  of  Sir  William 
Howe's  career  in  America — Review  of  Lord  Howe's  career 
in  America — An  execution,  not  a  Mischianza,  the  proper 
reward  of  Sir  William  Howe — The  Mischianza  a  reminder 
of  Caligula's  triumph  236-261 

[See  Editor's  Notes,  LXVIII.,  LXIX.,  and  LXX.] 

CHAPTER  XII. 

EvenTs  and  Military  Operations  in  1778. 

Clinton's  march  across  Jersey  in  June,  1778 — Enormous  army 
train — Terrible  sufferings  from  the  extreme  heat — Origin, 
organization  and  services  of  Brigadier-General  Oliver  De 
Lancey's  Brigade,  called  "  De  Lancey's  Battalions" — Its 
officers — One  of  the  three  regiments,  from  officers  to  pri- 
vates, composed  solely  of  natives  or  inhabitants  of  Queens 
County — Two  of  the  regiments  serve  at  the  South  with 
great  distinction — The  forts  at  Brookhaven  and  Hunting- 
ton destroyed  by  Clinton's  orders  in  the  spring  of  1778 — 
Long  Island,  in  consequence,  harried  and  robbed  by  small 


XXX11 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


New  England  privateers — Numbers  of  Loyalists  kidnapped 
and  their  houses  plundered — Cases  of  the  Ludlows,  Rich- 
ard Townsend,  Thomas  Smith,  Judge  Jones,  William 
Nicoll,  Col.  Richard  Floyd,  Col.  Benjamin  Floyd,  Mr. 
Seaton,  John  Hulett,  Major  Parker,  and  Major  Hudson — 
The  great  trade  on  the  Great  South  Bay,  which  existed 
till  1778,  destroyed — How  the  destruction  was  effected — 
Lord  Howe  refuses  two  row-galleys  to  guard  the  "  Canoe 
Place,"  which  would  effectually  have  protected  it — The 
galleys  wanted  to  take  prizes  in  the  Delaware  and  Chesa- 
peake, of  which  one-eighth  was  the  Admiral's  share — Guard 
cutters  in  the  Sound  also  refused  by  him — France  acknowl- 
edges Independence,  and  makes  a  treaty  with  America — 
Arrival  of  D'Estaign's  fleet  off  Sandy  Hook — D'Estaign's 
violation  of  his  parole — Great  alarm  in  New  York — Forti- 
fications thrown  up — Volunteers  to  man  the  fleet  received 
— More  men-of-war  join  Lord  Howe's  fleet — An  attack  on 
Rhode  Island  by  Sullivan  with  an  army  by  land,  and  by 
D'Estaign  from  the  sea,  planned — General  Pigot  in  com- 
mand there — Sullivan  lands,  and  D'Estaign  enters  Newport 
on  the  8th  of  August — Howes  fleet  arrives — A  battle  im- 
minent— The  fleets  both  dispersed  by  a  great  storm — Sulli- 
van continues  the  siege  of  Newport — D'Estaign  returns, 
and  refuses  to  cooperate  with  Sullivan — The  latter  raises 
the  siege  and  retreats — Pursued  by  the  garrison,  but 
cleverly  makes  his  retreat  good — Clinton  arrives  with  more 
troops,  but  too  late — Despatches  Gen.  Grey  to  destroy  the 
magazines  and  disarm  the  people  in  Buzzard's  Bay,  Martha's 
Vineyard,  Nantucket,  and  Block  Island- — Plunders  them 
of  great  numbers  of  live  stock,  which  the  Commissaries 
charge  to  the  Crown  at  enormous  prices,  and  pocket 
the  money  262- 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Events  and  Military  Operations  in  1778  and  1779. 

Murder  of  John  Richards  at  Passaic — Capture  of  the  murderer 
and  his  party,  and  their  imprisonment  in  New  York — Sir 
Henry  Clinton  refuses  to  punish,  and  liberates  him — Case 
of  Jane  McCrea — Hanging  of  Carlisle  and  Roberts  at 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


XXXUI 


Philadelphia  by  the  Americans  in  1778 — Clinton  refuses  to 
act  in  their  favor,  and  declares  that  sooner  than  retaliate  he 
will  resign  his  command — The  honor  of  Britain  sacrificed 
to  his  timidity — Clinton  sends  a  predatory  expedition  to 
Barnegat,  and  military  ones,  under  Cornwallis,  to  Hacken- 
sack,  and  under  Knvphausen  to  Westchester  County — 
Barbarous  massacre  of  Baylor's  Light  Horse  by  General 
Grey — Ferguson's  Barnegat  expedition  destroys  Pulaski's 
Legion — Clinton  orders  an  expedition  under  Generals 
Tryon  and  de  Lancey  to  the  east  end  of  Long  Island  to  col- 
lect cattle  for  the  army — The  generals  and  officers  dine  at 
Brookhaven  with  Col.  Benjamin  Floyd — The  soldiers  rob  his 
farm  and  burn  his  fences  during  the  dinner— The  inhabitants 
paid  one  shilling  currency  per  pound  for  the  cattle,  and 
the  Commissaries  charge  them  to  the  Crown  at  is.  6d.  ster- 
ling— The  thin  cattle  branded  G.  R.,  and  left  to  be  fattened 
during  the  winter — The  Yankees  carry  them  all  off  in  the 
spring  to  feed  the  American  army  at  Morristown — Useless 
"Safeguard  Captains"  commissioned  in  New  York — Cap- 
tures of  St.  Lucia  and  Savannah — Charleston  offers  to  sur- 
render on  condition  of  being  permitted  to  remain  neutral — 
The  condition  refused — The  British,  not  strong  enough  to 
capture  it,  retire  to  Beaufort  under  Colonel  Maitland,  and 
fortify  it — D'Estaign  and  Lincoln  besiege  Savannah — Mait- 
land joins  Prevost  at  Savannah — Defeat  of  the  French  and 
Americans — Arrest  of  the  overseers  of  the  farms  of  William 
Floyd  and  William  Smith,  members  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
vention, for  sending  them  proceeds  of  sales  and  informa- 
tion— The  overseers  claim  to  be  loyal,  and  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  and  give  bonds  not  to  send  money  or  informa- 
tion within  the  American  lines — Both  subsequently  taken  in 
arms  against  the  King,  and  sent  to  Clinton,  who  liberates 
them — Three  men  of  Oyster  Bay,  who  had  taken  the  oath 
of  allegiance,  join  the  Rebels,  are  taken,  convicted,  and 
liberated  on  the  application  of  Hendrick  Onderdonk — 
Smyth's  testimony  to  the  repeated  cruelty  and  plundering 
of  Long  Islanders — Sir  George  Collier's  Virginia  expedi- 
tion— Capture  of  Penobscot — Besieged  by  a  New  England 
expedition  under  Lovel  and  Commodore  Saltonstall — 
Sketch  of  Roswell  Saltonstall,  and  his  extraordinary  domestic 


XXXIV 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


arrangements  at  Branford,  Connecticut — Total  destruction 
of  the  New  England  expedition  by  Sir  George  Collier. .  280-299 
[See  Editor's  Notes,  LXXI.  to  LXXII.] 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Events  and  Military  Operations  in  1779. 

The  "  Honorable  Board  of  Associated  Loyalists  " — Their  or- 
ganization, and  its  objects — Similar  depredators  commis- 
sioned by  the  Governors  of  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey 
— Mutual  arrangements  of  both  parties — How  they  played 
into  each  other's  hands — Their  methods  of  operating — The 
New  Rochelle  rebel  whale-boats  visit  the  British  guardship 
at  the  Two  Brothers  with  presents,  and  are  entertained  on 
board — They  rob  Thomas  Hicks's  house  in  the  evening,  and 
receive  three  cheers  from  the  guardship  on  their  return — 
William  Axtell,  his  extraordinary  regiment  and  his  pay — 
Authorized  to  license  public  houses  and  issue  passes  over 
the  ferry,  and  receive  the  fees  for  himself — Sketch  of  Axtell 
and  his  family,  and  his  career — How  he  saved  his  confis- 
cated estate— Sketch  and  character  of  General  Montgomery 
— Capture  of  Stoney  Point  by  Clinton — Westchester  County 
overrun — The  hay  in  several  towns  cut  under  protection  of 
the  troops — Clinton,  alarmed  by  the  retaking  of  Stoney  Point 
by  the  Americans,  suddenly  retreats  to  New  York — The  hay 
falls  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans — Clinton  orders  the 
evacuation  of  Rhode  Island  stopped — Forgets  to  send  the 
orders,  and  finds  them  some  days  after  in  his  pocket — The 
Evacuation  carried  out,  and  the  Americans  take  possession 
— Cruel  treatment  of  prisoners  by  the  Virginia  Government 
and  by  Congress — Clinton's  "alert"  to  capture  Washing- 
ton at   Morristown    and   end    the  war — Its  ridiculous 

failure  300-318 

[See  Editor's  Note,  LXXIV.] 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Events  and  Military  Operations  in  1779-80. 

Clinton  goes  with  an  army  to  Charleston — Leaves  Knyphausen 
in  command  in  New  York — Extraordinary  cold  winter  of 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


XXXV 


1779-80 — Snow  falling  in  New  York  almost  daily  from  the 
10th  of  November  to  the  middle  of  March — The  Bay  of 
New  York  and  the  East  River  frozen  up — Deserters  cross 
from  Lloyd's  Neck  to  Connecticut — Two  hundred  sleighs, 
escorted  by  200  Light  Horse,  pass  from  New  York  to 
Staten  Island  in  a  body — Remarkable  duck  story  of  Goosen 
Adriance,  of  Staten  Island — An  attack  on  New  York  feared 
Six  thousand  men  volunteer  as  a  Special  Militia  for  its  de- 
fence in  five  days — This  organization  continued  till  the 
Peace  of  1 783 — Gross  oppression  of  two  respectable  farm- 
ers of  Oyster  Bay  by  General  Birch — Congress  deprives  and 
divests  the  Penn  family  of  Pennsylvania — The  Maryland 
Legislature  deprive  and  divest  Mr.  Harford,  the  devisee  of 
Lord  Baltimore,  of  all  his  rights  and  lands  in  that  Prov- 
ince 3IQ-329 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Base  Transactions  of  Commissaries,  Quartermasters,  and 
Barrackmasters,  and  Engineers,  in  America. 

How  Long  Island  owners  of  horses  and  wagons,  used  in  the 
Campaign  of  1776,  were  defrauded  by  the  Quartermaster — 
The  new  method  adopted  by  him  in  that  of  1777 — His  im- 
mense gains — Negro  drivers  receipt  by  marks  for  great  sums 
— ^£150,000  sterling  realized  by  him  in  1777  and  1778  — 
Unknown  amount  obtained  in  the  two  previous  years — He 
resigns  and  goes  to  England  in  1778 — His  successor  makes 
a  fortune,  and  resigns  in  1779 — A  third  does  the  same  in 
1780,  and  a  fourth  in  1 78 1 — Sir  Guy  Carleton  puts  an  end 
to  the  peculations  of  the  fifth  in  1782 — All  unoccupied 
houses,  both  of  Loyalists  and  Rebels,  King's  College,  and 
all  Dutch,  Presbyterian,  and  Quaker  Meeting  Houses  in 
New  York  and  its  vicinity  seized  by  Barrackmasters  in 
1776,  as  quarters  for  the  arm)',  at  a  fixed  rate  of  hire — The 
Crown  regularly  charged  for  it — The  money  pocketed  by 
the  Barrackmasters — Immense  wood-cutting  frauds  per- 
petrated by  the  same  officers — Their  acute  methods  of 
operating — The  terribly  high  prices  of  fuel  in  New  York  ac- 
counted for — Why  Generals  Clinton,  Robertson,  and  Birch 
connived  at  this  fraud — The  Department  of  the  Commis- 


xxxvi 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


sary  of  Forage — Great  numbers  of  Deputies  and  Collectors 
and  other  officials  under  pay — How  he  got  receipts  signed 
with  blanks  for  the  amounts  to  be  filled  in  afterward — The 
Cattle  Commissary  and  his  method  of  defrauding — These 
two  Commissaries  both  Bostonians — All  these  officers  pay 
farmers  in  certificates,  which  their  agents  buy  up  at  a 
heavy  discount — The  Commissary  of  Artillery  buys  all 
horses  himself,  and  hires  them  to  the  Crown  for  his  own 
benefit — Montressor,  the  Engineer,  by  Howe's  orders,  in 
1776,  levels  all  the  American  fortifications  on  New  York 
and  Long  Island,  with  two  or  three  exceptions,  at  a  cost  of 
^150,000  sterling — Returns  to  England,  and  buys  a  town 
house  and  a  country  seat — Sir  Henry  Clinton,  in  1779, 
rebuilds  all  the  fortifications  on  Long  Island,  at  an  expense 
of  at  least  another  ^£  100,000  sterling — The  Engineer  also 
returns  to  England — In  1780,  the  fortifications  on  New 
York  Island  are  rebuilt,  and  300  beacons  put  up  all  round 
the  Island,  at  a  cost  of  ^150,000  sterling — Clinton's  life 
in  New  York  in  1780 — He  builds  more  fortifications,  en- 
trenched lines  and  canals  in  1 781,  to  defend  the  Island 
against  Washington  and  Rochambean,  at  an  expense  of 
^300,000  sterling— Several  rich  Engineers  return  to  Eng- 
land— Joshua  Loring,  Commissary  of  Prisoners,  and  Sir 
William  Howe — His  gains — The  handsome  Mrs.  Loring — 
A  Commissary  of  Prisoners  for  each  nationality  appointed 
— Cost  of  all  these  "  blood-sucking  harpies  "  in  New  York 
and  in  America,  during  the  War  330~352 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Events  and  Military  Operations  in  1780. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  captures  Charleston— Tarleton's  raid  to 
Wrexham,  105  miles,  in  two  days — Its  capture — South 
Carolina  submits  and  renews  its  allegiance — Why  its  civil 
government  was  not  restored,  a  mystery — Indiscriminate 
plundering  permitted  by  Cornwallis — The  consequence  a 
general  disgust,  indignation,  and  a  second  revolt  of  its 
people — They  join  the  American  forces  under  Green — The 
British  army  driven  under  the  walls  of  Charleston — On  the 
reduction  of  Charleston,  Clinton  sails  for  New  York — 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


xxxvii 


Knyphausen,  who  was  left  in  command  in  New  York,  en- 
deavors to  bring  Washington  to  battle  in  Jersey,  in  June, 
1780— Is  suddenly  ordered  back  to  Siaten  Island  by  Clin- 
ton on  his  arrival  there — Clinton  embarks  his  army  and 
sails  up  the  Hudson  to  Phillipsburgh  and  lands  in  West- 
chester— A  line  of  vessels,  16  miles  long,  established  to 
prevent  Washington  from  crossing  the  Hudson — West- 
chester ravaged  by  Clinton's  troops — De  Ternay's  fleet 
with  Rochambeau's  army,  arrive  at  Newport — Admiral  Ar- 
buthnot  calls  on  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  New  York 
for  seamen  to  man  his  fleet — 2.000  seamen  volunteers  pro- 
cured in  twenty-four  hours — He  sends  expresses  to  Clinton 
for  a  joint  attack  on  the  French  at  Rhode  Island — Clinton 
takes  no  notice  of  them — Arbuthnot  sails  for  Gardiner's 
Island  Sound — A  month  later  Clinton  marches  to  Throgg's 
Point,  embarks  his  army,  and  sails  thirty  miles  to  Hunt- 
ington, on  Long  Island — Lies  there  a  fortnight  and  returns 
to  New  York — Several  regiments  landed  at  Whitestone — 
Clinton,  with  an  escort  of  the  17th  Light  Dragoons,  goes 
down  Long  Island  to  Southold  to  hold  a  personal  inter- 
view with  Arbuthnot — Sends  an  aid  from  Southold  to  the 
Admiral  requesting  a  conference — Arbuthnot  indignantly 
refuses,  and  goes  to  sea — Clinton  returns  to  New  York — 
End  of  the  joint  attempt  on  Rhode  Island — How  Long 
Islanders  were  plundered  in  the  winter  of  1780 — Flushing 
denuded  of  four-footed  animals  except  dogs — How  David 
Colden's  guarded  ox  was  stolen — Brigadier-General  Kor- 
man  hangs  three  Loyalists  in  Jersey  in  spite  of  Clinton's 
threats  of  retaliation  on  three  prisoners  in  New  York — 
Clinton  does  nothing,  and  shortly  after  releases  the  three 
men — Clinton's  survey  of  all  Long  Island,  begun  in  1780 
and  continued  till  October,  1781 — Its  (object  a  conjecture 
— Believed  to  be  a  job  for  a  favorite  Engineer — Had  as 
much  pains  been  taken  to  end  the  rebellion  as  there  was  to 
rob  the  Treasury,  two  years  would  have  finished  the  war — 
Washington,  in  Westchester,  in  the  fall  of  1 780,  foraging — 
Clinton  does  not  disturb  him — Scandalous  breach  of  faith 
with  Long  Island  farmers  by  General  Robertson,  regarding 
forage — Clinton's  whole  course  the  result  of  the  advice  of 
William  Smith,  by  whom  he  was  absolutely  governed..  .353-369 


xxxviii 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Arnold's  Plot  and  Treason,  in  1780 — The  Southern 

Campaign. 

Arnold's  Plot — Andre  lands  under  the  sanction  of  a  flag — 
Discussion  on  this  point — Joshua  Hett  Smith — Andre's 
change  of  clothes  unaccountable — Conducted  across  the 
River  by  Smith — He  is  captured  and  taken  before  Major 
Talmadge — Discovery  of  the  secret  papers — Erroneous 
statement — An  express  sent  to  Arnold — The  latter's  escape 
to  the  Vulture  under  the  sanction  of  a  flag — His  great  com- 
pensation for  his  treason — Chaslellux's  account  of  him — 
Andre's  trial — Clinton's  weak  and  irresolute  efforts  to  save 
his  life — Sends  two  civilians  and  Governor  Robertson  to  re- 
monstrate with  Washington  on  this  purely  military  matter — 
Robertson,  as  a  General,  allowed  to  go  on  shore — The  civil- 
ians refused  permission  to  land — Interview  with  Greene — 
Andre  hanged — Severe  letter  in  the  New  Jersey  Gazette  of 
October  18th,  to  Clinton — Andre's  letter  requesting  to  be 
shot — Clinton  confines  twenty  men  taken  as  spies  in  New 
York,  in  the  Prevost,  whom  Robertson  assured  Washington 
he  would  hang  if  Andre  was  executed — Washington,  know- 
ing the  man,  despises  his  threats — Ten  days  after  Andre's 
execution  Clinton  lets  the  twenty  men  all  go,  without  even 
taking  their  parole — Joshua  Hett  Smith's  trial — Erroneous 
statement  that  he  was  acquitted — He  escapes  to  New  York — 
His  transformation  to  a  poor  persecuted  Loyalist — Pen- 
sioned by  Clinton— How  the  two  Smiths,  William  and  Joshua 
Hett,  were  taken  care  of  after  the  peace  of  1783 — Belief  of 
the  Loyalists  that  Joshua  Hett  Smith  betrayed  Andre — The 
Southern  campaign — Cornwallis  and  Gates  each  attempt  to 
surprise  the  other — Meet  unexpectedly  and  fight  the  battle 
of  Camden — Defeat  of  Gates — Death  of  De  Kalb — Tarle- 
ton's  surprise  and  rout  of  Sumter — Defeat  of  Ferguson  at 
Hanging  Mountain  by  the  Americans — Tarleton's  second 
surprise  and  defeat  of  Sumter — Leslie  arrives  at  Charleston 
with  2,000  fresh  troops  370-388 

[See  Editor's  Note,  LXXV.] 


TABLE  OF  EDITOR'S  NOTES 

TO 

THE  FIRST  VOLUME. 


[  The  figures  in  parentheses  show  the  pages  of  the  text  to  which  the  notes  refer.} 


NOTE  I. 

PAGB 

The  Independent  Reflector  and  the  Watch  Tower.    {Page  6). .  391 

NOTE  II. 

The  Act  of  1693  for  Settling  a  Ministry,  etc. — "The  Vestry  of 
the  City  of  New  York "—"  The  Vestry  of  the  Parish  of 
Trinity  Church " — The  First  Rector  of  Trinity  Church. 
(Page  7)   392 

NOTE  III. 

The  Title  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York.    {Pages  8-10)   402 

NOTE  IV. 

Descent  of  William  Livingston,  and  the  Wife  of  William  Smith, 

from  Anneke  Jans.    {Page  10)   413 

NOTE  V. 

Harsh  invective  in  the  King's  College  Controversy.  {Page  12).  415 


NOTE  VI. 

The  Irish  Petition  against  the  Charter  of  King's  College. 

(Pages  14,  15)   415 


xl 


TABLE  OF  EDITOR'S  NOTES. 


NOTE  VII. 

PAGE 

The  King's  College  controversy  and  the  "  Watch  Tower." 

{Page  16)   416 

NOTE  VIII. 

The  Dutch  Church,  its  internal  quarrel  with  the  English  Pres- 
byterian party,  and  its  lawsuit  of  1763.    {Pages  21-23)....  4*8 

NOTE  IX. 

The  "Watchman's"  doctrine  in  political  controversy.  {Page 
23)   425 

NOTE  X. 

How  the  posting  of  McDougall's  libels  was  effected.  {Page  24).  426 

NOTE  XI. 

The  Libel  for  which  McDougall  was  indicted — Gov.  Colden's 
account  of  him  and  his  arrest,  and  his  own  statement. 
{Pages  26-33)   426 

NOTE  XII. 

Authorship  of  the  Pamphlet  "  A  Review  of  the  Military  Opera- 
tions," etc.,  in  a  Letter  to  a  Noble  Lord.    {Page  29). . . .  436 

NOTE  XIII. 

The  Committees  of  "Fifty"  and  "Fifty-one"  of  1774,  and 

their  Origin.    {Page  34)   438 

NOTE  XIV. 

Proceedings  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  "  Fifty- 
one,"  and  appointment  of  delegates  to  the  Congress  of 
1774.    {Page  35)   449  ' 

NOTE  XV. 

The  Action  of  New  York  and  the  Congress  of  1774 — How 
viewed  by  the  Governor  of  New  York  and  the  British  Min- 
istry— The  Dinner  given  to  the  Congress  at  the  State 
House  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  toasts  drank.  {Page  36). .  468 


TABLE  OF  EDITORS  NOTES. 


xli 


NOTE  XVI. 

PAGE 

The  Committee  of  Sixty  and  its  action — The  Election  and 
Fight  of  March  6th — The  First  Provincial  Convention  and 
the  Election  of  the  General  Committee  of  One  Hundred. 
{Page  37)   477 

NOTE  XVII. 

The  Action  of  the  New  York  Assembly  in  1774,  and  the  ac- 
counts of  it,  and  of  affairs  in  New  York  in  1775,  by  Gov- 
ernors Colden  and  Tryon.    {Pages  36,  37)   490 


NOTE  XVIII. 

The  New  York  "Association"  drawn  by  James  Duane,  John 
Jay,  and  Peter  Van  Schaack,  and  the  signing  of  it.  [Pages 
41-43)   5°S 

NOTE  XIX. 

Proceedings  of  the  last  Assembly  of  the  Province  of  New  York, 
January  10th  to  April  3d,  1775,  and  its  measures  of  re- 
dress for  the  Grievances  of  America.    (Page  36)   506 


NOTE  XX. 

The  New  York  and  New  Hampshire  controversy — Surprise  of 
Ticonderoga — Benedict  Arnold — Ethan  Allen — The  Reso- 
lutions of  the  Continental  Congress  upon  the  capture  dis- 
obeyed— The  Surprise  of  the  Fort  at  Lake  George  by  New 
Yorkers.    (Page  47)   543 


NOTE  XXI. 

Lexington  and  Bunker's  Hill — Harrington's  account  of  the 
former,  and  Burgoyne's  views  of  the  latter.  (Page  39  and 
page  50   55i 


NOTE  XXII. 


Iniquities  and  Plunderings  of  British  Military  Officials  before, 

and  at,  the  evacuation  of  Boston.    (Page  54)   555 


xlii  TABLE  OF  EDITOR'S  NOTES. 

NOTE  XXIII. 

PAGE 


The  Double  Reception  of  Washington  and  Tryon  on  the  25th 
June,  1775,  by  order  of  the  New  York  Provincial  Congress. 
(Pages      56)   555 

NOTE  XXIV. 

The  cousinship  of  Schuyler  and  William  Smith  a  mistake — 

Tryon  and  Schuyler.    (Page  58)   556 

NOTE  XXV. 

Sears  and  the  supplies  sent  to  General  Gage  from  New  York. 

(Page  58,  note)   557 

NOTE  XXVI. 

The  information  from  Egbert  Dumond  which  caused  Governor 

Tryon  to  take  Refuge  on  board  ship.     (Page  61)   559 


NOTE  XXVII. 
Sears  and  Rivington — Concerning  the  Liberty  of  the  Press — 


Why  the  former  destroyed  the  latter's  printing  house, 
and  how  Samuel  Loudon  became  the  first  "State  Printer" 
of  New  York.    (Pages  65,  66)   561 

NOTE  XXVIII. 

Queens  County  opinion — Heard's  Expedition  there — Proceed- 
ings of  Lee  and  Sears.    (Page  68)   568 

NOTE  XXIX. 


Treaty  of  Congress  with  the  Indians  at  Albany  in  July,  1775 — 
Sir  John  Johnson  defended  by  the  Mohawks,  who  declare 
for  Neutrality — The  Stockbridges  take  up  the  hatchet  for 


the  Colonies.    (Page  71)   573 

NOTE  XXX. 

Schuyler's  expedition  to  Johnstown — How  it  originated  and 

was  carried  out.    (Pages  72,  73)   578 


TABLE  OF  EDITOR'S  NOTES. 


xliii 


NOTE  XXXI. 

PAGE 


Why  Sir  John  Johnson  left  Johnson  Hall — Released  from  his 
parole  by  Schuyler — Lady  Johnson  arrested  and  kept  as 
a  hostage — Action  of  Schuyler,  Washington,  Lady  Johnson, 
and  the  New  York  Convention — Their  personal  and  official 
statements — The  births,  marriage,  and  deaths  of  Sir  John 
and  Lady  Johnson.    (Pages  74-81)   583 

NOTE  XXXII. 

The  Resolution  of  the  Continental  Congress  of  the  6th  of  Janu- 
ary>  1 776,  on  the  defence  or  destruction  of  New  York,  at 
the  approach  of  the  British  Eorces.    {Page  84)   593 

NOTE  XXXIII. 

The  Mission  from  Congress  to  Canada- — Its  Roman  Catholic 

members. — Its  result.    (Page  yt)   595 

NOTE  XXXIV. 

The  riding  of  Tories  on  rails  through  the  streets  of  New  York. 

(Page  10 1 )   596 


NOTE  XXXV. 

Mrs.  Jones,  Washington,  Stirling,  and  the  pass  of  July  4,  1776 — 
Her  return  home  without  its  use,  notwithstanding  Wash- 
ington's order,  by  the  aid  of  Anthony  Rutgers.  (Pages 


i°3»  104)   598 

NOTE  XXXVI. 

The  two  Armies  at  New  York  in  1776 — Their  size  and  condi- 
tion.   (Pages  1 1  o,  112)....   599 

NOTE  XXXVII. 


The  Landing  of  the  British,  cowardice  of  the  Connecticut 
troops,  and  Washington's  anger  and  despair  at  Kip's  Bay, 
on  Sunday,  the  15th  of  September,  1776 — Escape  of  Silli- 
man's  Brigade  from  Bayard's  Hill — Action  of  the  16th  at 


xliv 


TABLE  OF  EDITOR'S  NOTES. 


PAGE 

Harlem  Heights — Silliman  saved  on  the  15th  by  Aaron 
Burr — Burr's  projected  History  of  the  Revolution,  and 
his  statement  regarding  the  real  actors  therein,  and  the  com- 
mon accounts  of  that  period — An  early  Connecticut  pro- 
jectile.   {Page  119)   604 

NOTE  XXXVIII. 

The  Great  Fire  in  New  York  on  September  21,  1776 — The 
official  and  contemporary  statements  of  the  event,  and  the 
occurrences  before  and  after  it  happened.  (Page  120) ....  611 

NOTE  XXXIX. 

Throg's  Neck,  and  why  the  British  landed  there  in  October, 

1776.    (Page  122)   620 

NOTE  XL. 

The  Battle  of  White  Plains — State  of  things  after  it — Burning 
of  the  Village  by  the  Americans — Possible  reason  of 
Howe's  sudden  march  towards  Tarrytown.    (Page  123).  . .  621 

NOTE  XLI. 

The  Capture  of  Mount  Washington  on  the  16th  of  November, 
1 776 — Its  cause,  the  Treason  of  the  Adjutant  of  its  Com- 
mander— Heroism  of  Margaret  Corbin.  (Page  124)   626 

NOTE  XfJI. 

The  advice  of  Congress  to  the  people  of  Philadelphia  to  ap- 
ply to  Sir  William  Howe  for  protection,  in  December, 
1776.    (Page  127)   636 

NOTE  XLI II. 

The  Rhode  Island  Expedition  of  1776  a  mistake — Sir  Henry 

Clinton's  private  views.    (Page  129)   639 

NOTE  XLIV. 

Indecisive  results  of  the  campaign  of  1776 — One  of  the  causes. 

(Page  134)   640 


TABLE  OF  EDITOR'S  NOTES.  xlv 
NOTE  XLV. 

PAGE 

Connecticut's  political  action  and  opinion  in  December,  1776. 

— Releases  imprisoned  Loyalists.    (Page  135)   641 

NOTE  XLVI. 

The  plunder  and  destruction  of  Libraries  by  the  British  Forces. 

(Page  138)   641 


NOTE  XLVII. 

William  Smith  and  the  New  York  Provincial  Convention — 
Aids  in  framing  a  Constitution  for  the  State — His  name 
not  put  in  the  Act  of  Attainder,  nor  his  Estate  Confiscated 
— His  will  and  death.    (Page  143  and  page  150)   642 

NOTE  XLVIII. 
Major  Colden  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Keteltas.    {Page  146-149) . . .  647 

NOTE  XLIX. 

The  De  Lanceys  of  New  York — Their  origin.    (Page  154)  .  . .  649 

NOTE  L. 

James  De  Lancey,  Chief  Justice,  and  Lieutenant-Governor,  of 


New  York,  and  his  descendants.   (Page  155)   656 

NOTE  LI. 

Peter  De  Lancey  of  Westchester,  General  Oliver  De  Lancey  of 
New  York,  and  their  children — Susanna,  Lady  Warren, 
and  Jane,  Mrs.  Watts,  and  their  children.    (Page  156).  . .  660 

NOTE  LII. 

Sketches  of  the  Earl  of  Carlisle,  William  Eden,  and  Governor 
Johnstone,  Commissioners  for  Restoring  Peace  to  America, 
and  of  Andrew  Elliott,  Collector  and  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  New  York.    (Page  160)   663 


xlvi 


TABLE  OF  EDITOR'S  NOTES. 


NOTE  Lin. 

PACE 


John  R.  Livingston  and  the  murder  of  Captain  Erasmus  John 

Phillips.    (Page  171)   665 

NOTE  LIV. 

Captain  Dunbar  and  the  inhuman  treatment  of  his  wife  by  the 

Authorities  of  Connecticut.    (Page  175)   666 

NOTE  LV. 

Extent  of  the  burning  of  Danbury.    (Page  177)   667 

NOTE  LVI. 

Major  Return  J.  Meigs's  Expedition  to  Sag  Harbor,  and  his  pa- 
role.   (Page  182)   668 

NOTE  LVII. 

The  Plundering  and  Burning  of  the  Seat  of  General  De  Lancey, 
at  Bloomingdale,  and  the  barbarous  treatment  of  the 
ladies  of  his  family  by  the  Americans,  November,  1777. 
(Page  185)   669 

NOTE  LVIII. 

Howe's  movement  to  the  Head  of  Elk — Lee's  capture  and 

treason — Colonel  Harcourt.    (Page  190)   671 

NOTE  LIX. 

The  relative  forces  of  the  two  Armies  in  the  Burgoyne  Cam- 
paign of  1777,  at  its  commencement,  and  at  the  surrender. 
(Page  198)   674: 

NOTE  LX. 

Burgoyne — Causes  of  his  failure — His  injustice  to  the  Provin- 
cials— Colonel  John  Peters — Original  Documents  from  the 
Peters  MSS— Colonel  Philip  Skene— His  fatal  advice  to 
the  Commander-in-Chief.    (Pages  198-210)   6S1 


TABLE  OF  EDITOR'S  NOTES. 


xlvii 


NOTE  LXI. 

PAGH 

Sir  William  Howe's  orders  to  co-operate  with  Burgoyne  for- 


gotten to  be  sent  by  Lord  Germaine,  and  found  in  London 
after  the  latter's  Surrender.    {-Page  208)   695 

NOTE  LXII. 

Congress  and  the  Convention  of  Saratoga.    (Page  212)   698 

NOTE  LXI  1 1. 

The  Battle  of  Oriskany  and  its  Effect — Hercheimer,  Willett, 

Gansevoort.    {Page  214)   700 

NOTE  LXIV. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton's  MS.  Account  of  his  Hudson  River  Expedi- 
tion, why  undertaken,  and  why  abandoned  after  the  cap- 
ture of  the  Highland  Forts  and  Kingston.    {Page  218).  . .  704 

NOTE  LXV. 

The  American  Prison-ships  or  "  Fleet  Prison  "  at  Esopus  Land- 
ing— Horrid  treatment  of  the  prisoners.    (Page  220)   705 

NOTE  LXVI. 


History  of  the  Supreme  Court,  from  the  death  of  Chief-Justice 

De  Lancey  in  1760  to  the  Revolution.    (Pages  22 1-235)  .  711 

NOTE  LXVI I. 

Justice  Robert  R.  Livingston  opposed  to  independence  of 

Great  Britain — His  sudden  death.    (Page  233,  note  1).. . .  712 

NOTE  LXVI  1 1. 

Sir  William  Howe's  inefficiency  in  1778 — Thwarts  Galloway's 
military  expeditions  against  the  Americans — Advises  the 
Loyalists  of  Philadelphia  to  submit  to  Washington  on  the 
Evacuation  of  that  City — Loyalist  Poetry  urging  him  to 
action  in  the  spring  of  1778.    (Page  236)   714 


xlviii 


TABLE  OF   EDITORS  NOTES. 


NOTE  LXIX. 

PAGB 

The  Mischianza,  its  scene,  its  actors,  and  the  strange  similar- 
ity between  the  device  on  the  invitation  ticket  and  the 
Arms  of  the  State  of  New  York  devised  in  the  autumn  of 
1777  by  Governor  Clinton  and  Chancellor  Robert  R.  Liv- 
ingston.   {Pages  241-251)   716 

NOTE  LXX. 

The  Author's  severe  review  of  the  services  of  the  two  Howes 
— Why  the  numbers  of  both  Armies  were  exaggerated — 
La  Fayette's  testimony — Who  the  Howes  were,  and  their 
titles.    (Pages  252-261)   721 

NOTE  LXXI. 

The  Murder  and  Robbery  of  John  Richards,  of  Passaic,  New 

Jersey,  in  1778.    (Page  280)   723 

NOTE  LXXII. 

Carlisle  and  Roberts — Their  trial  and  execution  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1778.    (Page  282)   724 

NOTE  LXXIII. 

Colonel  Maitland  at  the  Siege  of  Savannah — His  Death — Con- 
temporary tribute  to  his  memory.    (Page  291)   725 

NOTE  LXXIV. 

General  Montgomery — His  Birth — Career — The  garrison  of 
Quebec  ready  for  his  attack  on  the  31st  of  December, 
1775,  in  consequence  of  an  officer's  presentiment.  (Page 
3°9)   727 

NOTE  LXXV. 

Arnold's  Treason — Andre" — Who  his  Captors  were — Sir  Henry 
Clinton's  MS.  account  of  the  Plot — Did  Andre  land  under 
Sanction  of  the  Flag? — Joshua  Hett's  Smith's  Trial — The 
Families  of  Andre  and  of  Arnold.    (Pages  370-385)   730 


INTRODUCTION 

AND 

MEMOIR  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 


New  York  was  the  foremost  of  the  European  colonies  in 
America  in  establishing,  asserting,  and  maintaining  the  true 
principles  of  civil  liberty  and  religious  toleration — principles 
and  toleration  brought  with  them  from  Holland  by  her  Dutch 
founders,  and  maintained  zealously  during  the  entire  Dutch 
rule,  and  that  too  sometimes  against  the  arbitrary  acts  of  her 
own  chief  officers.  The  principles  laid  down  in  the  grand  pre- 
amble to  the  immortal  declaration  of  the  States  General  of 
the  United  Provinces,  of  the  26th  of  July,  1 581,  deposing  the 
King  of  Spain  from  the  sovereignty  of  the  Low  Countries — 
"  the  grandest  state  paper  of  that  age,"  as  it  has  been  well 
called — were  the  principles  planted  in  New  York  by  the  same 
people,  nearly  thirty  years  later,  long  before  the  feet  of 
any  "  Pilgrims  "  had  pressed  the  soil  of  New  England.  And 
when  the  English  succeeded  the  Dutch,  they  wisely  made  no 
attempt  to  change  the  Dutch  polity,  except  as  to  the  alle- 
giance of  the  people  of  New  Netherland.  The  great  Bill  of 
Rights  enacted  by  the  legislative  authority  of  New  York  on 
October  30th,  1683 — the  "  Charter  of  Liberties  and  Privi- 
leges "  of  New  York — laid  down  the  self-same  principles  of 
political  liberty  and  political  rights,  the  violation  of  which  by 
Great  Britain  and  her  King,  resulted  in  the  acknowledged  in- 
dependence of  America  just  a  century  later,  in  1783.  This 
Charter  of  Liberties,  assented  to  by  the  Duke  of  York,  antici- 
pated the  Bill  of  Rights  of  Massachusetts  eight  years,  and 


1  INTRODUCTION. 

that  of  England  herself  five  years.  When  that  prince  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  of  England,  a  few  years  later,  and  his 
proprietary  right  was  merged  in  that  of  the  crown,  he  at- 
tempted to  do  away  with  the  "  Charter  of  Liberties,"  and  the 
province  was  at  once  thrown  into  those  political  contests  and 
controversies  which,  increased  by  the  neglect  of  this  colony 
and  the  others  in  America  by  William  the  Third,  who  was 
wholly  absorbed  in  European  questions,  lasted  in  one  form 
or  other  throughout  the  English  rule.  The  principles  of 
the  Charter  of  Liberties  and  Privileges  were  successfully 
maintained  during  that  rule  by  the  party  which  was  gen- 
erally in  power,  and  were  also  embodied  in  the  three  powerful 
papers,  the  "Petition  to  the  King,"  the  "Memorial  to  the 
House  of  Lords ,"  and  the  "  Representation  and  Remonstrance 
to  the  House  of  Commons ,"  which  the  Loyal  New  York  As- 
sembly of  1775  sent  to  the  Sovereign  and  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain,  which  now  are  hardly  known  to  modern  American 
writers,  and  which,  by  more  than  a  year,  anticipated  in  strong 
language  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
In  no  one  of  the  Colonies  was  true  civil  liberty  so  success- 
fully maintained  as  in  New  York  during  her  entire  colonial 
existence. 

It  is  strange,  but  true,  that  from  the  period  of  the  English 
revolution  to  that  of  the  attempted  establishment  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  British  Parliament  in  America,  in  1764-65, 
the  history  of  New  York  has  not  yet  been  written.  Histo- 
rians of  the  United  States  have  dismissed  it  with  but  slight 
mention  and  without  vouchsafing  reasons.  It  is  as  instruc- 
tive politically,  as  it  is  interesting,  very  varied  in  character, 
and  often  heroic  in  incident. 

When,  at  the  close  of  the  French  war,  the  movement  to  bind 
America  in  all  cases  whatever  by  acts  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment began,  the  author  of  this  history  was  in  the  prime  of  life. 
He  witnessed  its  commencement,  its  progress,  and  its  final 
result  as  it  affected  New  York  ;  and  he  has  given  us  the  ac- 
count, observations,  and  comments  of  an  eye-witness  of  acute 
intelligence,  who  was  in  a  position  official  and  social  to  know 
perfectly  the  events  he  was  describing,  and  the  parties  and  per- 


INTRODUCTION. 


li 


sons  who  took  part  therein  on  all  sides,  rather  than  a  formal 
history,  in  the  ordinary  meaning  of  the  term.  Solely 
for  his  opinions  and  views  he  was  a  personal  sufferer,  even 
to  imprisonment,  confiscation,  banishment,  and  forfeiture 
of  his  life  if  he  returned  to  his  native  land  ;  and  he  died 
and  was  buried  in  exile.  Naturally,  therefore,  he  has  some- 
times spoken  strongly  ;  and  he  would  have  been  more  than 
man  had  he  not  done  so.  Yet  strongly  as  he  sometimes 
speaks  of  the  Whig  leaders,  and  especially  of  certain  Whig 
trimmers  of  the  Revolutionary  era,  he  speaks  still  more 
strongly  of  the  leaders  and  commanders  on  his  own  side, 
whose  falsity,  corruption,  doublc-facedncss,  and  timidity,  he 
describes  and  exposes.  He  favors  neither  side,  and  he  has 
given  us  an  account  of  each,  which,  though  occasionally  too 
pointed  for  good  taste  in  its  language,  is  nevertheless  racy, 
clear,  consistent,  and  in  the  main  correct.  Whatever  his 
views  and  statements,  regarding  both  friends  and  foes,  no  fair- 
minded  person  can  read  his  work  without  being  convinced  of 
the  honesty  of  the  author's  belief  in  what  he  has  written. 

His  work  is  the  only  contemporary  history  of  New  York, 
in  the  American  Revolution,  by  one  who  was  living  there  at 
the  time,  and  is  hence  as  unique  as  it  is  valuable.  He  was, 
also,  in  virtue  of  his  judicial  office,  and  his  dwelling  within  the 
British  lines,  and  his  being  for  ten  months  altogether  a  pri- 
soner in  Connecticut,  a  participator  in  some  of  the  scenes  he 
describes,  and  therefore  his  evidence  as  to  the  facts  is  im- 
portant. "  Contemporary  memoirs  by  persons  who  make  as 
well  as  write  history,"  says  that  learned  statesman,  the  late  Sir 
George  Cornewall  Lewis,  Bart.,  "  may  sometimes  be  apolo- 
gies for  the  conduct  of  the  author  ;  sometimes  they  may  be 
warped  by  the  bias  of  the  party  to  which  he  belonged  ;  yet 
they  have  this  great  merit,  that  where  they  err,  it  is  not 
through  ignorance  of  the  facts  ;  and  that  the  author  was  able, 
if  he  was  willing,  to  state  the  events  as  they  really  happened." 

"  What  book  have  you  got  hold  of,  William?"  was  the 
question  Chief-Justice  John  Jay  put  to  a  young  kinsman 
whom  he  had  known  from  birth,  on  finding  him  one  morn- 
ing, in  his  library  at  Bedford  intently  reading.     "  Botta's 


lii 


INTRODUCTION. 


History  of  the  American  Revolution,"  was  the  reply. 
"  The  History  of  the  American  Revolution  !  Well  !  Botta's 
is  the  last,  and  perhaps  the  best ;  but  let  me  tell  you, 
William,"  pointing  his  forefinger  at  the  latter  with  a  sig- 
nificant gesture,  and  emphasizing  the  adjective  and  the  ad- 
verb, "the  true  history  of  the  American  Revolution  can 
never  be  written."  Surprised  at  so  strong  a  remark,  his 
auditor  naturally  desired  to  know  the  reasons  ;  but  the  vener- 
able man  slowly  shaking  his  head  declined  to  give  them,  say- 
ing, "  You  must  be  content  to  know  that  the  fact  is  as  I  have 
said,  and  that  a  great  many  people  in  those  days  were  not  at 
all  what  they  seemed,  nor  what  they  are  generally  believed 
to  have  been."  The  "  William  "  to  whom  the  Chief-Justice 
said  this,  and  who  told  it  to  the  writer,  was  the  latter's  own 
father,  William  Hcathcote  de  Lancey,  then  a  young  clergy- 
man, and  subsequently  the  first  Bishop  of  Western  New  York, 
who  at  the  time,  with  his  wife,  a  granddaughter  of  Mrs. 
Munro — Eve  Jay — the  Chief-Justice's  sister,  was  making 
their  venerable  relative  a  visit  at  Bedford.  The  conversation 
took  place  in  1821,  eight  years  before  the  death  of  the  Chief- 
Justice.  It  was  therefore  a  clear  statement,  made  without 
excitement,  in  the  calm  evening  of  his  life,  under  his  own 
roof,  and  to  his  own  connection,  by  the  very  man  who,  next 
to  Washington,  knew  most  thoroughly  the  facts  and  the  men 
of  the  Revolutionary  era. 

The  impulse  given  to  the  search  for  the  truth  in  regard  to 
the  American  Revolution,  of  late  years,  by  the  printing  of 
the  archives  of  so  many  of  the  thirteen  colonies  by  their  pres- 
ent State  governments  (the  foremost  of  all  in  the  good  work 
being  New  York),  and  of  some  of  those  of  the  United  States 
Government ;  by  the  publication  of  the  private  papers  of 
John  Adams,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Franklin,  and  others  of  the 
leaders  on  the  American  side  ;  by  the  elaborate  lives  and  cor- 
respondence of  many  of  the  prominent  statesmen  and  generals 
of  the  Revolutionary  era,  both  American  and  English  ;  by  the 
collections  of  the  older  Historical  Societies  ;  by  the  publi- 
cation of  the  private  letters  and  papers  of  private  persons  liv- 
ing during  the  war,  which  are  now  continually  appearing, 


INTRODUCTION. 


liii 


tends  to  show  that  in  the  future  a  history  of  the  American 
Revolution  may  be  written  much  truer  than  Chief-Justice  Jay 
could  have  imagined  when  he  made  the  striking  asseveration 
above  stated.  When  that  history  is  undertaken,  its  author 
will  find  the  present  work  not  the  least  valuable  of  the  materi- 
als for  his  purpose.  And  when  to  existing  materials  shall  be 
added  a  publication  of  the  papers  and  correspondence  of  John 
Jay  himself,  in  full,  similar  to  that  of  the  works  of  John 
Adams,  and  the  printing  of  the  papers  of  two  or  three  more 
of  the  statesmen  and  generals  of  the  revolution  still  in  exist- 
ence, he  will  have  greater  advantages  than  have  been  possessed 
by  any  other  historian  dead  or  living. 

The  author  of  this  history,  Judge  Thomas  Jones,  was  born 
on  the  30th  of  April,  173 1,  in  his  father's  house,  at  Fort 
Neck,  South  Oyster  Bay,  in  the  County  of  Queens  and 
Province  of  New  York.  He  was  the  eldest  son  and  third 
child  of  Judge  David  Jones,  twenty-one  years  a  member  of 
the  Assembly  of  New  York,  the  last  thirteen  of  which  he 
was  its  Speaker,  and  then  for  fifteen  years  more,  until  his 
resignation  on  account  of  the  infirmities  of  age,  a  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Province.  His  mother  was  Anna 
Willet,  second  daughter  of  Colonel  William  Willct,  of  Wil- 
let's  Point,  Westchester  County,  New  York,  a  great  grand- 
son of  that  Colonel  Thomas  Willet  who  came  from  Leydcn 
to  Plymouth  in  1632,  was  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  that 
colony,  accompanied  Sir  Richard  Nicolls  to  New  Amster- 
dam at  that  commander's  request  when  he  wrested  New 
Nctherland  from  the  Dutch  in  1664,  and  was  the  first  mayor 
of  the  city  of  New  York. 

Thomas  Jones,  of  Fort  Neck,  the  father  of  Judge  David 
Jones,  grandfather  of  Judge  Thomas  Jones,  the  first  of  his 
race  in  America,  and  ancestor  of  the  large  and  distinguished 
family  of  Jones  and  Floyd-Jones  of  Queens  County,  Nevv 
York,  was  a  Protestant  gentleman  of  Strabane,  in  the  County 
of  Tyrone  and  Province  of  Ulster,  in  Ireland,  about  150 
miles  northwest  from  Dublin,  where  he  was  born  about  the 
year  1665.  His'family,  which  was  from  England,  but  origi- 
nally of  Welsh  extraction,  had  been  long  seated  in  the  north 


liv 


INTRODUCTION. 


of  Ireland.  Taking  part  in  the  civil  war  of  the  period  he 
was  present  at  the  battles  of  the  Boyne,  in  1690,  of  Aghrim, 
in  1691,  and  at  the  siege  and  capitulation  of  Limerick  on  the 
3d  of  October,  in  the  latter  year,  which  ended  forever  the 
Stuart  power.  Many  of  the  Protestant  gentry  of  Ireland 
thought  that  the  rights  of  the  British  crown  should  not  be 
forfeited  because  of  the  religion  or  the  political  errors  of  the 
wearer  of  that  crown  for  the  time  being,  and  hence  took  up 
arms  in  its  defence. 

In  1692  Thomas  Jones  was  at  the  island  of  Jamaica  at  the 
time  of  the  destruction  of  Port  Royal  by  the  great  earthquake 
of  the  seventh  of  July,  being  engaged  in  one  of  the  numer- 
ous expeditions  under  letters  of  marque,  which  in  that  year 
swarmed  from  the  French  ports  to  take  part  in  the  then  war, 
and  in  which  so  many  of  the  English  and  Irish  officers  of 
James  II.  sought  service.  In  the  same  year,  however,  he  came 
to  Rhode  Island  and  gave  up  a  sea  life.  Not  long  after  his 
arrival  he  there  married  Freelove  Townsend,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Townsend  of  Oyster  Bay,  New  York,  and  of  War- 
wick, Rhode  Island,  who  was  born  December  29th,  1674. 
This  Thomas  Townsend  was  the  second  son  of  John  Town- 
send,  the  elder  of  the  Quaker  brothers  of  that  name  who  camo 
to  New  Amsterdam  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  from 
Norwich,  in  Norfolk,  England,  and  were  the  ancestors  of  the 
present  large  and  well-known  New  York  family  bearing  their 
name.  Involved  in  difficulties  with  the  Dutch  officials  on  ac- 
count of  his  Quakerism,  John  Townsend  retired  to  Rhode 
Island,  where  he  had  lands,  but  subsequently  returned  to 
Oyster  Bay,  and  died  there  in  1668.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth 
Montgomery,  and  their  second  son  was  the  Thomas  Town- 
send  above  named,  whose  daughter  was  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Jones.  In  1688  Thomas  Townsend  bought  of  the  Massapequa 
Indians  a  piece  of  land  at  South  Oyster  Bay,  which  he  after- 
wards gave  "  unto  Thomas  Jones  of  Oyster  Bay,  my  son-in- 
law,  and  to  Freelove  his  wife,  my  daughter,"  as  he  describes 
'  them  in  1695.  This  was  a  small  tract  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Massapequa  River  with  the  Great  South  Bay,  nearly  opposite 
the  opening  of  the  latter  into  the  Ocean,  known  as  "  Jones's 


INTRODUCTION. 


lv 


Inlet,"  and  to  it  Mr.  Jones  added,  by  purchases  from  the  In- 
dians and  from  the  neighboring  owners,  until  he  finally  ac- 
quired an  estate  of  about  six  thousand  acres.  The  largest 
part  of  it  was  called  from  the  two  Indian  fortifications  upon 
it,  the  larger  of  which  still  exists,  "  Fort  Neck,"  and  the 
smaller  part,  west  of  the  Massapequa,  "West  Neck,"  while 
to  the  east  of  Fort  Neck  is  a  third  Neck,  still  called  by  the 
Indian  name  of  "  Umpqua."  On  the  left  bank  of  the  Mas- 
sapequa, not  far  from  where  the  stream  is  now  crossed  by  the 
public  road,  Mr.  Jones  erected  in  1696  the  first  house  built 
of  bricks  so  far  east  upon  Long  Island,  and  from  its  material 
called  from  that  time  till  it  was  taken  down,  one  hundred 
and  forty  years  afterwards,  by  one  of  his  great-grandsons, 
"  The  Brick  House."  It  was  a  large,  heavy  building  of  two 
stories,  with  a  wing  on  one  side,  had  a  high  roof,  windows  in 
its  gables,  and  walls  of  great  thickness,  which  were  panelled 
inside  with  wood.  The  beams  were  cased  and  moulded  in 
the  style  of  that  day  in  England.  Here  he  dwelt  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life. 

On  March  2,  1699,  by  a  deed  under  seal  he  was  admitted 
an  associate  freeholder  under  the  original  patent  of  Oyster 
Bay,  granted  by  Governor  Andros,  September  29,  1677. 
This  deed,  executed  by  Josias  Latting,  Senior,  and  Mr. 
Jones's  father-in-law,  Thomas  Townsend,  recites  that  at  its 
date,  except  themselves,  none  of  the  other  patentees  were 
"  left  alive."  Lord  Cornbury,  the  Governor  of  New  York, 
commissioned  him  Captain  of  Militia  in  Queens  County, 
October  20,  1702.  Two  years  later,  on  October  14,  1704, 
he  was  appointed  High-Sheriff  of  Queens,  and  on  April  3, 
1706,  was  made  Major  of  the  Queens  County  Regiment. 
Hence  the  title  of  "  Major"  Thomas  Jones,  by  which  he  has 
always  been  designated.  Governor  Hunter  appointed  him 
"  Ranger  General  of  the  Island  of  Nassau,"  then  the  legal  name 
of  Long  Island.  The  commission  dated  September  4,  1710, 
bears  Hunter's  seal  of  arms,  is  countersigned  by  Secretary 
George  Clarke,  is  in  perfect  preservation,  and  authorizes  him 
to  perform  the  duties  cither  personally  or  by  deputy  in  each 
county  in  the  Island.   "  Rangers-General  "  were  sworn  officers 


Ivi 


INTRODUCTION. 


of  the  Crown,  to  whom  were  granted  by  the  sovereign,  or  his 
representative,  the  "Royal  rights"  or  franchises,  of  waifs, 
estrays,  hunting,  royal  fish,  treasure  trove,  mines,  deodands, 
forfeitures,  and  the  like.  This  office  gave  Major  Jones  the 
monopoly  of  the  whale  and  other  fisheries  from  the  shores  of 
Long  Island,  which  for  very  many  years  were  very  lucrative. 
The  limits  of  his  jurisdiction  were  from  Little  Neck  Bay  on 
the  north,  around  the  coast  of  the  whole  island,  to  Jamaica  Bay 
on  the  south  ;  and  over  all  ungranted  lands  within  its  limits. 

Major  Jones  died  on  the  13th  of  December,  17 13,  and  was 
buried  on  a  slight  elevation,  near  the  smaller  of  the  old  Indian 
fortifications  above  alluded  to,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Mas- 
sapequa.  Beside  him  lies  his  wife,  who  died  in  July,  1726. 
His  tombstone,  still  in  perfect  preservation,  made  of  the  hard 
red  sandstone  of  Rhode  Island,  bears  the  following  quaint  in- 
scription, written  by  himself ;  the  wish  in  the  last  lines  of 
which  has  certainly  been  fulfilled  in  a  very  remarkable  man- 
ner, as  this  memoir  will  show. 

"  Here  Lyes  Interred  The  Body  of 
Major  Thomas  Jones,  who  came  from 
Strabane,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland, 
Settled  here,  and  Died,  December,  1713. 
From  distant  Lands  to  this  Wild  Waste  he  came, 
This  Seat  he  chose,  and  here  he  fix'd  his  Name. 
Long  May  his  Sons  this  Peaceful  Spot  Injoy, 
And  no  111  Fate  his  Offspring  here  Annoy." 

He  had  by  his  wife,  who  survived  him  (and  who  married 
for  her  second  husband  Major  Timothy  Bagley,  a  retired 
British  officer,  by  whom  she  had  no  issue),  three  sons.  1. 
David  Jones,  of  Fort  Neck,  the  eldest,  born  in  1699,  the 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir  ;  2.  Thomas,  commis- 
sioned Major  of  the  Queens  County  Regiment,  August  23,  ' 
1734,  who  was  accidentally  drowned  in  the  Sound,  November 
13,  1741,  a  bachelor;  and,  3.  William,  of  West  Neck,  the 
youngest,  born  April  28,  1708,  and  died  29th  August,  1779, 
who  married  Phcebe,  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Jackson,  by 
whom  he  had  a  large  family. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ivii 


Judge  David  Jones,  eldest  son  of  Major  Thomas  Jones, 
was  born  the  16th  of  September,  1699,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
father's  deatli  was  only  fourteen  years  old.  Thenceforward 
his  education  was  directed  by  his  mother,  who  was  a  woman 
of  great  intelligence  and  ability,  to  whom,  by  a  special  clause 
in  his  will,  Major  Thomas  Jones  committed  the  entire  man- 
agement of  his  estates,  as  well  as  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren. She  was  baptized  in  1 702  by  the  famous  George  Keith  ; 
and  the  Rev.  John  Thomas,  who  was  sent  by  the  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  as  its  mission- 
ary to  Hempstead  in  1704,  was  named  as  a  co-executor  with 
Mrs.  Jones  by  Major  Jones  in  his  will,  and  was  probably  the 
instructor  of  her  eldest  son.  His  father  devised  to  him  and 
his  heirs  the  Port  Neck  estate  ;  to  his  other  two  sons  equally, 
the  West  Neck  property  and  his  other  real  estate  at  Hemp- 
stead, and  at  North  Oyster  Bay ;  and  bequeathed  his  personal 
estate  to  his  wife  and  daughters. 

David  Jones  became  a  successful  lawyer,  and  was  in  1734 
appointed  Judge  of  Queens  County,  and  in  1737  was  elected 
from  that  county  to  the  Assembly  of  New  York,  in  which  he 
represented  it  during  the  next  twenty-one  years.  Clear- 
headed, cool,  prompt,  and  decided,  he  took  a  leading  part  in 
that  body,  was  chosen  Speaker  on  June  25,  1745.  a"d  was  re- 
gularly re-elected  to  that  office  until  November  I,  1758,  when 
he  was  appointed  the  Fourth  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
New  York,  by  Lieutenant-Governor  de  Lancey,  and  was 
sworn  in  on  the  7th  of  the  following  December.  He  was 
made  Third  Justice  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Colden,  March 
31,  1762,  and  Second  Justice  by  Governor  Moncton,  March 
16,  1763.  He  was  an  able  judge  and  a  thorough  jurist,  and 
popular  with  both  the  bar  and  the  public.  He  served  ten  years 
after  his  last  appointment,  when  feeling  the  infirmities  of  age, 
he  resigned  in  the  autumn  of  1773,  and  was  succeeded  on  the 
bench  by  his  son,  Judge  Thomas  Jones,  who  at  the  time  was 
Recorder  of  the  City  of  New  York,  thus  happily  closing  a 
judicial  career  of  fifteen  years,  and  a  public  service  of  thirty- 
nine.  He  retired  to  his  estate  at  Fort  Neck,  and  three  years 
later  died  there  on  the  nth  of  October,  1775,  aged  seventy- 


Iviii 


INTRODUCTION. 


six  years  and  fourteen  days.  He  possessed  the  clearness 
of  mind  and  incisiveness  of  character  which  is  so  marked  a 
characteristic  of  his  race  ;  never  hesitated  in  doing  anything 
he  believed  to  be  right,  regardless  of  the  consequences  ;  and 
always  commanded  the  confidence  of  the  public  throughout  his 
long  career.  An  incident  of  his  legislative  life  well  illustrates 
his  decided  character.  While  he  was  Speaker,  a  certain  bill 
was  under  discussion  and  about  to  be  passed,  which  was  not 
acceptable  to  the  Governor,  who  suddenly  came  down  to 
the  House  to  prorogue  the  Assembly,  and  thus  effect  its 
defeat.  Informed  of  his  approach,  and  divining  his  object, 
Speaker  Jones  instantly  ordered  the  doors  to  be  closed,  and 
kept  closed,  till  he  ordered  them  to  be  opened.  The  bill  was 
at  once  passed,  and  not  till  then  was  his  Excellency  admitted. 

Judge  David  Jones  married  Anna  Willet,  November  22, 
1724,  who  died  January  31,  1750,  at  the  age  of  forty-six. 
They  had  issue,  six  children  : 

1.  Anna,  born  May  II,  1724,  who  married  John  Gale,  a 
lawyer  and  surrogate  of  Orange  County,  New  York. 

2.  Sarah,  born  February  12,  1728,  and  died  the  April  fol- 
lowing. 

3.  Thomas,  born  April  20,  173 1,  the  subject  of  this  me- 
moir. 

4.  Arabella,  born  December  7,  1735,  who  married  Col- 
onel Richard  Floyd,  fourth  of  the  name,  of  Mastic,  Suffolk 
County,  Long  Island. 

5.  David,  born  May  9,  1737,  who  died  a  bachelor,  Sep- 
tember 9,  1758,  at  "  the  Oneida  Carrying  Place,"  now 
Rome,  New  York,  on  his  return  from  the  taking  of  Fort 
Frontenac,  by  Colonel  Bradstreet,  in  whose  expedition  he 
was  a  Lieutenant. 

6.  Mary,  who  married  her  cousin,  Thomas,  one  of  the  sons 
of  her  uncle,  William. 

Judge  David  Jones  married  secondly,  Margaret,  widow  of 
John  Trcdwcll,  by  whom  he  had  no  issue. 

Thomas  Jones,  the  eldest  son  and  third  child  of  his  father, 


INTRODUCTION. 


after  receiving  the  best  education  of  the  day,  entered  Yale 
College  at  New  Haven,  then  under  President  Thomas  Clap, 
in  the  year  1746,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  graduated  Bache- 
lor of  Arts  four  years  afterwards,  in  1750.  The  leading  tu- 
tors at  that  time,  under  whose  instruction  he  was,  were  Ezra 
Stiles,  Timothy  Pitkin,  and  James  A.  Hillhouse,  all  so  well 
known  in  later  days.  Among  his  fellow-students  were  Gov- 
ernors Oliver  Wolcott  of  Connecticut,  and  Lyman  Hall  of 
Georgia,  Col.  Benjamin  Tallmadgc,  Chief-justice  Richard 
Morris,  and  John  C.  Cuyler  of  New  York,  Bishop  Scabury, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Ogilvie,  of  Trinity  Church,  President  Daggett, 
Samuel  Hopkins,  Joseph  Piatt  Cooke,  Judge  Richard  Law, 
Roswcll  and  Gurdon  Saltonstall,  Richard  Woodhull,  Moss 
Kent,  the  Rev.  Abraham  Ketcltas,  and  Gen.  Gold  Selleck 
Silliman,  in  retaliation  for  whom,  twenty-nine  years  after- 
ward, in  1779  he  was  captured  and  kept  a  prisoner  in  Con- 
necticut, and  finally  exchanged  in  the  spring  of  1780. 

His  legal  studies  were  probably  begun  under  his  father. 
He  was,  however,  it  is  believed,  entered  as  a  clerk  in  the 
office  of  the  Honorable  Joseph  Murray,  from  1744  to  his 
death  in  1758,  one  of  the  twelve  Councillors  of  the  Province 
by  Royal  Mandamus,  and  one  of  the  most  able  lawyers  and 
esteemed  men  of  that  day.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  great 
urbanity  and  cultivation,  and  dying  a  bachelor  bequeathed 
his  large  and  fine  library  to  King's  College,  by  his  will,  of 
which  he  appointed  Mr.  Jones  an  executor. 

Mr.  Jones  was  "  licensed  as  an  attorney,"  as  it  was  then 
called,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1755,  and  began  practice  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  Two  years  later,  on  February  8th,  1757,  he 
was  appointed  Clerk  of  the  Courts  of  the  County  of  Queens. 
His  practice  became  large,  as  some  of  his  books  still  in  exist- 
ence show.  For  many  years  while  at  the  bar  he  was  the  attor- 
ney of  the  Governors  of  King's  College,  one  of  whom  he  was, 
and  of  the  corporation  of  the  City  of  New  York.  His  warrant, 
as  the  latter,  is  under  the  seal  of  the  city,  signed  by  White- 
head Hicks,  Mayor,  and  bears  date  the  1 8th  of  December, 
1771. 

At  the  death  of  Mr.  Simon  Johnson,  who  had  been  for 


lx        .  INTRODUCTION. 

twenty-two  years  Recorder  of  the  City  of  New  York,  Mr. 
Thomas  Jones  was  appointed  to  that  office  by  Lieutenant 
Governor  Colden  on  the  19th  of  November,  1769,  and  was 
sworn  in  on  the  twenty-third  of  the  same  month.  This  was 
his  first  judicial  appointment.  On  October  8th,  1 77 1 ,  he  was 
reappointed  to  the  same  office  by  Governor  Tryon  "  during 
pleasure,"  the  tenure  of  the  commission  having  apparently 
been  modified  at  that  period.  He  was  succeeded  as  Re- 
corder October  13th,  1773, by  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Jr.,  after- 
wards the  Chancellor,  who  resigned  the  next  spring,  when 
John  Watts,  Jr.,  a  first  cousin  of  Judge  Jones's  wife,  was,  on 
April  14th,  1774,  appointed,  and  filled  the  office  till  the  end  of 
the  British  rule.  After  the  Revolution,  in  1789,  Samuel  Jones, 
a  first  cousin  of  Judge  Jones,  was  appointed  to  this  office,  and 
filled  it  till  1797,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  James  Kent, 
afterwards  the  great  Chancellor.  Upon  the  resignation  of 
his  father,  Judge  David  Jones,  as  above  mentioned  in  1773, 
Governor  Tryon  appointed  his  son  Thomas  Jones  to  the 
vacant  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Prov- 
ince. The  commission  bears  date  September  29th,  1773,  and 
he  was  sworn  in  before  the  governor  on  the  fourth  of  the 
following  October.  This  high  station  he  continued  to  fill 
till  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  original  com- 
missions of  Major  Thomas  Jones  of  Fort  Neck,  and  those  of 
the  two  judges,  his  son  and  grandson,  are  among  the  Jones 
family  papers  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  William  Floyd-Jones 
of  Massapequa,  the  next  youngest  brother  of  the  late  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor David  Richard  Floyd-Jones,  to  whom  they 
had  descended,  and  from  them  the  dates  in  this  memoir  are 
taken. 

Judge  Thomas  Jones  was  married  on  December  9,  1762, 
to  Anne,  third  daughter  of  James  de  Lancey,  Chief-Justice  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  York,  and  his  wife  Anne,  eldest 
daughter  of  the  Honorable  Caleb  Heathcotc.  The  record  of 
this  marriage  is  in  the  volume  entitled,  "  Register  of  Mar- 
riages for  the  Parish  of  Trinity  Church  in  the  City  of  New 
York,  commencing  the  30th  of  November  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  Christ,  1746,"  in  the  possession  of  that  parish.    In  1763 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ixi 


James  de  Lancey,  the  younger,  eldest  son  of  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  who  had  died  three  years  before  intestate,  gave  to 
his  sister,  Mrs.  Jones,  about  two  acres  of  land  on  the  highest 
part  of  his  estate  between  the  Bowery  and  the  East  River, 
"  adjoining  to  the  road  which  leads  from  the  Bowery  Lane 
to  Corlaers  Hook,"  as  the  deed  expresses  it.  Upon  this  fine 
site,  still,  though  graded  down  very  much,  the  highest  point 
of  that  part  of  the  city,  which  then  commanded  a  mag- 
nificent prospect,  extending  on  the  east  beyond  Hellgate, 
on  the  west  over  the  city  and  the  bay  to  the  shores  of 
Staten  Island  and  New  Jersey,  and  on  the  south  over  the 
East  River  and  the  heights  of  Long  Island,  Judge  Jones 
erected,  in  1765,  a  large  double  house  of  wood,  and  sur- 
rounded it  with  gardens.  This  place,  from  his  great  ad- 
miration of  the  character  and  the  political  principles  of  the 
great  Commoner  who  became  Earl  of  Chatham,  he  called 
"  Mount  Pitt,"  a  name  still  partially  preserved  in  that  of  Pitt 
Street,  which  runs  through  a  part  of  the  old  property  of 
Judge  Jones.  This  was  his  town  house,  and  he  was  so  much 
attached  to  it  that  after  his  father  built  the  stately  seat  at 
Fort  Neck,  of  which  a  view  is  given  in  the  second  volume  of 
this  work,  in  1770,  he  made  it  a  condition  of  the  devise 
of  the  Fort  Neck  estate  to  his  son,  that  he  should  reside 
there  at  least  three  months  in  every  year.  This  height  is 
distinguished  on  all  the  maps  of  the  city  as  either  "  Mount 
Pitt  "  or  "  Jones's  Hill."  When  in  the  summer  of  i776Gene- 
ral  Charles  Lee  first  threw  up  fortifications  around  New  York, 
he  fixed  on  this  point  as  the  site  of  a  large  redoubt,  which 
was  called  Jones's  Hill  Fort.  The  house  which  stood  to  the 
south  and  east  of  it  remained  till  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
when  it  was  moved  to  one  of  the  streets  cut  through  the 
property,  and  some  time  after  taken  down  entirely.  The 
fortifications  of  New  York  were  removed  two  or  three  times. 
The  British  entirely  demolished  all  Lee's  works  when  they 
took  possession  of  New  York,  and  replaced  them  with  others 
of  their  own.  These  in  turn  were  destroyed  by  order  of  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  and  the  last  ones  erected  by  his  orders  are 
these  shown  on  the  only  map  of  the  fortifications  of  New 


Ixii 


INTRODUCTION. 


York  in  existence,  that  made  by  Hill  in  I/82,  which  are  un- 
fortunately often  but  erroneously  supposed  to  be  the  Ameri- 
can works  of  1776,  and  have  even  been  reproduced  as  such 
very  recently. 

Prior  to  the  Revolution,  the  Supreme  Court  Judges  trav- 
elled the  circuits  into  which  the  province  was  divided,  pre- 
cisely as  was  done  by  the  Judges  in  England.  The  sheriffs 
were  expected  to  meet  them  on  their  coming  to  the  different 
county  towns,  and  it  was  the  etiquette  of  the  day  that  they 
should  not  lodge  at  the  same  houses  as  the  lawyers.  When 
they  held  court  they  sat  in  gowns  and  bands.  The  Colony 
Courts  continued  in  full  performance  of  their  duties  until 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  July,  1776.  Judge 
Jones,  whose  social  position  and  official  duties  had  made  him 
familiar  with  all  parts  of  the  Province  and  the  leading  men 
of  all  parties  and  shades  of  opinion,  held  the  last  courts 
in  New  York  under  the  crown,  for  unlike  some  of  his 
brethren,  he  shrank  not  from  the  duties  of  his  office  when 
the  political  skies  grew  dark.  The  last  courts  under  the 
king  were  held  for  Tryon  County,  at  Johnstown,  in  Oc- 
tober, 1775,  for  Westchester  County  at  White  Plains,  in 
November,  1775,  and  at  the  same  place  for  the  same  coun- 
ty, in  April,  1776,  the  account  of  the  last  of  which  he  de- 
scribes in  his  history.  One  of  its  incidents  was  his  dis- 
charging from  custody  several  persons  arrested  for  their 
loyal  sentiments  by  the  "committee"  of  Westchester,  as 
having  been  guiltless  of  any  crime  against  the  law  of  the  land. 
This  he  tells  us  was  afterwards  given  as  a  reason  for  put- 
ting his  name  in  the  Act  of  attainder,  and  confiscating  his 
estate. 

On  the  27th  of  June,  1776,  Judge  Jones  was  arrested  at 
his  house  at  Fort  Neck,  by  an  armed  party,  by  order  of  a 
Committee  of  the  New  York  Provincial  Congress,  upon  a 
charge  of  refusing  to  obey  a  summons  of  said  Committee, 
issued  on  the  14th  of  that  month,  to  show  cause  before  them 
on  the  25th,  why  he  "  should  be  considered  a  friend  of  the 
American  Cause."  He  was  brought  to  New  York,  and  dis- 
charged on  the  30th  by  Gouvcrneur  Morris,  the  only  one  of 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ixiii 


the  Committee  (of  nine)  who  attended,  upon  his  parole 
"  to  appear  at  such  time  and  place  as  a  Committee  of  the 
Congress  of  this  Colony  shall  upon  reasonable  notice  to  him 
given,  or  left  at  his  usual  place  of  abode,  direct."  On  the 
Ilth  of  the  succeeding  August,  prior  to  the  battle  of  Brook- 
lyn, w  hile  quietly  at  home  under  this  parole,  he  was  without 
previous  notice  seized  by  a  body  of  riflemen,  carried  to 
New  York,  and  arraigned  the  next  day,  the  12th,  before  a 
board  of  officers,  who  told  him  the  parole  was  of  no  effect, 
that  it  had  been  voided  by  a  resolution  of  the  Provincial 
Congress,  passed  that  very  day,  and  the  next  day  sent  him 
to  Connecticut  with  several  other  gentlemen,  as  a  prisoner  to 
the  American  Army.  These  "  prisoners  "  were  the  persons  in 
ofhec,  and  gentlemen  of  position  of  New  York,  whom  Wash- 
ington on  the  13th  of  August,  1776,  ordered  to  be  sent  away 
and  kept  out  of  New  York  till  after  the  approaching  battle 
was  decided.  The  Connecticut  authorities — Governor  Trum- 
bull and  his  Council  of  Safety — though  no  charge  but  "  dis- 
affection "  was  made  against  them,  kept  them,  nevertheless, 
till  the  following  December,  when  the  prospects  of  American 
success  being  very  dark  indeed,  they  liberated  them  by  a 
resolution  of  December  7th,  upon  their  signing  a  parole 
which  was  set  forth  in  the  resolution.  This  parole  was 
signed  by  Judge  Jones  and  fourteen  other  gentlemen  on  the 
9th,  and  they  at  once  returned  to  New  York.  It  was 
in  these  words:  "We  do  hereby  severally  and  respect- 
ively promise  and  engage  to  the  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Connecticut,  on  the  faith  and  honor  of  gentlemen,  that  we 
will  neither  of  us  give  notice  or  intelligence  to  the  enemy  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  nor  hold  any  inimical  corre- 
spondence with  them  ;  that  we  will  not  take  up  nor  bear 
arms  against  the  United  States  of  America,  nor  act  an  offen- 
sive part  against  them  or  cither  of  them,  but  to  conduct 
peaceably  and  quietly  with  respect  to  the  present  contest 
and  troubles,  and  return  back  to  this  State  when  required  by 
the  Governor." 

Judge  Jones  went  home  to  Fort  Neck,  and  resided  there 
under  this  parole,  and  was  living  there  under  it,  when  on  the 


IxiV  INTRODUCTION. 

night  of  the  6th  of  November,  1779,  three  years  to  a  month 
afterward,  his  house  was  suddenly  broken  open,  he  himself 
forcibly  seized  as  a  prisoner  in  the  presence  of  his  family 
and  his  guests,  the  premises  robbed  of  everything  that  could 
be  taken,  and  he  and  the  booty  carried  fifty  miles  through 
the  woods  to  the  North  shore  of  the  Island,  and  over  the 
Sound  in  whale  boats  to  Newfield,  now  Bridgeport,  in  Con- 
necticut. The  party  were  three  nights  in  crossing  Long  Island, 
through  woods  and  swamps,  marching  only  by  night,  and 
hiding  themselves  and  their  captives  in  the  woods  by  day,  as 
they  dared  not  go  by  the  highways.  It  was  a  capture  deli- 
berately made  by  the  people  of  Fairfield  to  seize  him  as  a 
person  of  sufficient  position  and  rank,  as  they  had  failed  to 
capture  any  military  officers,  to  offer  in  exchange  for  General 
Silliman,  who  six  months  before,  on  the  2d  of  the  preced- 
ing May,  had  been  captured  in  his  own  house  at  Fairfield, 
by  a  party  of  Connecticut  refugees,  who  had  crossed  from 
Long  Island  for  the  purpose,  taken  over  to  Oysler  Bay  North, 
and  thence  sent  a  prisoner  to  New  York.  The  two  gentle- 
men were  old  friends,  had  been  fellow-collegians  nearly  thirty 
years  before  at  Yale,  and  neither  had  any  personal  connection 
with  the  seizure  of  the  other  ;  nor  did  their  mutual  misfor- 
tunes at  all  affect  their  personal  regard.  In  fact,  after  Silli- 
man was  taken,  Judge  Jones  visited  him  while  a  prisoner  at 
Flatbush,  the  summer  before  he  was  himself  captured.  Ow- 
ing to  the  difference  of  views  between  the  Generals  and  Gov- 
ernors on  each  side,  both  gentlemen  were  kept  prisoners  all 
the  winter  of  1 779-1 780,  and  not  until  the  end  of  April, 
1780,  was  their  exchange  effected.  It  accidentally,  and  very 
oddly,  happened,  that  the  Judge  and  the  General  were  sent  in 
sloops  from  New  York  and  Fairfield,  on  the  same  day.  The 
vessels  met  in  the  Sound  off  City  Island,  each  under  a  flag  of 
truce,  and  finding,  on  hailing  each  other,  who  were  on  board, 
they  ran  into  the  channel  between  City  Island  and  Hart 
Island  and  anchored  ;  and  after  the  two  gentlemen  had  dined 
together  on  a  fat  turkey  and  some  other  good  things,  which 
Mrs.  Silliman  had  fortunately  sent  on  board  for  her  husband, 
and  had  thoroughly  talked  over  matters,  they  exchanged 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ixv 


sloops,  and  each  went  on  to  his  destination.  Full  particu- 
lars of  his  three  arrests  and  his  paroles,  and  the  extraordi- 
nary conflict  as  to  his  status  by  the  action  of  the  Connecticut 
authorities  are  given  in  his  work,  and  are  as  curious  as  they 
are  interesting. 

While  a  prisoner  in  Connecticut,  Judge  Jones  had  been 
injured  by  being  thrown  out  of  a  sleigh,  and  his  general  health 
had  likewise  materially  suffered.  Not  recovering  as  rapidly 
as  he  expected,  he  determined,  in  the  winter  of  1780-81,  to 
go  in  the  spring  with  his  wife  and  niece  to  England  for  a  year, 
especially  to  try  the  effect  of  the  famous  hot  springs  of  Bath, 
then  supposed  to  be  almost  a  specific  for  rheumatic  affections. 
In  March,  1 78 1 ,  he  sold  at  auction  all  his  cattle  and  farm- 
stock,  left  his  two  houses  in  charge  of  servants  and  agents, 
and  in  June  sailed  for  Southampton  with  his  wife,  his  niece, 
Elizabeth  Floyd,  and  two  servants.  Going  to  Europe  in 
those  days  and  in  a  time  of  war,  was  not  the  easy  matter  it  is 
now.  They  had  to  sail  in  one  of  a  fleet  of  merchantmen 
convoyed  by  men-of-war.  The  following  extract  of  a  letter 
from  a  female  friend  in  the  city,  a  daughter  of  the  Attorney- 
General  John  Tabor  Kcmpe,  to  Mrs.  Richard  Floyd,  at 
Mastic,  the  Judge's  sister,  gives  some  particulars  of  their 
embarkation,  which  will  interest  modern  readers  : 

"  Dear  Madam, — 

"Miss  Floyd  desired  I  would  write  to  you  to  let  you  know 
when  the  Fleet  sailed.  I  rose  early  this  morning  to  tell  you, 
that  Mr.  Willet  {Isaac  Willet,  a  cousin  of  Judge  Jones)  who 
went  down  to  the  ship  with  your  Brother  and  his  family,  re- 
turned last  night;  he  left  them  some  miles  without  the  Hook. 
They  are  as  agreeably  situated  as  they  can  possibly  be,  they 
have  a  fine  large  ship  and  the  captain  is  a  very  clever  man. 
The  Fleet  has  six  large  ships  to  convoy  them,  so  that  there 
is  no  fear  of  their  being  taken  by  the  enemy.  The  ships 
went  down  to  the  Hook  last  Sunday,  and  your  Brother  and 
his  family  went  on  Tuesday,  and  sail'd  on  Thursday  ;  so  that 
they  had  time  to  put  their  things  in  order.  .  .  .  The  white 
woman  that  was  to  have  gone  with  Mrs.  Jones  disappointed 


Ixvi 


INTRODUCTION. 


her.  They  have  a  black  woman  of  Airs.  Kennedy's  and  Han- 
nibal.   I  don't  think  they  will  want  the  other  woman  

Catharine  Kempe. 

"  New  York,  June  15,  1781." 

The  "Mrs.  Kennedy"  who  came  to  Mrs.  Jones's  aid  in 
the  emergency  mentioned  in  this  letter,  was  her  first  cousin, 
Anne  Watts,  wife  of  Archibald  Kennedy,  who  succeeded  as 
nth  Earl  of  Cassilis,  and  whose  son  Archibald,  created  Mar- 
quis of  Ailsa  in  1806,  was  the  grandfather  of  the  present  peer. 

Another  incident  of  their  departure  was  the  presentation  to 
Mrs.  Jones  and  Miss  Floyd,  of  a  long  poetical  tribute  by  Dr. 
Benjamin  Moore,  subsequently  the  second  Bishop  of  New 
York,  lamenting  their  departure,  in  which  he  thus  alludes  to 
the  capture  of  the  Judge  : 

"  By  the  rude  storms  of  faction  blown, 
Enough  of  dangers  you  have  known. 
Witness  the  hour  when  rebel  bands, 
A  husband  seized  with  ruthless  hands, 
And  dragg'd  to  vile  captivity, 
From  comfort  far,  and  far  from  thee. 
No  pity  touched  the  hardened  train, 
Affection  prayed  and  prayed  in  vain  ;  " 

and  after  describing  Miss  Floyd's  escape  at  the  burning  of 
General  de  Lancey's  house  at  Bloomingdale  by  the  Ameri- 
cans in  1777,  in  which  she  was  a  guest  at  the  time,  concludes  : 

"  May  gentle  gales  soft  murmuring  sweep 
The  bosom  of  the  peaceful  deep, 
And  waft  you  to  the  destined  shore, 
Your  every  fear  and  danger  o'er ; 
Safe  from  the  hosts  of  France  and  Spain, 
And  base  rebellion's  galling  chain." 

They  arrived  safely  after  a  quiet  voyage.  Seven  months 
later,  under  date  of  February  2d,  1782,  the  Judge  thus  writes 
to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Floyd:  "The  Bathwaters  have  been  of 
great  service  to  me  and  am  in  hopes  will  perfectly  restore  me. 
I  am  now  so  well  as  to  make  nothing  of  walking  a  mile  or  two 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ixvii 


without  stopping.  I  have  a  little  lameness  still  which  I  am 
in  hopes  the  continuance  of  the  bath  and  the  use  of  the 
waters  will  certainly  carry  off.  ...  I  shall  return  as  soon  as 
affairs  in  America  will  permit  with  safety,  and  I  hope  that 
it  may  be  in  the  course  of  the  next  summer." 

In  December  of  the  same  year,  he  writes:  "We  have 
great  talk  of  peace  ;  if  it  takes  place  and  proper  stipulations 
are  made  for  the  Loyalists  (which  I  suppose  will  be  the  case) 
I  shall  return  to  America  in  the  course  of  next  summer." 
He  alludes  here  to  the  New  York  Act  of  Attainder,  which, 
unlike  any  other  Act  of  the  kind  ever  passed  anywhere, 
ipso  facto  forfeited  the  lives  of  all  the  persons  named  in  it, 
one  of  whom  he  was,  besides  confiscating  their  estates.  In 
another  letter  of  the  3d  of  February,  1783,  after  the  peace 
was  settled,  he  says  to  his  sister :  "I  am  perfectly  recovered 
in  my  health,  and  as  for  my  lameness  it  is  so  far  gone  that 
scarce  one  in  fifty  observes  that  I  limp  a  little,  which  I  am  in 
hopes  will  go  off  entirely  in  a  little  time.  Peace  is  now  made 
with  France,  Spain,  and  America.  The  latter  has  got  her 
Independence,  some  people  like  the  peace  in  this  country  but 
the  greatest  part  disapprove  it.  If  the  Act  of  Attainder  and 
confiscation  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  New  York  is  re- 
pealed (which  we  are  told  Congress  has  promised  shall  be 
done)  I  shall  return  to  America  as  soon  as  I  receive  authen- 
tic intelligence  of  such  an  event  having  taken  place,  but  not 
before,  as  I  will  not  run  the  risk  of  being  hanged  while  I  can 
keep  my  neck  out  of  the  halter.  What  is  done  in  this  affair 
will  be  known  over  here  before  May  next,  and  I  shall  then 
take  my  measures  accordingly."  As  the  article  of  the  treaty 
in  favor  of  the  loyalists  was  not  only  not  carried  out  but  abso- 
lutely nullified  in  New  York  by  further  hostile  legislation 
against  them,  Judge  Jones  could  not  carry  out  his  intentions, 
and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  England.  He  con- 
tinued to  dwell  at  Bath  for  about  two  years  longer,  but  fin- 
ally made  his  residence  at  Hoddesdon,  in  the  parish  of  Brox- 
bournc,  in  Hertfordshire,  a  pleasant  village  on  the  Great  North 
Road,  in  a  pretty  pastoral  country,  near  the  towns  of  Hert- 
ford and  Ware,  overlooking  the  wide  valley  through  which 


Ixviii 


INTRODUCTION. 


runs  the  river  Lea,  an  affluent  of  the  Thames,  and  about 
seventeen  miles  from  London. 

Judge  David  Jones,  by  his  will,  entailed  the  Fort  Neck  es- 
tate in  tail  male  upon  his  only  son,  Judge  Thomas  Jones  and 
his  heirs,  with  contingent  remainders  over,  in  default  of  such 
issue,  to  his  daughters  Arrabella,  Mary,  and  Anna,  succes- 
sively, in  the  order  named,  for  their  respective  lives  and  to 
their  issue  in  such  order  respectively,  also  in  tail  male. 
These  daughters  were  likewise  directly  provided  for  out  of 
his  other  property. 

Judge  Thomas  Jones  never  had  any  issue.  His  sister 
Arrabella,  the  first  named  in  the  entail,  married  on  the  26th 
of  September,  1758,  Colonel  Richard  Floyd,  fourth  of  the 
name,  of  Mastic,  the  head  of  that  old  Long  Island  family  and 
possessor  of  its  largest  estate  in  Suffolk  County,  by  whom 
she  had  three  children  :  one  son,  David  Richard  Floyd,  and 
two  daughters,  Elizabeth  Floyd,  the  niece  who,  as  before 
mentioned,  accompanied  her  uncle  and  aunt  to  England,  and 
Anne  Willet  Floyd.  The  former  subsequently  married,  on 
the  28th  of  September,  1785,  John  Peter  de  Lancey,  the 
youngest  brother  of  Judge  Thomas  Jones's  wife,  and  the 
latter  became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Benjamin  Nicoll,  of  Shelter 
Island,  May  6,  1784.  David  Richard  Floyd,  the  only  son  of 
Arrabella,  born  November  14,  1764,  therefore  took  the 
Fort  Neck  estate  w  ith  his  mother's  assent  and  that  of  his 
uncle,  Judge  Thomas  Jones,  when  the  latter  became  civilly 
dead  by  reason  of  the  Act  of  Attainder  w  hich  became  oper- 
ative in  consequence  of  the  peace. 

Another  provision  of  Judge  David  Jones  in  his  will,  was  a 
condition  that  the  male  issue  of  any  of  his  daughters,  who 
might  succeed  to  the  Fort  Neck  estate,  should  take  and  use, 
in  addition  to  their  own,  the  name  of  Jones  as  a  surname. 
Therefore,  David  Richard  Floyd,  on  succeeding  to  the  estate,' 
became  David  Richard  Floyd-Jones.  This  is  the  origin  of 
the  unusual  double  surname  borne  by  this  branch  of  the  family 
now  become  numerous.  Subsequently,  on  March  14th,  1788, 
a  special  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York  was  passed  con- 
firming the  change  of  name. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ixix 


The  children  of  David  Richard  Floyd-Jones,  who  enjoyed 
the  estate  during  his  life,  and  who  married  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Hendrick  Onderdonk,  September  20,  1785,  were  two  sons, 
the  late  General  Thomas  Floyd-Jones,  who  succeeded  to  the 
estate  on  his  father's  death,  February  the  IOth,  1820,  and  the 
late  Major- General  Henry  Floyd-Jones,  who  sat  for  Queens 
County  in  the  Assembly  in  1829  and  1830,  and  was  for  four 
years,  from  1836  to  1840,  Senator  from  the  old  First  Senate 
District,  comprising  Long  Island,  Statcn  Island,  and  the  City 
of  New  York.  The  elder  of  these  two  brothers  enjoyed  the 
estate  during  his  whole  life,  and  was  its  last  possessor  under 
the  entail  created  by  his  great-grandfather.  At  his  death  the 
estate  was  divided  among  his  four  children,  three  sons  and  a 
daughter,  the  eldest  of  whom,  David  Richard  Floyd-Jones, 
who  received  Fort  Neck  House,  was  a  lawyer,  member  of  the 
Assembly  for  the  city,  and  successively  State  Senator,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  York,  and 
whose  death,  on  the  8th  of  January,  1871,  at  the  compara- 
tively early  age  of  fifty-eight,  was  as  great  a  loss  to  the  State, 
the  public,  and  the  Church  of  which  he  was  a  devoted  son,  as 
it  was  to  his  own  family.  His  next  brother,  who  early  retired 
from  a  successful  mercantile  career,  and  who  succeeded  him 
in  the  councils  of  the  Church  on  Long  Island,  is  the  present 
W  illiam  Floyd-Jones  of  Massapcqua.  And  his  youngest 
brother,  Libert  Floyd-Jones,  after  serving  in  the  Assembly 
for  Queens  County,  in  1845,  has  been  again  called  to  repre- 
sent his  native  county  for  the  last  two  years,  and  is  now,  in 
this  year  1 878,  its  present  representative. 

Such  has  been  the  striking  career  of  Judge  David  Jones's 
branch,  the  elder,  of  this  old  and  noted  family.  That  of  the 
younger,  the  branch  of  William  Jones  of  West  Neck,  his 
brother,  the  youngest  of  the  sons  of  the  first  Thomas  Jones, 
is  also  most  remarkable.  He  himself  held  no  public  office, 
and  was  compelled  to  devote  himself  to  the  management  of 
his  estate,  from  having  to  maintain  and  bring  up  the  large 
family  of  sixteen  children.  How  well  he  succeeded  is  shown 
by  the  facts,  that  fourteen  of  them,  nine  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters, lived  to  grow  up  and  have  children  ;  that  his  sons 


Ixx 


INTRODUCTION. 


were  all  successful  men,  and  many  of  them  distinguished  in 
public  life  ;  and  that  the  daughters  all  married  into  well- 
known  Long  Island  families. 

Samuel  Jones,  the  second  son,  born  26th  of  July,  1734, 
and  died  November  21,  1819,  was  the  distinguished  jurist 
so  long  known  as  "  The  father  of  the  New  York  Bar,"  to 
which  he  was  admitted  before  the  Revolution  from  the  office 
of  William  Smith,  subsequently  to  the  war  Chief-Justice  of 
Canada.  He  was  a  loyalist  in  his  principles,  and  continued 
within  the  British  lines  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  but 
took  no  active  part.  With  his  brothers  David  and  William 
he  signed  in  October,  1776,  the  address  to  Sir  William 
and  Lord  Howe  for  the  restoration  of  civil  law  in  New 
York,  in  which  city  he  remained  during  the  war,  as  appears 
by  his  letters  to  John  Pintard  in  the  New  York  Historical 
Society's  collections.  How  eminent  a  lawyer  he  then  was 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  on  July  6th,  1782,  Robert  R.  Liv- 
ingston, afterward  the  Chancellor,  wrote  to  him,  though  then 
in  New  York,  for  his  opinion  on  the  will  of  his  great-grand- 
father, saying  in  the  manuscript  letter  still  preserved  :  "  A 
communication  so  remote  from  politicks  as  the  one  in  ques- 
tion will  meet  with  no  interruption  from  the  different  sides 
of  the  lines  on  which  we  are  placed,"  and  suggesting  that 
it  be  forwarded  to  him  (in  Philadelphia)  "  by  delivering  to 
your  Commissioner  of  Prisoners."  After  the  peace  he  con- 
tinued in  New  York,  and  in  1 789  was  appointed  Recorder, 
the  same  office  that  his  cousin,  Judge  Thomas  Jones,  had 
been  appointed  to  in  1769.  He  was  chosen,  and  became  a 
leading  member  of  the  Convention  of  New  York  in  1789, 
which  adopted  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  He  was 
likewise  Member  of  Assembly  for  Queens  County,  from  1786 
to  1790,  and  a  Senator  for  the  Southern  District  from  1791, 
to  1799.  He  drew  the  law  establishing  the  Comptroller's  office 
of  the  State  of  New  York  at  the  request  of  his  personal  friend, 
Governor  Jay,  in  1796,  and  when  it  was  enacted  in  1797  was 
appointed  the  first  Comptroller,  organized  the  office  as  it  exists 
at  this  day,  and  presided  over  it  for  the  succeeding  three  years. 
In  connection  with  Richard  Varick  he  made  the  first  revision 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ixxi 


of  the  statutes  under  the  State  government,  and  was  the  leader 
of  the  bar  till  he  retired  at  an  advanced  age.  His  son  of 
the  same  name  was  the  extraordinary  man  who  died  in  Au- 
gust, 1853,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six,  who,  after  having  been 
Member  of  the  Assembly  for  several  years  in  early  life,  was 
successively  Chancellor,  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court,  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and 
after  serving  out  his  entire  term  in  the  latter  tribunal  actually 
returned  to  the  bar  and  practised  with  great  success  to  the  day 
of  his  death.  He  too  left  a  son,  a  third  Samuel,  who  is  the 
present  Judge  Samuel  Jones,  the  expiration  of  whose  term 
of  service  as  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  under  the  present  unfortunate  elective  system,  has  but 
recently  occurred.  The  youngest  son  of  the  first  Samuel  and 
brother  of  the  Chancellor  was  the  late  David  S.  Jones,  so  long 
a  brilliant  member  of  the  New  York  Bar  and  a  judge  of 
his  native  County  of  Queens.  Major  William  Jones,  of  Cold 
Spring,  another  son  of  the  first  Samuel,  like  so  many  of  his 
race,  represented  Queens  County  in  the  Assembly,  succeed- 
ing his  brother,  the  Chancellor,  in  1816,  and  sitting  continu- 
ously till  1822.  And  his  son  Samuel,  W.,  a  lawyer,  who  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Judge  James  Duanc,  of  Schenectady,  was 
the  Mayor  of  that  city,  and  Surrogate,  and  then  first  Judge 
of  the  county  of  that  name. 

John  Jones,  of  Cold  Spring  Harbor,  North  Oyster  Bay, 
another  son  of  William,  the  youngest  son  of  Major  Thomas 
Jones,  of  Fort  Neck,  who  married  Hannah  Hewlett,  was  the 
father  of  a  family  as  distinguished  for  their  success  in  com- 
mercial pursuits  as  that  of  his  brother  Samuel  was  in  those 
of  law  and  politics.  He  and  his  sons,  William  H.,  John  H., 
and  Walter  R.  Jones,  established  and  carried  on  at  that  place 
extensive  and  successful  woollen  manufactories  and  flouring 
mills,  and  the  three  sons,  also,  when  the  whaling  business 
flourished,  had  a  fleet  of  eight  ships  of  their  own  sailing  from 
that  port.  Later,  Walter  R.  Jones  founded,  organized,  and 
was  the  head  for  the  rest  of  his  life  of  that  most  successful 
institution,  the  Atlantic  Mutual  Insurance  Company  of  New 
York,  the  head,  with  its  millions  of  capital,  of  that  great  com- 


lxxii  INTRODUCTION. 

mercial  interest  in  America,  Marine  Insurance.  And  at  his 
death,  a  bachelor,  he  was  succeeded  in  its  control  and  manage- 
ment by  his  nephew,  John  D.  Jones,  a  son  of  his  brother, 
John  H.  Jones,  under  whom  it  has  now  become  the  largest 
and  wealthiest  institution  of  its  kind  on  the  continent.  Still 
further,  two  other  sons  of  John  of  Cold  Spring,  Joshua  and 
Charles  H.,  were  successful  merchants,  and  his  grandson, 
Oliver  H.  Jones,  lately  deceased,  a  son  of  William  H.,  died 
the  President  of  one  of  the  largest  Fire  Insurance  Companies 
of  New  York,  leaving  a  large  estate. 

William  Jones,  of  Oyster  Bay,  another  son  of  William,  of 
West  Neck,  first  cousin  of  Judge  Thomas  Jones,  the  author 
of  this  history,  was  likewise  a  prominent  man  in  Queens 
County.  He  had  two  sons,  Townsend  and  Samuel,  who 
both  died  without  issue.  The  latter,  by  his  will  in  1836,  left 
to  the  towns  of  Oyster  Bay  and  Hempstead  a  sum  of 
$30,000  as  an  endowment  for  the  support  of  the  poor,  the 
benefit  of  which  those  towns  still  enjoy. 

Each  branch  of  this  family  at  this  day  still  possesses  and 
dwells  upon  lands  that  belonged  to  their  first  ancestor  in 
America  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  notwith- 
standing the  changes  and  divisions,  and  the  portions  that  have 
been  sold,  during  so  many  generations.  Its  male  line  only 
has  been  mentioned  ;  were  it  possible  here  to  speak  of  the 
female,  the  same  marked  characteristics  of  natural  ability, 
success,  and  note  in  life,  would  appear  in  many  instances  to 
have  been  transmitted  into  its  affiliated  families. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  history  of  the  author's  family,  the 
Joneses  and  Floyd-Joneses  of  Queens  County,  Long  Island, 
a  history  of  striking  interest,  and  one  which  it  is  believed 
cannot  be  paralleled  in  America  for  continuous  natural  abil- 
ity and  continuous  public  life,  steadily  maintained  from  its 
first  ancestor  in  America  to  this  hour  ;  and  that,  too,  united' 
always  with  high  social  eminence,  and  an  equally  continuous, 
and  continuing,  success  in  all  the  walks  of  private  life.  Thirty 
years  ago  the  late  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  whose  wife 
sprang  from  this  family  in  the  female  line,  said,  in  referring  to 
it  in  a  public  letter  in  1848  :  "  The  Jones  family  has  now  fur- 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ixxiii 


nished  legislators  and  jurists  to  the  colony  and  the  State  for 
more  than  a  century."  And  from  his  day  to  ours  it  has  still 
continued  to  do  so.  It  is  the  only  family,  it  is  believed,  not 
only  in  New  York,  but  in  America,  which  under  the  British 
and  the  American  governments  has  from  the  beginning  of 
its  existence  in  America,  from  generation  to  generation,  con- 
tinuously preserved  and  maintained  its  prominence  in  politi- 
cal life  and  high  public  position.  In  New  York  and  two  or 
three  other  of  the  old  colonies,  a  few  families — but  a  very 
few — have  done  so,  either  under  the  one  rule  or  the  other, 
but  except  in  this  instance  not  one  of  them  under  both. 

Judge  Thomas  Jones  had  the  distinguishing  characteristics 
of  his  race,  penetration,  judgment,  independence,  resolution, 
clearness  of  intellect,  strength  of  memory,  coolness,  determi- 
nation in  action,  and  high  honor,  united  with  a  temperament 
sanguine  and  choleric,  great  fearlessness,  and  a  disposition 
extremely  social  and  hospitable.  He  was  in  his  family  very 
kind,  in  matters  of  business  and  in  the  performance  of  his 
duties  very  exact  ;  was  very  polite  in  manner,  dignified  in 
bearing,  and  naturally  commanded  respect.  His  legal  papers 
and  documents,  and  his  letters  on  business  that  have  been 
preserved,  are  models  of  perspicuity,  precision,  and  brevity, 
united  with  perfect  completeness.  His  will  is  an  example, 
and  is  in  these  few  words  :  "  I  Thomas  Jones  late  of  the 
Province  of  New  York  in  North  America,  do  make  this  my 
last  will  as  follows, — I  give  and  devise  unto  my  wife,  Anne 
Jones,  and  to  her  heirs  and  assigns  forever  my  whole  real 
and  personal  estate,  in  which  I  include  whatever  shall  be 
owed  me  by  government  as  a  compensation  for  my  losses  in 
America.  I  appoint  my  said  wife  executrix  of  this  my  will. 
I  hereby  revoke  all  former  wills.  In  witness  whereof  I  have 
hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  this  ninth  day  of  December, 
1785 — Thomas  Jones."  This,  with  the  attestation  clause  and 
the  three  witnesses  names,  is  all. 

The  letters  to  his  youthful  nephew  mark  prominent  traits 
in  his  character.  In  one  of  May  nth,  17S6,  he  says  :  "  My 
love  to  you,  my  dear  David.  Behave  with  caution  and  pru- 
dence, and  let  me  beg  of  you  by  your  conduct  never  to 


lxxiv 


INTRODUCTION. 


disgrace  the  families  of  your  two  Grandfathers.  Always  re- 
member one  was  first  in  Queens,  the  other  in  Suffolk." 
Another  of  March  27th,  1787,  shows  his  views  of  the  true 
men  on  the  opposite  side  in  the  revolution  :  "  Consult  your 
Father-in-law  in  everything," — Hendrick  Onderdonk,  the 
most  influential  whig  in  Queens  County,  whom  he  styles  in 
his  history  "  an  arrant  rebel." — "  He  was  a  friend  of  your 
Grandfathers,  lie  was  a  friend  to  all  our  family,  he  was  a 
friend  of  mine,  and  tho'  he  and  I  differed  in  politicks  during 
the  last  war  I  know  him  to  be  an  honest  man." 

Judge  and  Mrs.  Jones,  as  stated  above,  never  had  any  chil- 
dren. They  adopted  as  their  daughter  the  eldest  child  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Peter  de  Lancey,  the  former  of  whom 
was  the  youngest  brother  of  Mrs.  Jones,  and  the  latter,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Judge  Jones'  sister,  Mrs.  Richard  Floyd. 
This  adopted  daughter,  Anne  Charlotte  de  Lancey,  subse- 
quently became  the  second  wife  of  the  distinguished  engineer 
John  Loudon  McAdam,  whose  system  of  making  roads  has 
immortalized  his  name  ;  a  loyalist  and  a  New  York  merchant, 
until  he  left  America,  and  whose  first  wife,  the  mother  of 
all  his  children,  was  Glorianna  Nicoll  of  Suffolk  County,  a 
first  cousin  of  the  mother  of  his  second  wife.  To  this  adopted 
daughter,  Mrs.  Jones,  who  survived  her  husband  twenty-five 
years,  and  died  at  Hoddesdon,  December  1,  1817,  in  the 
seventy-second  year  of  her  age,  bequeathed  all  her  property, 
including  all  the  papers  and  manuscripts  of  Judge  Jones. 
The  husband  of  Mrs.  McAdam  died  during  one  of  his  annual 
visits  to  his  native  Scotland,  on  November  26th,  1836,  and  is 
buried  in  the  churchyard  of  the  church  of  the  Established 
Church  of  Scotland,  at  Moffatt,  in  Dumfries-shire;  she  her- 
self died  at  Hoddesdon,  May  29th,  1852,  and  is  buried  beside 
the  parents  who  adopted  her,  in  Broxbourne  Church,  and 
with  her  passed  away  all  who  were  directly  connected  with 
Judge  Jones  in  England.  She  gave  to  her  brother,  the  late 
Bishop  de  Lancey,  the  manuscript  of  this  history  as  stated  in 
the  preface,  and  subsequently  to  her  nephew,  the  editor,  all 
the  other  papers  and  books  of  Judge  Jones,  that  his  widow 
had  preserved  and  committed  to  her  care.     His  letters  to 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ixxv 


his  sister  and  nephew,  Mrs.  Floyd,  and  her  son  David  Richard 
Floyd-Jones,  are  in  the  possession  of  the  latter's  grandson 
William  Floyd-Jones  of  Massapequa,  and  those  of  Judge 
and  Mrs.  Jones  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Peter  de  Lancey  have 
descended  to  the  editor.  From  all  of  these  the  materials  for 
this  memoir  have  been  drawn. 

Judge  Jones's  real  estate  not  entailed,  which  was  very  large, 
was  of  course  confiscated,  and  so  too  were  all  the  debts  due  and 
owing  to  him,  including  bonds  and  mortgages.  Some  of  his 
debtors  honestly  paid  their  debts  and  interest  to  him,  through 
his  agent  in  New  York  ;  others  took  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  neither  paid  him  nor  the  State.  His  real  estate 
lay  in  several  different  counties.  Besides  Fort  Neck,  Mount 
Pitt  in  New  York  and  some  few  city  lots,  he  had  extensive 
lands  in  Westchester,  Orange,  Ulster,  and  Tryon  Counties,  be- 
sides some  on  Long  Island  not  belonging  to  the  entailed  estate. 
His  compensation  from  the  British  Government,  like  that  of 
the  other  loyalists,  bore  but  a  small  proportion  to  the  proven 
values,  notwithstanding  the  contrary  opinion  that  has  ob- 
tained on  this  subject.  All  that  Judge  Jones  received  was 
five  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty-seven  pounds  sterling, 
about  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars.  His  entire  income  in 
England  was  derived  from  the  investment  of  this  sum,  and 
what  he  received  from  America  as  above  stated,  which  was 
comparatively  little. 

Judge  Jones  died  somewhat  suddenly  after  a  short  illness 
in  his  own  house  at  Hoddesdon,  on  the  25th  of  July,  1792. 
The  last  of  his  letters,  dated  on  the  4th  of  the  same  month, 
not  only  does  not  refer  to  his  health,  but  mentions  his  plans 
for  the  next  autumn.  He  was  buried  beneath  the  pavement 
of  the  south  aisle  of  Broxbourne  Parish  Church,  one  of  the 
oldest  in  Hertfordshire,  an  ancient  Gothic  edifice  which  stands 
on  a  slight  elevation  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Lea,  and 
which  until  their  dissolution  in  England  belonged  to  the 
famed  order  of  the  Knights  Templars,  and  subsequently  to  the 
Knights  Hospitallers  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem.  A  slab  in 
the  pavement  (lately  covered  over  in  the  recent  restoration 
of  the  interior  of  the  church),  bears  his  name,  and  near  it  is 


Ixxvi 


INTRODUCTION. 


placed  a  handsome  mural  monument  of  marble  bearing  the 
following  inscription,  written  by  his  widow,  whose  own  monu- 
ment, and  another  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McAdam,  are  placed  near 
that  of  her  husband  : 

Near  This  Place 
Lyes  interred  the  body  of 
THOMAS  JONES,  Esq., 

Late  one  of  his  Majesty's  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  Province  of  ATew 
York  in  Arorth  America, 

Who  having  suffered  great  hardships  and  great  personal  injuries  during 
the  troubles  in  America,  for  his  firm  attachment  to  the  British  Con- 
stitution, and  loyalty  to  his  present  Majesty,  under  whom  he 
held  different  civil  commissions,  came  to  England  for  the 
recovery  of  his  health  ;  and  being  by  an  Act  of  Attain- 
der passed  in  the  State  of  New  York,  deprived  of 
his  large  property  and  prevented  returning  to 
his  native  country,  settled  at  Hoddesdon 
in  this  parish,  and  having  by  the  polite 
and  friendly  attentions  of  its 
inhabitants  found  it  a  most 
desirable  residence, 

He  died  there  July  25///,  1792, 

Aged  61  Years. 

His  widow,  from  tender  respect  to  his  memory,  erected  this  monument 
to  an  affectionate  and  most  indulgent  husband,  a  sincere  friend,  a  kind 
master,  a  benevolent  member  of  society,  and  a  loyal  subject. 

"  By  Strangers  Honoured, 
And  by  Strangers  Mourned." 

Thus  ended,  in  a  distant  land,  the  life  and  career  of  Judge 
Thomas  Jones.  His  correspondence  shows  that  though  his' 
English  domicil  was  a  pleasant  one  and  he  enjoyed  it  much, 
still  it  was  only  an  exile's  home.  Once  he  had  a  scheme  of 
going  to  the  Bahama  Islands  and  engaging  in  cotton  planting, 
but  he  soon  gave  it  up  and  ever  after  contented  himself  with 
his  Hertfordshire  dwelling-place.  Communicating  with  his 
relatives  and  friends  in  America  was  one  of  his  greatest  plea- 


INTRODUCTION". 


Ixxvii 


sures,  and  the  letters  on  both  s,ides  which  have  been  pre- 
served give  a  lively  account  of  the  political  affairs  and  social 
matters  of  the  time  in  each  country.  To  his  native  land 
his  eyes  always  turned  with  affection,  and  his  heart  ever  beat 
true.  He  died,  as  he  had  lived,  an  American  and  a  son  of 
New  York. 

His  warm  and  strong  words  to  his  kindred  still  remain  to 
show  how  gladly,  had  it  been  possible,  he  would  have  come 
back  to  his  loved  home  across  the  sea,  and  spent  his  last 
days  beneath  the  bright  skies,  and  in  the  pure  air  of  his  own 
Long  Island.  That  Long  Island,  which  he  little  thought,  when 
its  last  blue  line  faded  from  his  sight  as  his  vessel  sailed 
away,  he  should  never  see  again.  But  so  it  was  to  be.  Sad 
does  it  seem,  that  high  principle,  honesty  of  belief,  freedom 
of  opinion,  fealty  to  lawful  government,  and  loyalty  to  con- 
science and  the  oaths  he  had  sworn  to  maintain,  should  have 
condemned  an  honoured  American,  unheard,  to  banishment 
and  an  exile's  grave. 

Sad,  yet  strange  and  striking,  too,  is  the  fact,  that  that 
American,  instead  of  sleeping  with  his  fathers  by  those  fair 
shores  where  the  deep  roar  of  the  surges  of  ocean  sounds 
ever  their  eternal  requiem,  should  lie  in  the  heart  of  a  foreign 
land  beneath  the  marble  pavement  and  under  the  vaulted  roof 
of  an  ancient  fane  of  the  haughty  Templars.  The  same  sun, 
however,  which  at  morn  through  sculptured  mullions  and 
glowing  panes  lights  up  in  tinted  splendor  the  sacred  vault 
of  the  old  church  of  the  warrior  monks,  and  falls  gently 
on  the  exile's  tomb,  at  eve  illumes  in  greater  radiance,  and 
deeper  colours,  and  more  splendid  hues,  a  far  grander  vault, 
and  tinges  with  its  reflected  glories  the  pure  waters  beneath 
it  which  surround  the  green  graves  where  his  fathers  slumber. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

In  the  year  1752  New  York  was  in  its  happiest 
state.  We  had  no  foreign  or  domestic  enemy.  Great 
Britain  was  at  peace  with  all  the  world.  The  Colony 
was  extending  its  trade,  encouraging  the  arts  and 
sciences,  and  cultivating  its  lands.  Its  inhabitants 
were  daily  increasing  in  riches,  in  wealth  and  opu- 
lence. They  were  at  the  same  time  laborious,  in- 
dustrious and  frugal,  lived  in  the  most  hospitable 
manner,  though  with  great  economy.  Luxury  was 
unknown  in  the  province.  George  Clinton,  Esq.,' 
was  then  our  Governor,  and  though  for  many  years 
prior  to  this  period,  great  animosities,  disputes,  and 
parties,  had  subsisted  and  been  warmly  litigated  be- 
tween the  Governor,  the  Council,  and  General  As- 
sembly, which  had  in  a  great  measure  pervaded,  dis- 
tracted and  inflamed  the  whole  Colony;  yet  at  this 
happy  time  ail  discord  had  ceased ;  parties  were  for- 
gotten and  animosities  forgiven.  The  disposition,  the 
conduct,  and  behaviour  of  the  people  in  general,  be- 
spoke harmony,  concord,  mutual  love,  and  reciprocal 
affection.     The   several   religious  denominations  of 

o 

'An  Admiral  in  the  British  service,  a  near  relation  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 
as  well  as  to  the  Earl  of  Lincoln. 
I 


2 


HISTORY  OF   NEW  YORK. 


Christians,  consisting-  of  Episcopalians  of  the  estab- 
lished Church  of  England,  those  of  the  Dutch  upon 
the  foundation  of,  and  dependant  upon,  the  Classis  of 
Amsterdam,  the  Presbyterians,  Moravians,  Seceders, 
Lutherans,  German  Calvinists,  those  of  the  French 
Reformed  Church,  the  people  called  Quakers,  and 
even  the  very  Jews,  all  lived  in  perfect  peace  and 
harmony,  enjoying  the  company  and  conversation  of 
each  other,  and  upon  all  occasions  returning  mutual 
acts  of  friendship,  of  kindness  and  affection.  This,  if 
I  may  be  allowed  the  expression,  was  the  Golden  Age 
of  New  York. 

Of  all  these  several  denominations  of  Christians,  the 
Church  of  England  was  the  most  extensive,  of  the  most 
influence,  and  greatest  opulence.  To  this  Church  the 
Governor,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  most  of  his  Maj- 
esty's Council,  many  members  of  the  General  Assembly, 
all  the  officers  of  Government,  with  a  numerous  train  of 
rich  and  affluent  merchants,  and  landholders,  belonged. 
The  Dutch  Reformed  Protestant  Church  was  next  in 
rank,  for  its  riches,  its  influence,  and  from  the  number 
of  its  wealthy,  opulent,  and  reputable  citizens.  The 
Presbyterians  were  the  next  in  consequence  ;  the  con- 
gregation in  general  consisted  of  people  of  the  middle 
rank,  but  at  the  same  time  there  belonged  to  it  some 
rich,  wealthy,  sensible  men  ;  among  these  were  William 
Smith,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  the  law,  Peter  Van  Brugh 
Livingston,  Esq.,  brother  to  the  lord  of  the  manor 
of  that  name,  and  Mr.  David  Van  Home ;  the  two 
latter  were  gentlemen  of  fortune  and  family,  of  large 
and  extensive  trade  as  merchants,  of  good  characters 
and  fair  reputations.  Rut  of  the  three  Smith  was  looked 
upon  as  the  head,  the  leader,  and  the  support  of  the 
meeting.    His  father,  originally  a  tallow  chandler  from 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


3 


Newport-Pagnel,  in  England,  came  into  the  province 
about  the  year  1 7 1 5  '  and  brought  with  him  three 
sons,  all  young;  the  father's  religion  was  that  of  the 
New  England  sectaries  :  his  principles  of  government 
totally  republican.    The  sons  were  educated  at  Yale 
College,  at  New  Haven,  in  Connecticut ;  then,  and 
still,  a  nursery  of  sedition,  of  faction,  and  republican- 
ism.   The  second  brother  took  orders  as  a  dissenting 
preacher  ;  the  youngest  turned  farmer.    William,  the 
oldest,  who  was  steady  in  his  father's  religion,  as  well 
as  in  his  principles  of  Government,  was  apprenticed 
to  a  gentleman  of  the  law,  and  after  serving  the 
usual  clerkship,  commenced,  attorney,  and  practised  in 
the  provinces  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  with 
great  reputation  as  a  most  fluent  speaker,  with  less  as 
to  his  knowledge  of  the  law,  and  with  very  little  as 
to  either  honor  or  integrity.     He  died  in  1769,  and 
left  a  numerous  issue,  the  males  of  which  all  took 
active  and  conspicuous  parts  in  the  late  unhappy  com- 
motions in  America.     Of  this  more  particularly  here- 
after.    We  must  also  mention,  as  belonging  to  the 
Presbyterian  Congregation,  William  Livingston,  Esq., 
brother  to  the  aforesaid  Peter  Van  Bru^h  Livingston, 
William  Smith,  Jun.,  and  John  Morin  Scott,  three 
young  gentlemen  then  lately  called  to  the  bar  as  prac- 
titioners of  the  law.    Of  this  young  triumvirate,  then 
first  verging  upon  the  stage  of  life,  William  Livingston 
bore  the  character  of  a  sensible,  cunning,  shrewd 
fellow ;  well  versed  in  the  law,  though  a  very  in- 
different speaker  ;  of  an  ill-natured,  morose,  sullen  dis- 
position ;  satirical  and  abusive  in  his  writings ;  violent 

1  Many  others  came  at  the  same  time  ;  the  defeats  of  the  rebel  army  in  that  year 
by  the  loyalists  in  North  Britain  occasioned  an  amazing  emigration  of  the  friends 
of  the  Pretender. 


4 


HISTORY 


OF  NEW  YORK. 


in  his  conversation  ;  a  bigot  in  religion  ;  wanton,  cruel, 
and  unfeeling  in  his  temper;  ungenerous  in  his  senti- 
ments ;  uncouth  in  his  manners  ;  impatient  of  con- 
tradiction ;  and  of  a  savage  persecuting  spirit.  Smith 
was  considered  as  an  artful,  close,  designing  man, 
with  a  good  share  of  understanding,  and  well  read  in 
the  law  ;  a  fluent,  easy  speaker,  with  an  unbounded 
deal  of  ambition,  hypocrisy,  and  craft ;  a  most  profound 
dissembler  ;  enjoyed  a  smooth,  glib,  oily  tongue,  with 
a  steady,  demure,  puritanical  countenance ;  a  noted 
flatterer,  a  great  sycophant,  and  a  person  who  could 
without  the  least  compunction  abandon  his  word,  his 
honor,  his  religion,  or  his  friendship,  to  carry  a  favorite 
point,  to  serve  a  particular  purpose,  or  to  gratify  his 
pride,  his  avarice,  or  his  ambition.    John  Morin  Scott 
was  (at  first)  of  a  very  different  cast ;  he  was  honest, 
open,  and  generous,  a  good  lawyer,  a  fluent  speaker, 
was  candid  in  his  profession,  just  and  fair  in  his  deal- 
ings, had    honor  and  integrity,  was  caressed  and 
esteemed   by  his   acquaintances,  possessed  a  jovial, 
hearty,  free  and  engaging  disposition,  loved  company 
and  was  a  boon  companion.    Had  he  followed  his  own 
good  sense,  instead  of  becoming  the  dupe  of  the  two 
former,  or  had  he  continued  in  his  native  religion'  in- 
stead  of  changing  it  for  that  of  his  two  presbyterian 
friends  and  companions,  he  might  have  been  a  very 
useful  member  of  society,  and  gone  through  life  witli 
the  estimation,  good  will  and  friendship  of  his  fellow 
citizens  ;  but  being  extremely  warm  in  his  disposition' 
and  foolishly  engaging  himself  in  all  the  politics  of  the 
republican  faction  with  the  violence  and  acrimony  of  a 
madman,  he  rendered  himself  despicable  in  the  estima- 


1  He  was  brought  up  and  educated  by  his  parents  in  the  French  Reformed 
Church,  of  which  they  were  members  and  communicants. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


5 


tion  of  all  moderate  men,  and  to  every  friend  to  order 
and  ^ood  Government.' 

These  three  young-  gentlemen  were  educated  at 
Yale  College,  in  Connecticut,  a  college  remarkable  for 
its  persecuting  spirit,  its  republican  principles,  its  in- 
tolerance in  religion  and  its  utter  aversion  to  Bishops 
and  all  Earthly  Kings.  They  all  served  regular 
clerkships  to  the  law,  in  the  same  office,  at  the  same 
time,  and  under  the  direction,  wings,  and  guidance,  of 
William  Smith  the  elder ;  were  all  at  this  time  presby- 
terians  by  profession,  and  republicans  in  principle  ; 
being  all  of  the  law,  nearly  of  an  age,  and  linked  to- 
gether in  friendship,  in  principles,  in  politics,  and  re- 
ligion, they  formed  themselves  into  a  triumvirate,  and 
determined,  if  possible,  to  pull  down  Church  and 
State,  to  raise  their  own  Government  and  religion 
upon  its  ruins,  or  to  throw  the  whole  province  into 
anarchy  and  confusion.  How  far  they  succeeded,  the 
following  sheets  will  show. 

In  prosecution  of  this  noble,  godly,  and  pious  reso- 
lution, a  club  was  formed  early  in  the  year  1752 
under  the  appellation  of  the  Whig  Club,  and  held 
once  a  week  at  the  Kings  Arms.  Of  this  Club  the 
aforesaid  William  Livingston,  William  Smith,  and 
John  Morin  Scott,  were  the  leading  members.    It  also 

1  He  died  in  1784;  upon  a  formation  of  a  constitution  for  the  State  of  New 
York  in  consequence  of  an  order  of  Congress,  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the 
State,  he  held  the  Office  to  the  time  of  his  death,  his  son  succeeded  him.  He  took 
an  active  part  against  Great  Britain  from  the  very  commencement  of  the  American 
troubles  till  the  end  of  the  war,  not  so  much  out  of  principle  as  out  of  pique; 
having  failed  in  three  attempts  to  attain  a  seat  in  the  Assembly,  and  his  opponents 
licing  all  steady,  warm  Loyalists  he  took  the  part  of  rebellion  in  order  to  wreak 
his  vengeance  upon  those  who  opposed  him  in  his  elections ;  he  was  the  framer  of 
the  Xew  York  Act  of  Attainder,  and  in  it  included  every  person  of  character  and 
property  whose  political  sentiments  differed  from  his  own ;  he  served  for  some  time 
as  a  General  in  the  New  York  Militia,  never  signalized  himself  in  action  but  was  a 
.nost  violent  persecutor  of  the  Loyalists. 


6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


consisted  of  the  aforesaid  Peter  Van  Brugh  Living-ston 
and  David  Van  Home,  William  Alexander,  Robert 
R.  Livingston,  William  Peartree  Smith,  Doctor  John 
Jones,  and  several  others,  most  of  whom  afterwards 
engaged,  and  took  active  parts,  in  the  late  unnatural, 
unprovoked,  American  rebellion  ;  or  were  the  promo- 
ters, the  advisers  and  counsellors  in  every  step  taken 
prior  to,  and  for  a  long  time  after,  its  actual  commence- 
ment. At  this  club  the  usual  and  customary  toasts  drank 
were,  "  the  immortal memory"  "of  Oliver  Cromzvell," 
"  of  John  Hampderi"  "  of  Hugh  Peters"  "  of General 
Ltcdlozv"  and  others  of  the  most  celebrated  and  distin- 
guished actors  in  the  grand  English  rebellion  in  the 
unhappy  days  of  the  unfortunate  Charles  the  first. 

In  this  club  matters  were  settled,  plans  laid,  schemes 
devised,  and  resolutions  formed,  for  carrying  the  grand 
project  into  execution,  of  pulling  down  the  Church, 
ruining  the  constitution,  or  heaving  the  whole  prov- 
ince into  confusion.  Everything  being  now  agreed 
upon,  fixed  and  settled,  the  proper  plans  formed  and 
digested,  their  batteries  opened  with  the  publication  of 
a  weekly  political  paper  under  the  appellation  of  the 
"  Independent  Reflector"  and  shortly  after  with  another 
under  that  of  the  "  Watch  Tozocr."  The  siege  thus 
begun,  the  assailants  carried  it  on  with  a  rancor,  a 
malevolence,  and  an  acrimony,  not  to  be  equalled  but 
by  the  descendants  of  those  presbyterian  and  republi- 
can fanatics,  whose  ancestors  had  in  the  preceding 
century  brought  their  Sovereign  to  the  block,  subvert- 
ed the  best  constitution  in  the  world,  and  upon  its 
ruins  erected  presbyterianism,  republicanism,  and  hy- 
pocrisy. In  these  publications  the  established  Church 
was  abused,  Monarchy  derided,  Episcopacy  reprobated, 
and  republicanism  held  up,  as  the  best  existing  form  of 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


7 


government  in  the  known  world.  The  Episcopal 
Church  was  taxed  with  an  intolerant  persecuting  spirit, 
while  that  of  the  American  Presbyterians  and  English 
Dissenters  was  pronounced  the  only  meek,  chaste, 
and  unpersecuting  one  in  the  British  dominions.  These 
publications  produced  answers,  a  paper  war  was  the 
consequence,  and  persons  of  all  degrees,  of  all  de- 
nominations, of  all  religions,  and  almost  of  all  ages, 
joining  either  the  one  side  or  the  other,  the  Colony,  in 
a  short  time,  from  a  state  of  happiness,  became  a  scene 
of  confusion,  of  uproar,  and  disorder,  thanks  to  the 
triumvirate  Livingston,  Scott,  and  Smith,  and  to  them 
only. 

An  act  of  the  Governor,  the  Council  and  General 
Assembly  of  the  province,  which  had  passed  in  1693, 
during  the  administration  of  Col.  Fletcher,  the  second 
Governor  of  the  province  after  the  revolution,  or  ab- 
dication of  James  the  second,  entitled,  "  An  Act  for 
Settling  a  Ministry  and  Raising  a  Maintenance  for 
them  in  the  City  of  New  York,  County  of  Rich- 
mond, Westchester,  and  Queen's  County,"  by  virtue 
of  which  act  Episcopal  Ministers  were  settled  in 
those  counties,  and  their  salaries  (mere  trifles)  raised 
agreeably  to  the  act  by  a  tax  upon  the  inhabitants  of 
every  denomination,  resident  within  the  Counties  afore- 
said, was  by  these  dissenting  republican  partisans  de- 
clared arbitrary  and  unjust,  obtained  by  fraud  and 
deception,  illegal  in  itself,  and  had  been  wrongly  con- 
strued ;  that  it  was  intended  for  the  settlement  of 
Protestant  Ministers  of  every  denomination  as  a  ma- 
jority of  the  inhabitants  should  agree  upon,  and  by 
no  means  intended  as  a  monopoly  in  favor  of  the 
Episcopalians.  At  all  events  they  insisted  the  act 
was  never  intended  to  tax  dissenters  for  the  main- 


8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


tenance  of  Episcopal  Ministers — that  the  payment 
therefore  ought  to  be  resisted,  that  the  law  would  jus- 
tify and  maintain  such  resistance.  This  doctrine  oc- 
casioned several  law  suits,  in  which  the  triumvirate 
always  appeared  as  advocates  for  the  dissenters,  but 
the  Church  always  prevailing",  the  dissenters  grew  tired 
of  the  controversies,  and  gave  up  the  dispute,  having 
severely  felt  the  effects  of  tedious,  long,  and  expensive 
law  suits,  in  which  they  got  nothing ;  their  advisers 
the  triumvirate  a  great  deal. 

In  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  a  very  valuable  tract 
of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  had  been  granted 
by  letters  patent  under  the  great  seal  of  the  province  to 
"  The  Rector  and  inhabitants  of  the  City  of  New  York 
in  Communion  with  the  Church  of  England  as  by  law 
established," — the  style  of  the  Church  Incorporation. 
This  grant  the  writers  of  these  periodical  papers  af- 
firmed, was  obtained  by  fraud,  a  deception  upon  the 
Crown,  and  of  course  void  ;  that  in  obtaining  this  grant 
the  Church  had  been  guilty  of  some  of  those  pious 
frauds  of  which  she  had  in  all  ages  been  remarkably 
notorious.  Publications  containing  such  reflections  as 
these  were  industriously  dispersed  throughout  the 
province,  charging  the  Episcopal  Church  also  with 
having  obtained  the  letters  patent  through  its  influence, 
its  interest,  and  its  opulence.  They  went  still  further, 
and  at  length  declared  the  title  was  in  a  private  person  ; 
that  the  lands  had  been  granted  in  the  time  of  the 
Dutch  ;  that  all  titles  granted  by  them  were  confirmed 
to  the  grantees  by  the  Articles  of  Capitulation  upon 
which  the  Colony  was  surrendered  to  the  English  ; 
that  a  descendant  from  the  original  grantee  was  then 
living ;  and  charged  the  Church  with  a  robbery  in 
taking  possession  of  the  lands,  and  of  dishonesty  in 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


9 


holding-  them  against  the  legal  owner,  who  they  now 
pointed  out  by  name,1  and  buoying  him  up  with  the 
hopes  of  recovering  a  large  and  valuable  estate,  pre- 
vailed upon  him  to  bring  an  ejectment,  and  try  his 
title.  Smith  the  elder  was  his  Attorney,  and  the  tri- 
umvirate, Livingston,  Smith  Jun.,  and  Scott,  appeared 
upon  the  trial  as  Counsel  for  the  plaintiff. 

While  this  suit  was  depending,  every  art  that  cun- 
ning chicanery  and  falsehood  could  invent  was  made 
use  of  in  the  public  papers,  in  private  companies,  in 
coffee  houses,  and  in  taverns,  by  the  plaintiff,  his  sup- 
porters, advisers,  and  demagogues,  to  prejudice  the 
defendants'  title,  and  to  favor  the  old  dormant  one, 
which  they  had  prevailed  upon  the  poor  ignorant 
plaintiff  to  prosecute  ;  intending  by  such  sinister,  un- 
derhanded, unjustifiable,  and  illegal,  means,  to  influence 
the  jury  whenever  the  cause  should  come  to  a  trial. 

In  October  term  1760  the  action  was  tried  by  a 
special  jury  struck  for  the  purpose,  in  the  presence  of 
the  parties,  and  their  Counsel,  before  one  of  the  Judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  jury  consisted  of  persons 
of  credit,  of  fortune,  and  family,  principally  belonging 
to  the  Church  of  Holland.  The  trial  lasted  for  two 
days  and  almost  two  nights.  The  titles  on  both  sides 
were  fully  canvassed,  and  the  jury  after  a  sensible 
and  judicious  charge  from  the  judge,2  and  a  recess  of 
about  half  an  hour,  returned  with  a  verdict  in  favor 
of  the  defendants,  to  the  great  disappointment  of  the 
plaintiff,  his  counsel,  his  friends  and  advisers.  The 
expense  of  the  suit  proved  the  ruin  of  the  claimant; 

1  One  Cornelius  Browcr,  a  poor,  stupid,  ignorant,  illiterate  Dutchman. 

3  David  Jones,  Esq. ,  of  Fort  Neck  in  Queens  County  on  Long  Island,  who 
was  specially  directed  to  try  this  very  cause,  all  the  other  judges  at  that  time  being 
members  of  the  Church  Corporation,  and  consequently  interested  in  the  event  of  the 
suit. 


TO 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


and  though  he  had  been  prevailed  upon  by  the  advice 
of  the  triumvirate  to  prosecute  the  suit,  yet  the  full 
costs  were  exacted,  and  the  payment  compelled,  with- 
out the  abatement  of  a  farthing.  Though  Livingston 
appeared  as  Counsel  for  the  plaintiff  in  this  cause,  he 
was  playing  his  own  game ;  Brower  was  the  cats- 
paw,  Brower  bore  the  brunt  of  the  action,  Brower 
was  to  pay  all  the  expense,  of  which  Livingston  was 
to  have  his  share;  notwithstanding  which,  had  Brower 
prevailed,  obtained  a  verdict,  and  ousted  the  Church, 
the  Livingston  family  would  have  been  the  gainers, 
they  being,  through  the  female  line,  the  immediate  de- 
scendants of  Anneke  Bogardus  the  original  Dutch 
patentee  under  the  States  of  Holland,  under  whom  the 
claim  was  pretended  and  set  up.  This  the  triumvi- 
rate all  well  knew,  but  of  this  poor  Brower  was  to- 
tally ignorant.  This  anecdote  fully  elucidates  the 
honor,  the  virtue,  the  candor,  and  the  honesty  of  the 
triumvirate,  and  their  dearest  connections,  the  family 
of  the  Livingstons. 

In  the  year  1754,  a  charter  passed  the  seals  es- 
tablishing a  college  in  the  City  of  New  York,  in 
which  a  clause  was  inserted,  directing  "  that  the  pres- 
ident of  the  College  should  for  ever  be,  and  remain, 
a  member  of,  and  in  communion  with,  the  Church 
of  England,  as  by  law  established."  This  was  done, 
as  well  in  consideration  of  a  tract  of  more  than  ten 
acres  of  land  within  the  suburbs  of  the  City,  given  by 
the  Church  to  and  for  the  use  of  the  College,  as  in  con- 
sideration of  1800/.,  given  by  a  member  of  the  Church,1 
as  a  gratuity  to  the  seminary,  and  towards  its  promotion 
and  establishment ;  as  also  because  every  other  Col- 

1  Edward  Antill,  Esq.,  then  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council  for  the  province  of 

New  Jersey. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


I  I 


lege  then  upon  the  Continent  of  America  (a  trifling  one 
in  Virginia  excepted1)  was  under  the  immediate  direc- 
tion, influence  and  management  of  the  presbyterians 
or  other  dissenters;  and  in  this,  the  only  guard  claimed 
by  the  Church,  in  consideration  of  their  large  donations, 
and  granted  by  the  Charter,  was  the  proviso  of  the 
President  being  always  "  a  member  of,  and  in  commu- 
nion with  the  Church  of  England."  The  Governors 
of  the  College  named  in  the  Charter,  consisted  of  the 
first  men  of  figure  and  character  of  every  denomina- 
tion of  Christians  in  the  province,  and  the  senior  minis- 
ters of  the  Dutch  Church,  the  Presbyterian  Meeting, 
and  Lutheran  Church,  equally  with  the  Rector  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  were  of  the  number.  Free 
liberty  was  granted  for  persons  of  every  religious  so- 
ciety to  fill  the  several  employments  immediately  un- 
der the  president,  as  tutors,  professors,  etc.  ;  and  to 
the  students  to  attend  any  place  of  public  worship  their 
parents,  friends  or  guardians  should  think  proper;  their 
attendance  at  Morning  and  Evening  prayers  in  the  Col- 
lege was  the  only  thing  required  by  the  charter.  A 
more  liberal  institution  could  hardly  exist.  Nothing 
could  be  more  reasonable  than  the  claim  of  the  Church. 
Could  any  of  the  other  religious  denominations  desire 
more  indulgence  than  was  granted  them  by  this  char- 
ter? Yet,  reasonable  as  it  was  ;  liberal,  just,  and 
equitable  as  it  was  ;  erected  upon  a  foundation  the 
most  generous,  and  the  least  liable  to  exception  of  any 
one  institution  at  that  time  upon  the  continent ;  an  in- 
stitution under  the  greatest  obligations  to  the  Church 
and  the  members  of  its  communion  ;  the  Church 
having  by  charter  only  the  exclusive  right  of  its 
president,  was,  by  all  moderate  men,  looked  upon 

1  William  and  Mary,  at  Williamsburg!),  the  Capital  of  the  Colony. 


12 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


as  nothing  more  than  a  real  piece  of  justice.  Not- 
withstanding which,  the  triumvirate  with  their  dema- 
gogues, their  adherents  and  partisans,  were  deter- 
mined, if  possible,  to  have  the  charter  surrendered, 
and  the  proviso  altered,  or  to  ruin  the  institution  in 
its  infancy.  They  accordingly  had  recourse  to  their 
usual  arts,  and  the  press  soon  groaned  under  the 
weight  of  their  malevolent  productions.  Scandalous 
inflammatory  libels  were  published  and  dispersed  into 
all  parts  of  the  colony,  in  which  the  grant  of  the  char- 
ter was  reprobated  in  the  strongest  terms,  the  Church 
vilified,  and  the  Governor  and  Council  abused.  Had 
a  new  government,  tyrannical,  arbitrary,  and  despotic, 
been  erected,  the  popish  religion  established,  the  pres- 
byterians  burned  at  the  stake  and  the  Episcopalians 
their  persecutors,  more  noise  could  not  have  been 
made,  than  was  now  excited  about  this  charter ;  nor 
could  more  pains  have  been  taken  to  subvert  such  a 
government,  than  were  taken  by  these  republicans  to 
reach  the  charter,  to  get  the  obnoxious  clause  altered, 
or  to  crush  the  seminary  in  its  bud.  The  Governor 1  was 
abused  for  passing  the  charter  ;  his  Majesty's  Council* 
were  vilified  for  advising  it ;  and  the  Church,  the 
damnable  Church,  that  persecuting  "  whore  of  Baby- 
lon," it  was  insisted,  had,  in  exclusion  to  all  other  de- 
nominations, wickedly  and  artfully  obtained  the  cursed 
exclusive  clause,  and  was  endeavoring  to  increase  her 
wealth,  her  power,  and  influence,  at  the  expense  of 
the  public,  and  to  the  injury  and  oppression  of  all  the 
other  religious  sects  in  the  province. 

1  James  De  Lancey,  Esq., then  Lieut.Gov.  and  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Colony. 

*  Of  the  Council  at  this  time,  the  principal  leaders  were  Archibald  Kennedy, 
Joseph  Murray,  John  Rutherfurd,  John  Chambers,  Daniel  Horsmanden,  Edward 
Holland,  all  sensible,  honest,  worthy  men,  of  opulent  fortunes,  unblemished  charac- 
ters and  fair  reputations. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK 


Petitions,  addresses,  and  remonstrances,  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Governor,  the  Council,  and  General 
Assembly,  and  anonymous  publications,  malevolent, 
violent,  and  replete  with  every  kind  of  abuse,  daily 
appeared  in  consequence  of  the  proviso  in  the  College 
charter.  In  obtaining  these  petitions,  addresses,  and 
remonstrances,  the  triumvirate,  with  other  factious, 
republican  sectaries,  publicly  appeared,  and  openly 
solicited  subscribers.  The  whole  province  was  put 
into  a  ferment,  meetings  in  all  the  towns  and  districts 
were  called,  inflammatory  speeches  in  such  meetings 
made  ;  the  Counties  were  canvassed,  the  presbyterian 
pulpits  thundered  sedition,  and  every  engine  was  set 
at  work  to  gain  petitioners,  addressers,  and  remon- 
strants, under  the  direction  of  the  republican  faction, 
of  which  William  Livingston,  William  Smith,  Jun.,  and 
John  Morin  Scott  now  publicly  took  the  lead.  Anony- 
mous letters  were  written  and  sent  to  the  General 
Assembly  as  a  body,  to  many  of  the  leading  members 
personally,  and  particularly  to  the  speaker,'  who  was 
supposed  to  have  more  influence  in  the  house  than 
any  other  member.  These  letters  were  said  to  come 
from  Quaker  Congregations,  and  were  written  in 
their  style  ;  from  Presbyterian  Meetings,  from  Congre- 
gationalists,  from  Anabaptists,  Moravians,  Seceders, 
Independents,  and  Separatists  ;  they  were  all  pub- 
lished in  the  public  papers,  and  industriously  spread 
about  the  province.  At  length  letters  appeared  from 
the  Scotch  inhabitants,  and  the  Germans  settled  in 
different  parts  of  the  Colony,  couched  in  broken 
English,  and  addressed  to  the  General  Assembly,  or 

1  David  Jones,  Esq.,  who  then,  and  for  many  years  before  and  after,  represented 
Queens  County  upon  Long  Island ;  and  though  an  Episcopalian  himself,  the 
greatest  part  of  his  constituents  consisted  of  Presbyterians,  and  Quakers. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


to  some  of  its  members  of  influence.  While  no  evi- 
dence could  be  produced  of  the  writers  of  these  anony- 
mous publications,  Hugh  Gaine,  the  printer  of  a 
weekly  paper  at  that  time  in  New  York,  received  a 
letter  inclosing  a  petition  to  the  Assembly  against  the 
Charter  granted  to  the  College,  and  said  to  be  from, 
and  signed  by  order  of,  all  his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects 
in  the  Colony,  emigrants  from  the  Kingdom  of  Ire- 
land, or  their  immediate  descendants,  and  desiring  its 
publication.  This  petition  in  order  to  give  it  the 
greater  appearance  of  authenticity,  was  written  in  bad 
English,  mispelled,  and  filled  with  bulls  and  Irishisms. 
Gaine  being  himself  an  Irishman,  and  looking  upon  the 
petition  as  a  reflection  upon  himself,  his  countrymen 
in  the  Colony,  and  in  short  upon  the  whole  Irish 
nation,  refused  to  print  it ;  and  making  an  apology 
for  his  refusal,  he  was  instantly  attacked  in  all  the 
other  public  papers  for  partiality,  charged  with  being 
bribed  by  the  Church,  and  with  having  sold  his  con- 
science in  order  to  serve  the  sinister  purposes  of  the 
Episcopalians  ;  that  his  press  was  no  longer  impartial, 
that  it  was  open  only  to  the  Church,  shut  against  the 
friends  of  liberty,  and  prostituted  to  serve  the  dirty 
purposes  of  a  party.  These  reflections  as  cutting,  as 
severe,  and  as  cruel  as  unjust,  at  length  raised  Gaine's 
Hibernian  spirit,  and  in  his  next  paper,  after  a  short 
apology  to  his  countrymen,  he  ushered  to  the  sight  of 
the  public,  the  curious  petition  which  had  for  more 
than  three  weeks  been  the  subject  of  rancor,  ill  nature, 
abuse,  and  scurrility.  But  by  way  of  preface  to  the 
publication,  he  printed  the  letter,  in  which  the  Irish 
petition  came  inclosed  to  him,  at  the  bottom  of  which 
to  the  great  mortification  of  the  republican  faction,  and 
to  the  no  small  joy  and  satisfaction  of  the  Church  ap- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


15 


peared  the  names  following-,  to  wit;  William  Living- 
ston, William  Smith,  Jnn.,  John  Morin  Scott. 
The  cat  was  fairly  out  of  the  bag,  the  secret  disclosed, 
and  the  authors  of  our  civil  discord,  and  commotions, 
discovered  to  be  the  very  persons  before  suspected, 
and  the  secret,  as  well  as  the  open,  enemies  of  the 
Church,  the  English  Constitution,  and  the  College,  to 
consist  of  the  same  set  of  people. 

The  triumvirate  and  the  republican  faction  of  which 
they  were  the  head,  finding  the  Governors  of  the  Col- 
lege not  to  be  intimidated  into  a  surrender  of  their 
Charter,  or  into  the  acceptance  of  an  additional  one 
abolishing  the  exceptionable  clause,  exerted  all  their 
might,  their  strength,  influence,  and  power,  to  prevail 
upon  the  General  Assembly  to  pass  an  act  to  repeal 
the  charter,  and  to  form  a  new  one  upon  their  own 
plan  ;  insisting  that  the  King  could  grant  no  charter  of 
privileges  under  the  great  seal,  without  being  subject 
to  the  control  of  parliament ;  and  that  every  charter 
ought  legally  to  be  established  by  an  act  of  parlia- 
ment, or  if  granted  by  the  Crown,  confirmed  by  such 
act ;  or  else  such  charters  were  mere  nullities,  and 
consequently  void  ;  that  the  Charter  from  the  Gover- 
nor to  the  College,  though  under  the  great  seal  of  the 
province,  and  passed  by  the  advice  of  his  Majesty's 
Council,  was  null  and  void,  unless  confirmed  by  an  act 
of  Assembly ;  and  modestly  proposed  to  that  body  to 
pass  an  act  to  annul  the  Charter  and  form  a  new  one 
upon  the  presbyterian  plan.  And  should  the  Governor 
refuse  his  consent  to  such  an  act  passing  into  a  law,  the 
General  Assembly  were  advised  to  withdraw  the  sum 
of  about  5,000  pounds  which  had  been  expressly  raised 
by  some  lotteries  for  the  use  of  the  College,  and  a 
certain  annual  sum  of  500  pounds  given  by  a  vote  of  the 


i6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


House,  for  its  use,  out  of  the  moneys  arising-  from  an 
excise  upon  strong-  liquors.  And  so  far  did  these  pe- 
titions, addresses,  and  remonstrances,  attended  with 
the  violent,  inflammatory  publications  aforesaid,  and 
the  false  and  infamous  libels  dispersed  in  every  part 
of  the  Colony,  threatening  to  exclude  every  member 
at  another  election  from  a  seat  in  the  house  who 
should  dare  to  vote,  or  act  in  favor  of  the  College, 
prevail,  that  they  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  majority  of 
that  elective  body  to  pass  a  resolve,  by  which  they 
deprived  the  College  of  one  half  of  all  the  money  that 
had  been  expressly  raised  for  its  use,  upon  pretence 
that  the  Charter  granted  by  the  Governor  was  not 
agreeable  to  the  real  intent  of  the  House  when  they 
granted  the  money.  To  convince  the  public  of  this, 
they  ordered  a  bill  brought  in,  revoking  the  Charter 
granted  by  the  Governor,  and  establishing  a  new  one 
agreeably  to  the  wishes  and  designs  of  the  republi- 
cans. This  bill  was  drawn  by  the  triumvirate,  intro- 
duced into  the  house,  and  moved  by  Robert  Living- 
ston, Esq.,  who  then  represented  his  own  Manor  in 
the  County  of  Albany,  a  violent  partisan,  and  one  of 
the  principal  leaders  of  the  republican  faction  in  New 
York.  This  bill  the  house  ordered  printed  in  all  the 
public  papers,  that  the  sentiments  of  the  province 
might  be  known  at  the  next  session.  In  the  mean 
time  the  College  being  established,  a  president,  tutors, 
and  professors  appointed ;  the  Governors  mentioned 
in  the  Charter  qualified,  youths  admitted,  a  treasurer 
nominated,  the  fund  settled,  the  whole  completely  or- 
ganized; and  the  discontented,  turbulent,  presbyterian 
republican  faction,  well  knowing  that  should  their  fa- 
vorite act  pass  the  house,  and  even  the  Council,  (which 
they  well  knew  was  morally  impossible)  it  would  re- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


ceive  a  negative  from  the  Governor ;  and  a  war  break- 
ing out  in  1755,  between  Great  Britain  and  France, 
which  nearly  affected  the  American  Colonies,  they 
took  the  opportunity  of  dropping  a  dispute  which 
they  found  could  be  no  longer  maintained  with  any 
probability  of  success. 

The  war  continuing,  and  a  new  assembly  being  con- 
vened in  1759,  a  majority  of  the  republican  faction 
were  elected  ;  among  the  rest  were  Philip  Livingston 
for  the  City,  Henry  Livingston  and  Robert  R.  Liv- 
ingston for  Dutchess,  William  Livingston  for  the 
Manor,  William  Bayard,  first  cousin  to  Philip  Liv- 
ingston for  the  City  of  New  York,  and  Abraham 
Tenbroek,  his  brother  in  law,  for  Albany,  with  other 
staunch  republicans.  They  immediately  took  the  lead 
in  the  house.  William  Smith  Jun.,  and  John  Morin 
Scott  were  their  advisers  without  doors ;  and  the 
Episcopalians  the  friends  of  order,  and  good  gov- 
ernment, always  making  it  a  rule,  never  to  interfere 
with,  or  molest  the  ruling  powers,  but  ever  to  wait 
with  patience  till  the  time  arrives  which  puts  it  in  their 
power  constitutionally  to  oppose  their  enemies ;  all 
things  seemed  to  be  fast  returning  to  that  former 
harmony  which  has  been  already  mentioned  as  sub- 
sisting in  1752,  thanks  to  the  patience,  the  virtue,  the 
meekness  and  loyalty  of  the  Episcopalians. 

On  the  30th  of  October,  1760,  the  late  King,  George 
II.,  died,  in  consequence  of  which  the  Assembly  dis- 
solved of  course.  The  members  returned  to  the  new 
Assembly,  gave  an  additional  strength  to  the  republi- 
can party.  All  those  that  were  in  the  former  house 
were  re-elected,  and  some  new  ones  chosen  in  the 
place  of  old  members,  who  either  declined  serving, 
lost  their  seats,  or  were  promoted  to  the  Council  of 


i8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  province.  The  American  stamp  act  which  was 
passed  by  the  British  parliament  in  March,  1765,  and 
enacted  to  take  effect  on  the  first  of  November  in  the 
same  year,  occasioned  a  universal  tumult  throughout 
the  colony ;  but  as  all  parties,  all  denominations,  and 
all  ranks  of  people  appeared  unanimous  in  opposing 
its  execution,  the  peace  of  the  province,  as  to  any 
internal  jarrings,  or  political  tenets,  among  its  inhabit- 
ants, was  not  in  the  least  disturbed ;  and  the  repeal  of 
that  act  taking  place  in  1766,  the  storm,  which  it  had 
occasioned,  blew  over,  a  calm  succeeded,  and  all  be- 
came once  more  peace  and  quietness. 

In  December,  1767,  the  General  Assembly  was  dis- 
solved, having  served  seven  years,  the  time  of  its 
duration  by  a  provincial  act  confirmed  by  the  Crown. 
At  the  ensuing  elections,  the  republican  party  lost 
ground,  several  of  the  most  prominent  members  in  the 
last  house  lost  their  seats,  and  were  succeeded  by  firm, 
staunch  Episcopalians.1  However,  the  then  Governor, 
Sir  Henry  Moore,  being  in  the  republican  interest, 
which  he  espoused  with  great  warmth,  and  Philip 
Livingston  being  chosen  speaker  of  the  new  Assembly, 
and  both  in  a  great  measure  under  the  influence  of  the 
triumvirate,  things  remained  pretty  quiet  until  January, 
1769,  when  Sir  Henry,  to  please  the  faction  and  give 
them  an  opportunity  of  regaining  the  ground  they  had 

1  James  Uc  Lancey,  the  head  of  that  family,  eldest  son  of  the  late  Governor  De 
Lancey,  Jacob  Walton,  and  James  Jaunccy  were  elected  as  new  members  for  die 
city,  Leonard  Van  Kleek,  and  Derick  Brinkerhoff,  were  returned  for  Dutchess  in 
the  room  of  Robert  R.  Livingston  and  Henry  Livingston.  John  De  Lancey, 
cousin  of  James  abovementioned,  and  one  of  the  sons  of  Peter  De  Lancey  of  Rose- 
hill,  West  Farms,  a  younger  brother  of  the  late  Governor,  came  in  for  the  borough 
of  Westchester,  John  Rapalje  was  chosen  for  Kings  County,  Samuel  Gale  and 
John  De  Noyelles  for  Orange,  and  these,  in  conjunction  with  the  old  anti-republi- 
can members,  formed  a  large  majority  against  the  Presbyterian  faction,  which  was 
now  dubbed  by  the  name  of  the  "  Whig  Interest." 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


T9 


lost  at  the  last  elections,  dissolved  the  Assembly.  New 
elections  came  on,  the  whole  strength  of  the  republi  ■ 
can  interest  was  tried;  the  Governor's  influence  was 
used,  his  secretary  1  openly  canvassed  and  made  pro- 
mises in  the  name  of  the  Governor,  threatened  some 
with  the  vengeance  of  his  Excellency,  abused  numbers, 
and  coaxed,  flattered,  and  endeavoured  to  cajole  others. 
Every  means  was  employed,  his  father'  was  one  of 
the  candidates,  but  all  in  vain,  the  party  still  lost 
ground.  The  late  speaker,'  and  almost  every  remain- 
ing republican,  a  junto  of  six  or  seven  (of  which  George 
Clinton,  the  present  Governor  of  New  York,  Nathaniel 
Woodhull,  the  rebel  general  who  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Brookland  in  1776,  and  Philip  Schuyler,  one 
of  the  first  generals  commissioned  by  Congress,  were 
the  only  ones  of  consequence)  excepted,  lost  their 
seats  ;  and  Sir  Henry  dying  the  same  year,  and  Cad- 
walader  Colden,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  course 
succeeding  to  the  administration,  a  strict,  honest,  rigid 
Churchman,  every  member  of  the  Council,  William 
Smith,  Jr.,  excepted,  professing  the  same  religion,  and 
a  large  majority  of  the  General  Assembly  being  totally 
averse  to  all  republican  measures,  the  triumvirate 
again  arose  ;  and  at  the  latter  end  of  this  year,  and 
during  the  whole  of  1770,  a  periodical  paper  under  the 
signature  of  the  American  Whig  made  its  weekly 
appearance;  and  in  the  year  1 77 1 ,  another  under  the 
title  of  the  Watchman  was  published  in  Philadelphia, 
though  calculated  for  the  meridian  of  New  York,  and 
constantly  republished  there  by  one  John  Holt,  a  most 
flaming,  notorious,  republican  printer. 

The  triumvirate  in  the  composition  of  these  papers 

1  Philip  Livingston,  Jr.,  Esq.  *  refer  Van  Brugh  Livingston,  Esq. 

1  Philip  Livingston,  Esq. 


20 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


were  now  assisted  by  Thomas  Smith,  full  brother  to 
William,  one  of  the  triumvirate  ;  by  a  doctor  Prime,  a 
most  violent,  persecuting  republican,  the  son  of  a  pres- 
byterian  minister  at  Huntington,  upon  Long  Island, 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  Esq.,  then  one  of  the  Judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  his  eldest  son,  Robert  R.  Liv- 
ingston, Jr.,  (a  youth  of  good  parts,  a  steady  republican, 
a  violent  partisan  ;  he  afterward  served  as  a  member 
in  the  New  York  Convention,  as  a  delegate  in  Con- 
gress, and  in  1781  was  made  American  minister  for 
foreign  affairs),  by  doctor  Smith,  also  full  brother  to 
the  aforesaid  William,  a  person  of  strict  republican 
principles,  a  professed  enemy  to  monarchy,  a  rigid 
independent,  a  hater  of  Episcopacy,  and  of  a  most 
turbulent,  factious,  seditious  disposition.  He  left  New 
York  in  1766,  and  went  to  the  West  Indies,  where  he 
married  a  woman  of  some  fortune,  and  from  thence, 
about  the  beginning  of  the  late  rebellion,  to  England, 
and  settled  in  London  ;  from  whence  he  carried  on  a 
constant  correspondence  with  the  rebels  in  America, 
advising  them  of  every  necessary  step  to  be  taken,  of 
their  numerous  friends  in  England,  and  of  the  different 
plans  projected  in  their  behalf;  advising  them  never 
to  submit,  but  to  contend  to  the  last ;  and  upon  every 
occasion  haranguing  the  mobs  in  London  in  favor  of 
the  "  ricrhts  of  mankind"  and  the  "liberties  of  the 
people."1  He  continued  in  London  until  the  riots, 
tumults,  and  fires  which  happened  in  June,  1780,  when, 
laboring  under  strong  suspicions  of  being  deeply  con- 

1  The  Political  Magazine,  in  speaking  of  William  Smith,  the  late  Chief- Justice 
of  New  York,  and  now  of  Canada,  says:  "This  chief-justice  had  a  brother,  one 
Dr.  Smith,  who  lived  in  Downing  street  ;  that  he  was  an  intimate  of  Silas  Deane 
and  of  John  the  Painter,  who  set  fire  to  the  Dock  Yard  at  Portsmouth,  for  which 
he  was  executed  ;  that  he  was  known  in  all  the  debating  clubs  for  arguing  against 
CJreat  Britain  ii  favor  of  America. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


21 


cerned  in  those  unhappy  disturbances,  and  no  doubt 
conscious  of  it  himself,  he  left  England  and  fled  to 
Brussels,  in  Flanders,  where  he  continued  until  the 
king  of  Great  Britain  acknowledged  the  independence 
of  the  colonies,  treated  with  them  as  a  separate,  dis- 
tinct nation,  gav  e  them  more  than  they  ever  expected, 
sacrificed  his  loyal  subjects,  gave  away  their  property 
without  a  single  term,  condition,  or  stipulation  in  their 
favor,  and  dismembered  the  empire.'  This  business 
accomplished,  Dr.  Smith  returned  to  America,  where 
he  still  lives. 

Besides  the  above,  the  triumvirate  had  now  the  assist- 
ance of  Dr.  Rogers  and  Mr.  Treat,  the  two  Presbyte- 
rian ministers  in  the  City  of  New  York,  one  Alexander 
McDougal  (of  whom  enough  hereafter),  and  the  Rev. 
IN  I r.  Laidly,  a  Scotch,  Dutch,  parson,  of  Jesuitical,  re- 
publican, and  puritanical  principles.  This  man  had 
been  called  from  Holland  by  the  Dutch  churches  in 
New  York,  in  order  to  preach  in  English  in  one  of 
them,  for  the  accommodation  of  such  of  the  congrega- 
tion as  were  not  well  versed  in  the  Dutch  language. 
This  was  the  ostensible  reason  for  his  call,  though  the 
real  truth  was,  a  scheme  laid  and  carried  into  execution 
through  the  means  of  the  triumvirate,  and  the  republi- 
can cabal,  in  hopes  of  not  only  converting  the  Dutch 
Churches  into  presbyterian  conventicles,  but  in  time, 
of  getting  possession  of  those  revenues  which  even 
then  amounted  to  a  very  considerable  annual  sum. 
This  man  was  in  his  heart  a  presbyterian,  in  his  prin- 
ciples of  government  a  republican,  an  absolute  enemy 

1  It  is  a  question  among  lawyers  whether  a  king  of  Great  Britain  has  this 
power,  that  is,  constitutionally.  Whether  he  has  it,  or  has  it  not,  the  business  is 
now  done,  America  is  lost,  and  thousands  of  loyal  subjects,  with  all  their  property 
ruined  by  the  cursed  manoeuvre,  owing  to  a  damnable  faction  in  England,  and  the 
want  of  sprit,  resolution,  and  steadiness  in  a  king. 


22 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


to  monarchical  government,  and  a  most  rancorous  hater 
of  episcopacy.  He  preached  a  doctrine,  and  endeav- 
ored to  establish  a  system  of  politics  in  his  congrega- 
tion, extremely  favorable  to  the  wishes  and  designs  of 
the  republican  faction  in  the  province.  His  religion 
was  that  of  the  New  England  dissenters,  a  religion  as 
far  distant  from  that  of  the  Church  of  Holland,  as  is 
the  Church  of  England  from  that  of  Geneva.  He  soon 
introduced  his  own  system  of  religion  in  the  church, 
herded  entirely  with  the  presbyterian  parsons,  the  tri- 
umvirate, and  other  principal  leaders  of  the  puritanic 
conventicles.  He  shut  up  his  church  and  refused  to 
perform  divine  service  on  the  festivals  of  Christmas, 
Easter,  and  Whitsuntide,  days  sacred,  and  held  in 
great  estimation  among  the  original  Dutch.  This  con- 
duct  at  last  occasioned  a  schism  in  the  church,  the 
parties  came  to  loggerheads,  battles  ensued,  noses 
were  pulled,  faces  boxed,  and  ears  roughly  handled, 
males  against  males,  and  females  against  females  ;  the 
consequence  was  a  separation,  the  Dutch  part  of  the 
congregation  following  their  own  minister,  and  the 
presbyterian  or  English  party,  Laidly.  A  lawsuit  for 
the  management  of  the  property  and  revenues  was  an- 
other consequence.  The  followers  of  Laidly  were  in 
possession,  the  old  Dutch  brought  their  action,  Living- 
ston, Smith  Jr.,  and  Scott  were  counsel  for  the  Laid- 
leans,  a  special  verdict  was  found,  and  upon  solemn 
argument,  judgment  was  given  in  favor  of  the  defend- 
ants. They  accordingly  kept  possession  of  the  records 
and  revenues  of  the  church  until  1776,  when  General 
Howe  thought  proper,  by  virtue  of  his  power  under 
the  law  military,  to  reverse  the  judgment  given  in  the 
Supreme  Court ;  and  under  pretence  of  the  leaders  of 
that  church  beimr  disaffected  to  the  British  govern- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


23 


nient,  he  seized  upon  the  edifice,  converted  it  into  a 
prison  for  rebels,  and  ousting  the  Laidleans  he  put 
their  opponents,  the  old  Dutch,  in  full  possession  of 
all  the  revenues  and  records  belonging  to  the  Dutch 
congregation ;  which  possession  they  held  until  the 
evacuation  of  New  York  by  the  British  army;  upon 
which  event  the  Laidleans  again  got  the  possession  of 
their  church,  and  with  it,  all  the  records  and  revenues 
appertaining  to  the  Dutch  Church  Corporation,  and  in 
consequence  of  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York 
passed  after  they  had  full  notice  of  the  peace,  com- 
pelled the  treasurer  of  the  Old  Dutch  Church  to  re- 
fund every  farthing  that  he  had  received  of  the  reve- 
nues of  the  Dutch  Church  Corporation  during  the 
whole  of  the  rebellion. 

This  Laidly  was  a  principal  leader  in  the  above- 
mentioned  political  papers  which  were  published  in 
New  York  in  1768,  1769,  1770,  and  1771,  under  the 
signatures  of  the  "American  W  hig,"  "  Sir  Isaac  Foot," 
and  the  "  Watchman."  These  publications  were  re- 
plete with  all  kinds  of  abuse,  scurrility,  falsehood, 
fraud,  hypocrisy,  chicane,  sedition,  and  indeed  very 
little  short  of  treason  itself.  Private  characters  were 
dissected,  corporate,  and  other  public  bodies  vilified, 
persons  in  high  stations  under  government  libelled, 
and  the  Episcopal  Church  most  grossly  abused.  The 
very  ashes  of  the  dead  were  raked  from  their  graves, 
in  which  they  had  peaceably  lain  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  the  characters  of  the  deceased  publicly  lampooned  ; 
the  "Watchman  "  declaring  in  one  of  his  publications 
that  "  it  was  right  so  to  do,  to  prevent  and  deter  the 
living  from  following  the  execrable  examples  of  their 
deceased  friends  and  relations  '"  and  all  the  little  anec- 
dotes of  many  principal  families  in  the  province,  which 


24 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


happened  when  living,  were  trumpeted  about  by  the 
Watchman  in  the  most  barbarous,  scandalous,  and  in- 
human manner. 

In  one  of  the  weekly  papers,  under  the  title  of  the 
American  Whig,  published  in  1769,  the  following  re- 
markable expressions  were  made  use  of;  speaking  of 
America  and  its  wide  extensive  continent,  with  its 
number  of  inhabitants,  and  richness  of  its  soil,  it  is 
thus  asserted, — "  This  country  will  shortly  become  a 
great  and  flourishing  empire,  independent  of  Great 
Britain  j  enjoying  its  civil  and  religions  liberty,  un- 
contaminated,  and  deserted  of  all  control  from  Bishops, 
the  curse  of  curses,  and  from  the  subjection  of  all 
earthly  Kings  ■  the  corner  stones  of  this  great  structure 
are  already  laid,  the  materials  are  preparing,  and  be- 
fore six  years  roll  aboict,  the  great,  the  noble,  the  stupen- 
dous fabric  will  be  erected."  How  well  this  prediction 
has  been  verified  the  times  at  present  show.1 

In  the  year  1770  (the  General  Assembly  then  sitting) 
several  abusive,  inflammatory,  scandalous,  and  mali- 
cious, libels  against  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  Coun- 
cil, and  the  General  Assembly  were  dispersed  about  the 
town  in  the  night,  and  posted  up  at  every  corner  of 
the  city.  The  Assembly  advised  the  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor to  issue  a  proclamation  offering  a  reward  to  any 
person  who  should  inform  against  the  author,  so  that 
he  might  be  legally  convicted.  This  had  the  desired 
effect.  The  reward  produced  an  informer,  and  the 
printer  upon  his  examination  gave  up  the  author,  who 
appeared  to  be  one  Alexander  McDougal,  the  son  of  a 
poor  industrious  milkman  in  New  York,  an  emigrant 
from  the  isle  of  Islay,  in  Scotland,  where  this  man  was 


1  This  was  written  in  1784,  shortly  after  the  recognition  of  American  Independ- 
ence by  Great  Britain  and  the  recall  of  her  army  and  navy  from  that  country. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


25 


born.  While  a  lad,  he  for  many  years  followed  the 
occupation  of  his  father,  and  trudged  about  town  with 
the  pails  upon  his  back,  dealing-  out  milk  to  his  father's 
customers ;  at  length  a  dissention  happening  in  the 
presbyterian  meeting,  of  which  old  McDougal  was  a 
member,  a  number  of  the  Scotch  seceded,  and  hiring 
a  house  to  preach  in,  McDougal  was  chosen  pastor, 
and  Alexander  the  son  appointed  clerk.  He  quitted 
this  employment  for  the  sea,  made  several  Yoyages 
before  the  mast,  and  was  promoted  in  time  to  be  mate 
of  a  little  coasting  vessel,  and  at  length  to  that  of 
master  of  a  small  sloop,  which  usually  ran  once  or 
twice  a  year  between  New  York  and  St.  Augustine, 
belonging  to  a  gentleman  who  had  a  contract  for  sup- 
plying that  garrison  with  provisions.1  In  the  year  1 758 
(Great  Britain  and  France  being  then  at  war)  he  was 
made  a  captain  of  a  small  privateer  sloop  called  the 
Tygcr  of  six  guns  and  fifty  men.  In  a  cruise  or  two, 
he  captured  some  prizes  of  small  value,  but  made  some- 
thing considerable  by  levying  contributions  upon  a 
number  of  Dutch  ships  which  he  seized  in  the  West 
Indies  under  pretence  of  their  being  carriers  for  the 
French,  the  captains  of  which,  rather  than  be  carried 
to,  and  perhaps  detained  for  some  time  in  English 
ports,  prudently  gave  him  sums  of  money  for  permis- 
sion to  proceed  on  their  respective  voyages.  By  these 
means  and  the  share  of  his  prizes,  having  acquired  a 
small  estate,  he  quitted  the  sea  and  settled  in  New 
York,  where  he  kept  what  is  known  among  sailors  by 
the  name  of  a  Slop-Shop. "  In  the  course  of  a  few 
years  he  considerably  increased  his  capital.    At  the 

1  William  Walton,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  one  of  the  first  families  in  the  province, 
many  years  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  in 
June  1767,  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council. 


26 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


end  of  the  war  in  1763,  he  made  a  voyage  to  Saint 
Croix,  in  the  West  Indies,  and  passing  for  a  clergy- 
man's son  of  high  distinction,  married  a  lady  of  some 
fortune,  returned  to  New  York,  and  entered  into  trade 
upon  a  much  larger  scale  than  before.  Being  a  strong 
republican,  a  rigid  presbyterian,  extremely  ambitious,  a 
dabbler  in  politics,  and  having  a  pretty  good  genius,  and 
by  dint  of  application  having  obtained  some  knowledge 
in  literature,  his  politics  and  religion  paved  the  way 
to  an  intimacy  with  the  triumvirate,  and  other  leaders 
of  the  republican  faction,  with  whom  in  a  short  time 
he  became  closely  linked.  He  was  a  principal  promo- 
ter and  encourager  of  the  unhappy  disputes  which 
raged  with  such  violence  in  the  colony  for  many  years, 
terminated  in  a  rebellion,  in  a  dismemberment  of  the 
empire,  in  almost  a  total  destruction  of  thirteen  valua- 
ble provinces,  and  in  the  loss  of  not  less  than  100,000 
brave  men.  He  was  one  of  the  committee  of  fifty  ap- 
pointed upon  the  recommendation  of  Congress,  for 
the  City  of  New  York,  in  the  year  1774  ;  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  first  provincial  Congress  held  for  the  colony, 
and  by  them  commissioned  to  the  first  rebel  regiment 
raised  in  the  province,  and  served  Congress  as  a  mili- 
tary officer  during  the  whole  rebellion.  He  was,  upon 
the  close  of  the  revolution,  put  at  the  head  of  the 
bank  established  in  New  York,  and  this  position  he  held 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  happened  in  March,  1786. 

Information  being  lodged  against  this  man  as  the 
author  and  publisher  of  the  false,  scandalous,  and  de- 
famatory libels  aforesaid,  Daniel  Horsmanden,  the 
Chief  Justice  of  the  province,  issued  his  warrant  against 
him ;  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  apprehended, 
brought  before  the  Chief  Justice,  and  refusing  to  give 
bail  was  committed  to  prison.    The  republican  presses 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


-7 


now  laboured  with  the  oppression  of  McDougal,  he  was 
exalted  to  the  very  skies  as  a  patriot,  suffering  in  the 
cause  of  liberty  ;  his  opposition  to  the  three  branches 
of  the  legislature,  was  said  to  arise  from  a  regard  to 
the  liberties  and  privileges  of  the  people.  The  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, the  Council,  and  the  General  Assem- 
bly were  charged  with  being  in  the  pay  of  the  British 
Ministry  and  endeavoring  to  introduce  an  arbitrary  and 
illegal  system  of  Government  in  the  colonies.  It  was 
averred  that  the  Assembly  had  lost  the  confidence  of 
the  people,  and  were  of  course  no  Assembly,  that  all 
power  was  lodged  in  the  people  ;  that  the  members  of 
the  house  were  their  substitutes,  and  that  the  people 
at  large  consequently  had  a  right  to  dissolve  the  As- 
sembly and  elect  other  members  whenever  they  pleased 
without  the  Governor's  consent  or  approbation.  In 
short,  the  republican  faction,  in  order  to  serve  their 
own  purposes,  and  carry  their  own  points,  were  throw- 
ing everything  into  anarchy,  confusion,  and  disorder, 
and  would,  no  doubt,  have  rejoiced  at  seeing  the  citi- 
zens and  inhabitants  engaged  in  cutting  one  and  an- 

o    o  o 

other's  throats,  if  their  own  interests  would  have  been 
advanced  by  such  means.  In  the  meantime  McDou- 
gal, who  now  lay  snug  in  jail,  was  dubbed  "  a  second 
Wilkes,"  "  a  patriot,"  "  a  defender  of  the  rights  of  man- 
kind and  liberties  of  the  people."  The  public  papers 
announced  that  on  such  a  day  45  gentlemen  dined 
with  him,  that  on  such  a  morning  45  ladies  breakfasted 
with  him,  that  on  such  a  night  45  tradesmen  supped 
with  him,  that  on  such  an  afternoon  45  women  drank 
tea  with  him;  that  Thomas  Smith,  Esq.,  full  brother 
to  William,  had  sent  him  a  present  of  45  lbs.  of  beef, 
that  Peter  R.  Livingston,  brother-in-law  to  the  same 
William,  had  sent  him  45  bottles  of  Madeira,  some 


28 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Scotch  traders  45  bottles  of  ale,  the  two  presbyterian 
parsons,  Rogers  and  Treat,  45  lbs.  of  candles.  Some- 
times we  were  told  of  45  bottles  of  wine  being-  drank 
at  a  sitting,  of  45  lbs.  of  beef  being  eaten,  and  45  pat- 
riotic toasts  given.  In  short,  the  press  laboured  with 
the  enumeration  of  so  many  45's,  that  the  parties  them- 
selves grew  tired  of  the  number.  But  to  keep  up  the 
popular  clamor  No.  93  was  substituted  in  its  room,  in 
honor  of  93  members  of  the  Great  and  General  Court 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  who  had  refused  to  rescind 
a  vote  of  theirs  at  the  desire  of  Lord  Hillsborough,  then 
secretary  to  the  American  department ;  and  here  the 
whole  scene  was  again  renewed,  published  in  the  pa- 
pers, and  boasted  of  in  all  companies. 

While  this  farce  was  acting,  and  McDougal's  "  op- 
pression," as  his  partisans  termed  it,  was  blazed  through- 
out the  continent,  and  the  public  papers  were  daily 
laboring  with  fulsome  panegyrics  of  his  noble,  undaunt- 
ed spirit,  his  perseverance  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  his  pat- 
riotism, his  bold,  unshackled  mind,  and  his  firm  reso- 
lution of  bringing  his  enemies,  and  those  of  his  country 
to  condign  punishment,  and  exposing  them  to  the  world 
for  their  tyranny,  their  arbitrary  power,  and  oppres- 
sion, the  usual  term  of  the  Supreme  Court  was  ap- 
proaching. Attempts  were  therefore  made  by  the  re- 
publicans to  get  a  grand  jury  returned  that  should  be  in 
the  interest  of,  or  favorable  to,  the  cause  of  their 
champion  ;  accordingly  his  known  friends  officiously 
put  themselves  in  the  way  of  the  Sheriff,  talked  of  the 
approaching  term,  in  such  a  manner  as  was  fully  con- 
vincing that  their  design  was  to  have  been  returned  as 
jurors.  Nay,  Isaac  Sears,  well  known  in  New  York 
(from  his  great  influence  among  the  rabble)  by  the 
name  of  "  King  Sears,"  personally  applied  to  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


2Q 


Sheriff,  and  desired  that  himself  and  seYeral  of  his  par- 
ticular friends  might  be  summoned.  The  Sheriff  took 
no  notice  of  these  hints,  but  to  his  honor  be  it  spoken, 
he  summoned  a  grand  jury  consisting  of  the  most  im- 
partial, reputable,  opulent,  and  substantial  gentlemen 
in  the  city.  The  Court  opened,  the  grand  jury  were 
sworn,  charged,  and  a  bill  of  indictment  against  Mc- 
Dougal preferred.  To  prevent  the  bill  being  found, 
Thomas  Smith  appeared  before  the  grand  jury  and 
laid  before  them  a  pamphlet  published  many  years  be- 
fore, entitled,  "Lieutenant-Governor  Colden  s  conduct 
relative  to  the  stajnp  act  considered"  which  he  insisted 
was  a  libel  against  government  and  ought  to  be  pre- 
sented. John  Morin  Scott  applied  with  another  old 
pamphlet,  Isaac  Sears  with  a  budget  of  old  newspapers, 
and  William  Livingston  with  a  book  called  a  "  History 
of  the  military  operations,  etc.,  in  the  province  of  New 
York"  printed  in  1758,  and  addressed  to  the  late  Earl 
of  Halifax.  This  book  he  insisted  contained  many 
libellous  passages,  that  the  public  and  private  character 
of  several  principal  gentlemen  were  libelled  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  it,  which  he  pointed  out  and  explained  to 
the  jurors.  This  he  might  well  do,  his  friends  a  few 
years  afterwards  publicly  acknowledging  that  he  him- 
self was  the  author.  The  republicans  were  in  hopes 
that  by  bringing  in  so  many  complaints  upon  libellous 
subjects,  the  whole  would  be  disregarded  by  the  lump, 
and  McDougal  go  unindicted.  In  this  they  were  how- 
ever mistaken.  On  the  last  day  of  the  term  the  grand 
jury  returned  the  bill  indorsed,  "  Billa  Vera."  This 
operated  like  a  thunder  clap  upon  the  republican  gen- 
try. A  trial  was  now  to  take  place,  and  McDougal  to 
be  judged  by  his  peers.  John  Roberts,  Esq.,  the 
High  Sheriff  (a  near  relation  by  marriage  to  the  late 


3Q 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Earl  of  Halifax)  was  an  honest  old  veteran  who  had 
served  in  his  Majesty's  army  from  his  infancy,  and  who 
had  now  been  for  more  than  twenty  years  High  She- 
riff of  the  City  and  County  of  New  York.  It  was  well 
known  that  he  was  incorruptible,  well  affected  to  gov- 
ernment, and  beyond  the  power  of  a  bribe.1  Other 
methods  were  therefore  to  be  pursued. 

Upon  the  indictments  being  delivered  into  court 
John  Morin  Scott,  McDougal's  attorney,  moved  that 
he  might  be  brought  into  court,  to  enter  his  appear- 
ance, and  plead  to  the  indictment.  It  was  accordingly 
ordered,  a  mob  was  in  readiness  to  escort  and  attend 
the  culprit  from  the  prison  to  the  City  Hall,  a  distance 
of  about  half  a  mile,  consisting  of  two  or  three  hundred 
of  the  rabble  of  the  town,  headed  by  some  of  the  most 
zealous  partizans  of  the  republican  faction,  among 
whom  were  Thomas  Smith,  John  Smith,  and  Joshua 
Hett  Smith,  full  brothers  to  the  "  Patriotic  Billy" 
Peter  R.  Livingston  (well  known  in  New  York  from 
his  art,  low  cunning,  avarice  and  hypocrisy,  by  the 
name  of  "Jew  Peter"'),  his  brother-in-law,  William 
Livingston,  Richard  Livingston,  Isaac  Sears,  and  John 
Van  Cortlandt,  each  of  whom  afterwards  took  active 
parts  in  the  late  rebellion,  and  continued  in  it  until  an 
inglorious  peace  put  an  end  to  the  war,  gave  inde- 
pendence to  thirteen  valuable  British  colonies,  and 
tarnished  the  honor,  the  glory,  and  dignity  of  the 
English  nation. 

Some  time  after  the  court  rose  in  which  the  bill 
against  McDougal  had  been  found,  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  Council  made  an  order  that  the  several 


1  Mr.  Roberts  died  in  New  York  in  1783,  not  long  before  the  evacuation  took 
place  in  consequence  of  the  peace.  He  was  between  So  and  90  years  of  age,  and 
retained  his  faculties,  his  honor,  and  his  loyalty  to  the  last. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


31 


gentlemen  of  the  law  holding-  offices  under  the  crown 
should  assist  the  Attorney-General 1  in  the  prosecution, 

1  John  Tabor  Kcmpe,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  great  honor,  of  an  old,  honest, 
worthy,  hospitable  English  family,  and  possessed  of  a  most  brilliant  share  of  legal 
knowledge.  He  was  born  at  Lewes,  in  Sussex,  and  when  a  youth  came  to  New 
York  with  his  father  and  family;  the  father  having  expended  a  large  estate  in 
supporting  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  in  his  elections,  and  by  that  means  much  re- 
duced, with  a  large  family  to  maintain,  the  Duke  made  him  Attorney-Genera! 
of  the  province,  to  which  no  salary  at  that  time  appertained,  and  the  emoluments 
were  not  very  considerable  ;  he  arrived  with  his  family  in  New  York  in  1753,  and 
died  in  1759,  leaving  this  son  and  five  daughters  with  very  little  to  subsist  upon. 
The  office,  by  the  death  of  the  old  gentleman,  became  vacant,  and  being  of  the 
honorable  kind,  several  gentlemen  solicited  the  appointment  ;  young  Mr.  Kempe 
modestly  hinted  his  pretensions.  Lieutenant-Governor  De  Lancey  then  had  the 
administration  ;  he  well  knew  the  father,  though  at  that  time  little  of  the  son;  he 
had  heard  of  the  distresses  of  the  family,  and  was  determined  to  relieve  them,  though 
several  of  the  applicants  were  backed  with  powerful  influence,  and  one  of  them  a 
particular  friend  and  favorite  of  the  Governor,  yet  he  appointed  the  son  of  Mr 
Kempe  to  succeed  his  father  in  spite  of  all  the  opposition,  power,  interest,  and 
solicitations  that  were  made  against  it.  Mr.  De  Lancey  knew  mankind  perfectly 
well.  In  this  appointment  he  was  not  mistaken,  Mr.  Kcmpe  having  turned  out 
as  generous,  sensible,  honest,  and  worthy  a  man  as  perhaps  New  York  ever  expe- 
rienced.   An  Attorney-General  should  ever  support  such  a  character. 

The  power  in  such  hands  is  a  blessing  to  a  province,  in  the  hands  of  a  bad  man, 
or  in  one  of  an  indifferent  character,  a  real  curse ;  the  power  is  great. 

The  person  alluded  to  as  the  Governor's  particular  friend  politely  gave  up  his  pre- 
tensions in  favor  of  Mr.  Kempe.  He  was  Benjamin  Nicoll,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  at 
that  time  of  eminence  in  the  law.  He  died  in  April,  1760,  universally  regretted.  In 
justice  to  this  gentleman,  I  must  say  (I  know  it  of  my  own  knowledge  and  aver  it  as 
a  fact)  that  when  he  applied  for  the  office,  he  made  the  following  proviso  in  his  letter 
(I  have  seen  the  original)  :  "  If  young  Mr.  Kempe,  who  is  left  with  a  large  family 
to  maintain,  has  any  thoughts  of  succeeding  his  father,  I  waive  my  pretensions 
totally,  and  in  such  case,  I  beg  your  Honor  will  not  think  of  me,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, let  me  ask  it  as  a  favor  that  he  may  be  appointed,  who,  though  young,  has 
a  good  capacity  and  already  pretty  well  versed  in  the  law.  He  has  a  large  family 
upon  his  hands,  nothing  left  by  the  father,  and  must  be  in  distress  ;  if  he  asks  the 
commission  I  once  more  entreat  your  Honor  not  to  think  of  me."  This  gentle- 
man was  a  descendant  in  a  direct  line  from  Matthias  Nicoll,  who  was  secretary  to 
his  near  relation,  General  Sir  Richard  Nicoll,  who  took  New  York  from  the  Dutch 
in  1664,  and  was  the  first  governor  of  the  colony  under  Great  Britain.  Matthias 
was  the  great-grandfather  of  this  gentleman.  He  patented  and  settled  a  large  tract 
of  land  in  Suffolk  County,  upon  Long  Island,  containing  near  20,000  acres,  called 
"  IslipGrange,"from  the  place  where  the  family  lived  in  Northamptonshire,  England. 
His  son  William,  who  inherited  the  estate,  represented  the  county  in  Assembly,  and 
was  many  years  speaker  of  the  House.  He  left  two  sons,  Benjamin  and  William. 
Benjamin  was  the  father  of  the  gentleman  above  mentioned,  and  died  at  the  age 


32 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


when,  strange  to  relate!  William  Smith,  then  sitting 
at  the  Council  Board,  as  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council, 
and  at  the  same  time  holding  a  clerkship  in  Chancery 
by  virtue  of  letters-patent  under  the  crown,  not  only 
refused  to  obey  such  order  by  assisting  in  the  prosecu- 
tion, but  declared  that  the  sentiments  contained  in  the 
libellous  papers  were  the  sentiments  of  a  great  majority 
of  the  people  ;  that  the  prosecution  was  an  unpopular 
one,  and  that  "  he  would  not  set  himself  up  "  (to  use 
his  own  expression)  "as  a  target  to  be  shot  at  by  the 
people." 

Upon  the  grand  jury  finding  a  bill  against  McDougal 
the  republicans  determined  to  wreak  their  vengeance 
upon  the  poor  journeyman  printer  who  had  informed 
against  the  libeller.  Anonymous  pieces  accordingly 
appeared  in  the  public  papers,  and  handbills  were  dis- 
persed about  the  town,  threatening  destruction  to  his 
person  and  property,  and  of  tarring,  feathering,  and 
delivering  him  over  to  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  to  receive 
a  punishment  adequate  to  his  treachery.  Apprehensive 
of  the  execution  of  these  threats,  and  dreading  the  ven- 
geance of  the  republican  faction,  he  thought  it  most 
prudent  to  conceal  himself.  He  was  now  advertised 
as  an  enemy  to  the  liberty  of  America,  and  rewards 
offered  for  his  apprehension.  Finding  his  life  in  dan- 
ger from  the  violence  of  the  republican  faction  in  New 
York,  he  privately  left  the  colony,  and  removed  to  a 
different  part  of  the  continent.    The  advertisements 

of  30.  William  lived  to  near  70,  and  represented  the  county  in  the  Assembly  for 
many  years,  and  was  also  Speaker.  William,  the  son  of  the  first  Benjamin,  inher- 
ited the  paternal  estate,  and  also  served  the  county  as  its  representative  for  several 
years,  and  was  a  member  of  the  House  when  the  rebellion  broke  out.  Islip  is  still 
in  possession  of  the  family.  It  is  now  enjoyed  by  William  Nicoll,  the  eldest  son 
of  William,  who  was  the  eldest  son  of  Benjamin,  who  was  the  eldest  son  of  Wil- 
liam, who  was  the  only  son  of  Matthias,  the  original  patentee. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


were  now  repeated,  his  person,  his  manners,  and  his 
dress  described,  a  reward  was  offered  to  any  person 
who  should  apprehend  him ;  these  advertisements 
were  desired  to  be  republished  in  all  the  public  papers 
upon  the  continent,  and  the  Sons  of  Liberty  in  each 
colony  desired  to  hunt  the  poor  vagabond,  and  not 
suffer  him  to  reside  in  any  of  them.  This  had  the  de- 
sired- effect — the  poor  fellow's  life  became  almost  a 
burden  to  him ;  he  was  no  longer  able  to  stay  in 
America,  and  he  privately  got  to  Boston,  where  Gen- 
eral Gage  commanded  the  king's  troops,  took  shipping 
and  went  to  England. 

The  printer  of  the  paper,  one  James  Parker,  a  rigid 
presbyterian,  a  professed  hater  of  monarchy,  and  an 
enemy  to  Episcopacy,  being  strongly  attached  to  the 
republican  faction,  and  having  been  an  involuntary 
witness  upon  the  journeyman's  information,  remained 
in  town  undisturbed.  After  some  time  he  removed  to 
New  Jersey,  where  he  was  taken  ill  and  suddenly  died, 
not  without  strong  suspicions  of  foul  play.  With  Park- 
er's death  McDougal's  prosecution  ended.  The  crown 
having  no  evidence  left,  McDougal  moved  for  and 
obtained  his  discharge. 


CHAPTER  IT. 


In  May,  1774,  notice  was  given  in  the  public  papers 
for  the  inhabitants  of  the  City  of  New  York  to  meet 
at  the  Exchange  on  a  day  and  hour  therein  mentioned, 
to  elect  a  committee  of  correspondence  to  form  reso- 
lutions, etc.  The  Loyalists  made  a  point  of  attending. 
A  committee  was  chosen.  It  consisted  of  50.  The 
majority,  however,  were  real  friends  to  Govern- 
ment. Isaac  Low  was  chosen  chairman.  This  com- 
mittee met  frequently,  and  violent  resolutions  were 
proposed,  but  ever  rejected.  Mr.  Low  and  the  re- 
publicans of  the  committee  finding  it  not  to  answer  their 
purposes,  actually  dissolved  it,  and  nominated  one  of 
their  own,  without  an  election,  or  the  least  notice  to 
the  citizens.  Mr.  Low  continued  chairman.  They 
acted  as  a  legal  body,  legally  chosen,  and  fined,  im- 
prisoned, robbed,  and  banished  his  Majesty's  loyal 
subjects  with  a  vengeance. 

In  September,  1774,  a  Congress  was  held  at  Phila- 
delphia, consisting  of  delegates  from  all  the  Colonies 
from  Nova  Scotia  to  Georgia.  Five  were  sent  from 
New  York.  They  were  chosen  by  the  people  at 
large,  with  little  or  no  opposition,  all  parties,  denom- 
inations and  religions,  apprehending  at  tlic  time,  that 
the  Colonies  laboured  under  grievances  which  wanted 
redressing.  To  redress  which,  and  to  form  a  happy, 
perpetual,  and  lasting,  alliance,  between  Great  Britain 
and  America,  were  the  reasons  which  induced  the  New 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK, 


35 


York  Loyalists  so  readily  to  agree  to  the  delegation. 
The  republicans  wanted  members  chosen  out  of  their 
own  faction.  This  the  Loyalists  opposed,  and  a  kind 
of  compromise  took  place.  The  delegates  from  New 
York,  as  I  mentioned  before,  consisted  of  five.  These 
were  Philip  Livingston,  Isaac  Low,  James  Duane, 
John  Jay,  and  John  Alsop.  Livingston  was  a  "  Laid- 
lean,"  and  though  a  republican,  not  one  of  the  most 
inflammatory  kind.  Low  belonged  to  the  Church  of 
England,  a  person  unbounded  in  ambition,  violent  and 
turbulent  in  his  disposition,  remarkably  obstinate,  with 
a  good  share  of  understanding,  extremely  opinionated, 
fond  of  being  the  head  of  a  party,  and  never  so  well 
pleased  as  when  chairman  of  a  committee,  or  princi- 
pal spokesman  at  a  mob  meeting.  His  principles 
of  government  rather  inclined  to  the  republican  sys- 
tem. Duane  and  Jay  were  both  gentlemen  of  eminence 
in  the  law,  had  each  a  sufficiency  of  ambition,  with  a 
proper  share  of  pride  ;  were  both  strong  Episcopalians, 
and  almost  adored  the  British  Constitution,  in  church, 
as  well  as  state.  Alsop  was  an  honest,  upright, 
wealthy  merchant,  had  knowledge  enough  for  a  man 
in  his  way,  but  was  by  no  means  formed  for  a  politi- 
cian. He  was  a  steady  churchman,  and  loved  Bishops 
as  well  as  Kings.  With  such  a  delegation,  the  New 
York  Loyalists  thought  themselves  safe.  A  redress 
of  grievances,  and  a  firm  union  between  Great  Britain 
and  America  upon  constitutional  principles  was  their 
only  aim.  This  they  hoped  for,  this  they  wished  for, 
tin's  they  expected.  To  this  purport  they  also  verbally 
instructed  their  delegates.  These  sanguine  hopes 
were  frustrated  by  the  artful  cabals  of  the  republicans 
in  Congress,  and  the  wished  for,  and  so  much  desired, 
reconciliation,  blasted  by  a  hasty,  ill-judged  and  pre- 


36 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


cipitate  adoption  by  Congress  of  a  set  of  resolYes 
made  at  a  town  meeting  in  the  County  of  Suffolk  in 
the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts,  which  contained  in 
almost  express  terms  a  declaration  of  war  against 
Great  Britain. 

It  was  a  remark  made  by  the  Loyalists  in  New 
York,  that  a  certain  William  Smith,  Esq.,  took  par- 
ticular pleasure  in  speaking  in  all  companies  of  the 
debates  in  Congress,  and  the  vote  by  which  the 
Suffolk  resolves  were  adopted  ;  and  always,  with  seem- 
ing pleasure  and  satisfaction,  declared  that  upon  the 
votes  being  carried,  a  Mr.  Lynch  jumped  up  and  clap- 
ping his  hand  upon  his  breast  exclaimed,  "  /  thank 
my  God  we  have  passed  the  Rubicon,  there  is  no  reced- 
ing now"  This  Lynch  was  a  delegate  from  South 
Carolina,  an  Irish  Presbyterian,  not  very  conscientious 
in  his  principles,  could  be  guilty  of  mean  actions,  and 
was  a  flaming  republican.  Smith  always  appeared  to 
be  as  well  pleased  in  telling  this  anecdote,  as  Lynch 
could  possibly  have  been  when  he  exultingly  uttered 
the  words. 

The  Congress  having  finished  their  business,  dis- 
solved themselves  in  October,  declaring  that  another 
Congress  was  necessarv ;  that  it  should  meet  at  Phila- 
delphia  in  May,  1775  ;  and  recommended  to  the  several 
Colonies  to  send  delegates  accordingly. 

In  February,  1775,  a  motion  was  made  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  New  York  by  Philip  Schuyler,  Esq., 
one  of  the  members  from  Albany,  to  adopt  and  ap- 
prove of  the  proceedings  of  the  late  Congress.  This 
motion  occasioned  violent  debates.  The  question  was 
at  length  put,  and  their  conduct,  proceedings,  and  in- 
flammatory publications  reprobated  by  a  majority  of 
the  House.    Those  who  opposed  and  voted  against 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


37 


the  acts  of  Congress  were,  John  Crugcr,  James  De 
Lancey,  Jacob  Walton,  and  James  Jauncey,  members 
for  the  City  of  New  York  ;  John  Rapalje,  one  of  the 
members  for  Kings  County ;  Daniel  Kissam,  one  of 
the  members  for  Queens  County;  William  Nicoll,  one 
of  the  members  for  Suffolk  County  ;  Benjamin  Seaman 
and  Christopher  Billop,  members  for  Richmond 
County  ;  Isaac  Wilkins,  member  for  the  Borough  of 
Westchester  ;  Frederick  Phillipse,  one  of  the  members 
for  the  County  of  Westchester  ;  Samuel  Gale,  one  of 
the  members  for  the  County  of  Orange  ;  and  Leonard 
Van  Kleek,  one  of  the  members  for  the  County  of 
Dutchess  ;  every  one  of  whom,  Cruger,  Nicoll,  Walton, 
Gale,  and  Van  Kleek,  excepted,  were,  by  an  act  of  the 
rebel  Assembly,  passed  in  October,  1779,  attainted  of 
high  treason,  themselves  proscribed,  and  their  estates, 
both  real  and  personal,  confiscated  to  the  use  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  This  act  became  legal  in  1783, 
in  consequence  of  the  recognition  of  American  inde- 
pendence by  Great  Britain. 

The  New  York  Loyalists  being  totally  disappointed 
in  the  proceedings  of  the  late  Congress,  and  finding 
their  delegates  returned  from  Philadelphia  converted 
into  fixed  republicans,  came  to  a  resolution  at  a  public 
meeting  of  opposing  an)-  future  delegation. 

Early  in  March,  1775,  the  City  committee  notified 
the  inhabitants,  that  on  such  a  day,  the  delegates  for  the 
ensuing  Congress  would  be  elected,  and  desired  their 
appearance  at  the  Exchange  for  that  purpose.  The 
Loyalists  had  already  determined  to  oppose  the  elec- 
tion. The  clay  came.  The  Loyalists  assembled  in 
the  Fields,  and  went  to  the  place  of  election  in  a  body, 
peaceably  and  quietly.  They  co?isistcd  of  at  least,  four 
to  one  of  all  the  legal  voters  in  the  City,  and  had  a 


38 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


poll  been  taken,  it  would  have  appeared  so.  The  repub- 
lican party  in  order  to  swell  their  numbers,  marched 
round  all  the  docks  and  wharves,  with  trumpets  blow- 
ing, fifes  playing,  drums  beating,  and  colours  flying ; 
by  this  means  collecting  all  the  boys,  sailors,  negroes, 
New  England  and  Jersey  boatmen,  that  could  be  mus- 
tered. The  motley  assemblage  marched  to  the  place 
of  election,  where  a  large  and  select  party  of  the  most 
violent  republican  partizans  (contrary  to  the  laws  and 
rules  of  elections)  formed  themselves  into  a  company, 
armed  with  bludgeons  and  quarter-staves,  under  the 
direction  of  and  headed  by  Isaac  Sears,  and  Richard 
Livingston,  with  John  Smith,  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  and 
Peter  R.  Livingston,  so  often  mentioned  before,  and 
threatened  destruction  to  any  person  who  should  op- 
pose the  election  of  delegates.1  The  parties  being 
thus  met,  the  Loyalists  demanded  a  poll.  The  City 
Committee,  who  had  taken  upon  themselves  the  part 
of  returning  officers,  refused  it,  and  insisting  that  a  ma- 
jority appeared  in  favor  of  delegates,  they  proceeded 
among  themselves  to  a  nomination  in  private,  and  hav- 
ing fixed  upon  the  persons,  declared  them  duly  elected. 
The  gentlemen  fixed  upon  for  the  City,  chosen  they 
were  not,  were  Isaac  Low,  Philip  Livingston,  James 
Duane,  John  Jay,  John  Alsop,  and  Francis  Lewis. 
Most  of  the  Counties  now  also  sent  delegates  to  Con- 
gress  (Queens,  Richmond,  Tryon,  Cumberland  and 
Gloucester  excepted).  Simon  Boerum  went  from  Kings, 
William  Floyd  from  Suffolk,  Lewis  Morris  from  West- 
chester, Robert  R.  Livingston,  Junr.,  from  Dutchess, 

1  This  is  the  real  fact.  Gordon,  in  his  history  of  the  American  Revolution,  says 
the  Tories  began  the  affray,  which  is  a  manifest  misrepresentation  of  the  affair. 
The  Whigs  had  concealed  their  bludgeons  the  night  before  in  a  cellar  adjoining 
the  Exchange  which  was  the  place  fixed  upon  for  the  Election. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


39 


Henry  Wiesner  from  Orange,  George  Clinton  from 
Ulster,  William  Duerfrom  Charlotte,  and  Philip  Schuy- 
ler from  Albany. 

On  Sunday  morning  the  23d  of  April,  a  confused 
account  arrived  from  Boston,  of  a  skirmish  at  Lexing- 
ton between  a  detachment  of  the  Kings  troops,  and  a 
party  of  the  rebel  army ; 1  the  republicans  instantly  took 
the  alarm  ;  they  had  wished  for  it  for  a  long  time,  they 
received  the  news  with  avidity.  Isaac  Sears,  John 
Lamb  and  Donald  Campbell  (a  half  pay  officer)  par- 
aded the  town  with  drums  beating  and  colours  flying, 
(attended  by  a  mob  of  negroes,  boys,  sailors,  and  pick- 
pockets) inviting  all  mankind  to  take  up  arms  in  de- 
fence of  the  "  injured  rights  and  liberties  of  America." 
The  posts  were  stopped,  the  mails  opened,  and  the 
letters  read.  In  the  afternoon,  a  number  of  the  fac- 
tion under  their  old  leaders,  of  whom  Peter  R.  Living- 
ston, John  Smith,  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  Leonard  Lis- 
penard,  Jr.,  and  Anthony  Lispenard,  were  the  most 
active,  seized  upon  a  sloop  loaded  with  provisions  for 
Boston,  unloaded  her,  and  cast  the  cargo  into  the  dock. 
On  the  same  evening  the  same  set  of  fellows,  under 

'  The  affair  was  shortly  this.  General  Gage,  who  then  commanded  the  Royal 
Army  at  Boston,  on  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  sent  a  party  to  destroy  a  rebel  maga- 
zine at  Concord  about  30  miles  from  Boston  ;  this  detachment  marching  on  un- 
suspicious of  harm  with  unloaded  guns  were  attacked  near  Lexington  by  the 
Americans  ;  they  loaded,  and  of  course  resisted  ;  the  Americans  gave  way,  the 
British  marched  on  ;  the  rebel  stores  at  Concord  were  all  destroyed.  Upon  the 
return  of  the  troops  the  whole  country  rose  in  arms,  and  the  British  Detachment  was 
attacked  on  every  side,  in  front,  in  rear,  on  each  flank,  from  woods,  fences,  stone 
walls,  hedges,  and  the  windows  of  houses  ;  some  of  the  English  were  killed,  some 
wounded,  and  some  taken  prisoners.  They  made  their  retreat  good  to  Boston. 
What  number  of  the  Americans  were  killed  or  wounded  could  never  be  ascertained. 
This  was  the  commencement  of  hostilities  in  America.  Who  were  the  aggressors 
is  uncertain,  the  Americans  say  the  British,  the  British  say  the  Americans.  It  is 
of  little  consequence  at  the  present  day.  Boston,  upon  this  action,  was  immediately 
invested,  and  blockaded,  by  a  large  American  army,  which  prevented  entirely  all 
communication  between  the  country  and  the  town. 


4o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  same  leaders  broke  open  the  Arsenal  in  the  City 
Hall,  and  forcibly  took  away  1,000  stand  of  arms,  be- 
longing- to  the  City  Corporation,  and  delivered  then 
out  to  the  rabble,  to  be  used  as  the  demagogues  of 
rebellion  should  direct.  The  whole  city  became  one 
continued  scene  of  riot,  tumult,  and  confusion.  Troops 
were  enlisted  for  the  service  of  rebellion,  the  Loyalists 
threatened  with  the  gallows,  and  the  property  of  the 
Crown  plundered  and  seized  upon  wherever  it  could 
be  found.  Leonard  Lispenard  Esq.,  at  this  very  time, 
a  governor,  and  treasurer,  of  King's  College,  a 
Colonel  in  the  New  York  Militia,  by  a  Commission 
under  the  Crown,  a  man  of  influence,  who  had  been 
an  Alderman,  and  many  years  represented  the  city  in 
Assembly,  took  an  active  part  in  all  these  treasonable 
proceedings  ;  he  was  now  one  of  the  city  committee, 
and  a  member  of  the  provincial  convention.  When 
the  rebels  left  New  York,  this  gentleman  staid  behind, 
pretended  that  nothing  but  necessity  had  induced  him 
to  act  as  he  had  done,  professed  great  loyalty  to  his 
Sovereign,  swallowed  the  oaths  of  allegiance,  acted 
again  as  a  Governor  and  Treasurer  of  the  College,  pre- 
tended the  strongest  attachment  to  the  British  Consti- 
tution,  and  an  utter  aversion  to  the  American  Rebellion. 
Yet  no  sooner  was  it  known  in  New  York  that  the  pro- 
visional articles  of  peace  were  signed,  than  he  threw 
off  the  mask,  declared  himself  publicly  a  friend  to  In- 
dependence, and  was  one  of  the  principal  instigators 
of  the  numberless  cruelties  inflicted  upon  the  Loyal- 
ists by  the  partizans  of  rebellion  after  the  Evacuation 
of  the  City. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  confusion,  and  trouble,  fear 
and  consternation,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  summoned 
his  Majesty's  Council  to  meet  at  his  own  house  on  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


41 


afternoon  of  the  23d  of  April   1775,  at  which  he  de- 
sired the  attendance  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  Attorney  General,  the  Mayor,  and  Recorder 
of  the  city,  and  the  field  officers  of  the  City  Militia. 
The  Governor  desired  their  advice  in  the  then  critical 
situation  of  affairs.    Several  things  were  mentioned, 
proposed,  agitated,  and  talked  of,  but  to  little  purpose. 
A  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  then  present,1  boldly 
proposed  that  the  militia  should  be  called  out,  the  riot 
act  read,  and  if  the  mob  did  not  thereupon  disperse, 
to  apprehend  and  imprison  the  ringleaders,  and  by 
such  coercive  means  to  secure  the  peace  of  the  City. 
This  proposal  was  instantly  opposed  by  William  Smith, 
one  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  who   openly  declared 
"  that  the  ferment  which  then  raged  in  the  city  was 
"  general  and  not  confined  to  a  few  ;  that  it  was  owing 
"to  a  design  in  the  British  Ministry  to  enslave  the 
"  Colonies,  and  to  carry  such  design  into  execution  by 
"  dint  of  a  military  force  ;  that  the  battle  of  Lexington 
"  was  looked  upon  as  a  prelude  to  such  intention,  and 
"  that  the  spirit  then  prevailing  in  the  town  (which  he 
"  represented  as  universal)  would  subside  as  soon  as 
"the  grievances  of  the  people  were  redressed,  and  ad- 
"  vised  to  let  the  populace  act  as  they  pleased." 2  No- 
body replied,  the  times  were  critical,  a  declaration  of 
one's  sentiments  might  be  dangerous,  the  Council 
broke  up,  and  nothing  was  done. 

The  leaders  of  the  republican  faction  now  proposed 
that  an  "  Association  "  should  be  drawn  and  signed, 

1  Thomas  Jones  Esq. 

3  This  was  the  advice  of  a  Crown  officer.  This  was  the  advice  of  a  member  of 
his  Majesty's  Council,  but  then  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  this  was  the  ad- 
vice of  a  rigid  Presbyterian — a  factious  republican — a  hater  of  monarchy — ap 
enemy  to  Episcopacy,  a  leveller  in  principle,  and  a  sly,  arch,  hypocritical  ring- 
leader of  sedition 


42 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


(as  it  was  artfully  pretended)  to  keep  the  peace  of  the 
city,  and  the  powers  of  government,  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  mob.  This  was  the  pretended  reason  ;  but  the 
real  truth  was,  by  such  an  "  Association,"  to  strengthen 
and  cement  the  solemn  league  and  covenant,  which 
had  only  been  privately  entered  into  by  the  heads  of 
the  faction  before.  This  "  Association  "  was  to  take  its 
rise  from  the  "  City  Committee  "  (who  were  all  republi- 
cans). James  Duane  and  John  Jay,  two  of  the  dele- 
gates nominated  by  the  mob  meeting  mentioned  be- 
fore, with  Peter  Van  Schaack  (one  of  the  committee), 
an  attorney,  a  lad  of  great  duplicity,  were  the  fabrica- 
tors. The  purport  of  which  was,  "  that  the  subscribers 
"  agreed  to  associate,  and  form  themselves  into  one 
"  compact  body  for  the  good  of  the  whole,  to  prevent 
"  mobs,  to  support  the  civil  authority,  and  to  defend 
"the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people  against  the  un- 
just claims  of  the  British  Ministry,  to  oppose  the 
"  execution  of  all  arbitrary  and  illegal  acts  of  Parlia- 
"  ment,  and  lastly,  to  declare  their  willingness,  and  the 
"  subscribers  engaged  and  pledged  their  sacred  honor 
"  to  each  other,  to  risk  their  lives  and  spend  their  for- 
"  tunes  in  defence  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  Amer- 
"  ica  against  the  usurpation,  unjust  claims,  and  cruel 
"oppression  of  the  British  Parliament."  Saturday, 
the  29th  of  April,  was  fixed  upon  for  signing  the  "Asso- 
ciation." The  people  were  notified  by  handbills  to  ap- 
pear. The  place  mentioned,  the  hour  ascertained;  a 
numerous  appearance  was  made.  Some  came  out  of 
fear,  many  out  of  curiosity,  and  others  from  a  real  ap- 
probation of  the  iniquitous  measure.  Isaac  Low,  the 
chairman  of  the  committee,  a  member  of  the  Provin- 
cial Congress,  and  one  of  the  delegates  in  General 
Congress  for  the  city  of  New  York,  mounted  the  ros- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


43 


trum  and  harangued  the  mob  in  a  set  speech,  in  which 
he  damned  the  King,  cursed  the  Ministry,  and  abused 
the  Parliament ;  insisted  that  a  systematic  plan  was 
formed  by  Great  Britain  to  enslave  America,  declared 
that  England  was  a  bankrupt  nation,  that  the  House 
of  Commons  consisted  of  a  set  of  venal  wretches, 
that  the  Ministry  were  corruption  itself,  that  the  King 
was  a  Roman  Catholic,  nay,  a  Roman  Catholic  tyrant ; 
that  he  had  broken  his  coronation  oath,  had  established 
the  popish  religion  in  Canada,  which  was  shortly  to  be 
extended  to  all  the  other  colonies  ;  that  the  Ministry 
were  in  the  interest  of  the  pretender,  and  that  nothing 
but  steadiness,  unanimity,  and  resolution  were  wanting 
in  the  Americans  to  bring  Great  Britain  to  their  feet, 
and  he  thanked  his  God  that  the  day  was  fast  ap- 
proaching when  such  unanimity  would  become  com- 
plete ;  towards  fixing  which  grand  object  every  one 
present  was  desired  to  sign  the  "  Association,"  and 
such  as  refused  it  he  declared  should  be  advertised  by 
name  in  all  the  public  papers  as  the  "  enemies  of  Amer- 
"  ica  and  the  rights  of  mankind." 

The  "Association  "  was  then  read,  approved  of  in 
loud  huzzas  by  the  rabble  (one-half  of  which  heard  not 
a  word  of  it),  a  table  was  introduced,  and  Isaac  Low, 
the  prolocutor  upon  the  occasion,  first  signed  it.  He 
was  seconded  in  this  pious  business  by  Robert  R.  Liv- 
ingston (then  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  particular,  the  bosom,  the  confidential  friend 
of  William  Smith,  by  whose  advice  he  was  ever  gov- 
erned, and  without  which  he  never  did  an  act  of  con- 
sequence in  his  life),  who  had  for  the  express  purpose 
of  appearing  among  the  mob,  encouraging  their  sedi- 
tions and  treasonable  temper,  and  publicly  signing  the 
association,  left  the  seat  of  Justice  (the  Supreme  Court 


44 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


being  then  sitting)  in  violation  of  his  duty,  in  violation 
of  his  oath,  and  in  contempt  of  his  allegiance.  He  was 
followed  by  all  the  other  leading  Republicans  present, 
among  whom  were  Thomas  Smith,  John  Smith,  and 
Joshua  Hett  Smith,  full  brothers  to  William  Smith ;  his 
brother-in-law,  Peter  R.  Livingston,  with  David  Van 
Home,  Peter  Van  Brugh  Livingston,  and  all  his  other 
particular  friends,  relations,  and  connections  in  New 
York.  William  Smith  was  not  at  the  meeting  himself — 
several  days  passed,  and  no  offer  came  from  him  to  sign 
the  "Association."  The  Republicans  began  to  mutter ; 
he  had  warmly  espoused  and  advised  the  measure. 
Some  of  his  friends  were  confounded,  many  astonished, 
and  all  amazed.  A  meeting  was  called,  and  Alexander 
McDougal  commissioned  to  wait  upon  him  in  person, 
and  require  the  reason  of  his  acting  apart,  which  ap- 
peared to  them  so  inconsistent  with  his  well-known 
and  established  character,  as  a  rigid  republican. 
McDougal  went,  and  the  hypocrite  explained  himself 
thus  :  "  You  know  (says  he)  that  I  am  as  good  and 
"  steady  a  friend  to  the  cause  as  any  man  in  America ; 
"  that  I  have  advised,  promoted,  and  encouraged  the 
"present  measure  from  its  origin  ;  nourished  and  cher- 
"  ished  it  through  all  its  different  stages  to  the  present 
"  time.  Rut  the  crisis  now  approaches.  Great  Britain 
"  has  commenced  hostilities,  America  must  and  will  have 
"  recourse  to  arms  ;  this  the  King,  the  Ministry,  the 
"  Parliament,  and  the  courts  of  law,  will  term  treason 
"  and  rebellion,  and  the  actors,  traitors  and  rebels.  The 
"  events  of  war  are  uncertain,  our  army  may  be  defeated, 
"  our  friends  taken  prisoners,  tried  and  convicted.  A 
"  staunch  friend  at  the  Council  Board  will  be  then  nec- 
"  essary,  whose  influence  can  be  used  in  favor  of  such 
"  unhappy  persons.    I  am  now  there,  and  in  the  good 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK 


45 


"graces  of  his  Excellency  the  GoYernor.  Sho.ild  I 
"  sign  the  '  Association,'  I  may  lose  that  favor,  and  per- 
"  haps  my  seat  in  Council,  a  risk  in  the  present  times, 
"and  under  our  particular  circumstances  by  no  means 
"  to  be  hazarded."  McDougal  was  convinced  ;  the  rea- 
soning was  strong  and  judicious.  He  made  his  report. 
It  was  approved  of,  Smith  was  exculpated,  and  his 
friends  satisfied. 

In  the  beginning  of  May,  1775,  the  Eastern  dele- 
gates arrived  at  New  York,  on  their  way  to  Philadel- 
phia. Upon  this  occasion  all  the  republican  faction 
was  summoned,  the  mob  collected,  the  rabble  turned 
out,  and  the  companies  that  had  been  raised  for  the 
avowed  purposes  of  rebellion,  and  armed  with  muskets 
stolen  from  the  arsenal,  were  mustered ;  and  this  mot- 
ley assemblage  marched  near  seven  miles  out  of  town, 
and  conducted  the  delegates  into  the  city  amidst  the 
shouts,  noise,  hurraing,  and  riot,  necessarily  attend- 
ing such  a  tumultuous  concourse  of  people,  escorted 
by  a  grenadier  company  under  the  command  of  one 
Lasher,  a  German  shoemaker,  of  the  lowest  extrac- 
tion, and  an  independent  company  of  fusileers,  then 
lately  raised  for  the  service  of  Congress,  and  com- 
manded by  one  Rudolphus  Ritzema,  attorney-at-law.1 

1  He  is  the  son  of  a  Dominie  Rit/.ema,  senior  Minister  of  the  old  Dutch  Church, 
in  New  York,  a  worthy,  honest,  good,  loyal,  and  religious  man.  The  son  was 
one  of  the  first  graduates  in  Kings  College,  in  New  York.  The  father  sent  him  to 
Holland,  to  study  divinity.  This  was  too  dry  a  study.  He  left  his  tutor  and 
enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  Prussian  service.  Being  a  large,  tall,  rawboned  fellow, 
he  was  put  into  the  grenadiers.  He  was  at  length  promoted  to  a  halberd.  At 
the  end  of  the  war,  the  regiment  being  disbanded,  he  left  Germany,  returned  to 
America,  and  served  a  regular  apprenticeship  to  the  law,  and  was  in  full  practice 
m  '77S>  "  hen  he  abandoned  the  profession,  and  took  up  arms  in  favour  of  rebel- 
lion. He  attended  Montgomery  into  Canada  as  Lieut.  Colonel  of  a  rebel  regi- 
ment in  the  pay  of  New  York.  Upon  the  reduction  of  St.  Johns  he  obtained  a 
regiment,  and  in  177S  was  broken  by  a  General  Court  Martial  of  rebel  officers  for 
divers  offences  of  which  he  was  convicted.    Upon  this  he  came  into  New  York, 


46 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  next  morning  all  the  principal  heads  and  lead- 
ers of  the  presbyterian  faction  and  republican  party 
in  New  York  (among  which  were  the  two  presbyterian 
parsons,  Rogers  and  Treat,  Laidly  of  the  English 
Dutch  Church,  Mason  of  the  Seceders,  Livingston  of 
the  North  Dutch  Church,  Alexander  McDougal,  John 
Morin  Scott,  Philip  Livingston,  Peter  Van  Brugh  Liv- 
ingston, John  Jay,  James  Duane,  Isaac  Low,  Wil- 
liam Smith,  Thomas  Smith,  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  Peter 
R.  Livingston,  David  Van  Home,  Donald  Campbell, 
John  Van  Cortlandt,  Isaac  Sears,  with  a  number  of 
other  fomenters  and  demasfoeaies  of  rebellion,  waited 
upon  these  eastern  gentry  to  welcome  them  to  New 
York,  to  wish  them  success  in  the  great,  glorious,  and 
arduous  cause  in  which  they  were  embarked  ;  and  par- 
ticularly to  congratulate  John  Hancock  and  Samuel 
Adams  (two  of  them)  on  their  great,  marvellous,  and 
providential  escape  from  the  vengeance  of  the  royal 
army,  those  "savage,  cruel,  and  inhuman  butchers"  as 
they  now  affected  to  call  the  British  troops.  These 
gentlemen  having  made  it  a  point  to  propagate  at  every 
stage  from  Boston  to  New  York  a  report  that  the  party 
attacked  at  Lexington  was  purposely  sent  by  General 
Gage  to  seize  the  said  Hancock  and  Adams,  in  order 
to  send  them  to  England  for  trial  as  traitors,  this 
report,  false  as  it  was,  had  an  amazing  influence  on  the 
minds  of  the  common  people,  especially  in  the  New 

and  pretending  great  interest  with  the  soldiers  in  the  rebel  army,  General  Clinton 
gave  him  a  warrant  to  raise  a  regiment.  In  t he  course  of  about  five  months  he 
recruited  near  40  half-starved,  wretched  deserters  from  the  rebel  army.  The  Gen- 
eral finding  no  hopes  of  the  regiment  ever  being  completed,  turned  over  his 
recruits  to  Lord  Rawdon,  and  allowed  Ritzma  half  pay.  Upon  this  he  went  to 
England,  his  half  pay  was  continued  to  him,  ,£150  allowed  him  for  subsistence  as 
a  suffering  Loyalist,  and  a  grant  of  land  made  him  in  Nova  Scotia.  Thus  are  the 
brave,  the  worthy,  and  the  loyal  rewarded  by  the  generosity  of  John  Bull 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


47 


England  provinces,  and  tended  to  irritate  them  as 
much  against  Great  Britain  and  the  royal  army  then 
at  Boston,  as  any  one  falsehood  that  had  been  pre- 
viously thereto  circulated  for  that  purpose,  of  which 
God  knows  there  were  enough. 

In  this  month,  to  wit,  May,  1775,  a  party  of  about 
300  men,  under  the  command  of  Ethan  Allen,  Seth 
Warner,  and  Remember  Barker,  from  the  colonies  of 
New  Hampshire,  New  York,  and  Connecticut,  known 
then  by  the  name  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  and 
settlers  upon  a  tract  of  land  now  called  Vermont,  sur- 
prised the  garrisons  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point, 
situate  upon  the  lakes  George  and  Champlain.  The 
garrisons,  not  apprehensive  of  danger,  were  surprised 
and  made  prisoners  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  In 
these  garrisons  they  found  200  pieces  of  cannon,  some 
mortars,  a  quantity  of  small  arms,  with  various  kinds 
of  military  stores  of  the  utmost  service  at  that  time  to 
the  American  cause.  They  also  took  two  vessels, 
which  gave  them  the  absolute  command  of  Champlain. 
They  even  went  to  St.  Johns,  at  the  foot  of  the  lake, 
dismantled  the  fort,  and  returned  to  Ticonderoga. 
The  officers  and  soldiers  were  sent  prisoners  into  New 
England.  The  British  colors  were  sent  to  Congress 
at  Philadelphia,  and  with  great  pomp  and  ostentation 
hung  up  as  a  trophy  in  Carpenter's  Hall,  where  that 
illegal  and  unconstitutional  body  of  people  were  then  sit- 
ting.1   These  three  young  fellows  were  natives  of  New 

1  This  Congress,  which  assembled  in  May,  1775,  issued  a  Declaration  of  War 
against  Great  Britain,  under  the  title  of  "  Reasons  for  taking  up  arms,"  ordered  an 
army  raised,  appointed  generals  and  other  officers  to  the  command  of  it,  struck 
money  for  its  pay,  its  clothing  and  accoutering,  and,  in  short,  assumed  all  the  pow- 
ers of  a  sovereign  State  ;  declared  the  money  so  struck  legal,  and  that  any  person 
who  should  refuse  to  take  it,  was  by  a  resolve  of  theirs,  to  t  e  held  up  and  exposed 
as  an  enemy  to  America  and  the  rights  of  mankind. 


43 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Hampshire,  and  served  in  the  preceding  war  as  offi- 
cers in  the  provincial  troops  raised  in  that  colony.  At 
the  end  of  the  war,  in  consequence  of  His  Majesty's 
proclamation,  Crown  lands  were  given  them  by  the 
Governor  of  that  province  at  a  place  called  the  Green 
Mountains,  afterwards  called  by  the  name  of  the 
Hampshire  Grants,  and  since  by  that  of  Vermont.  The 
lands  within  this  district  settled  (upon  the  conclusion 
of  the  peace  with  France  and  the  cession  of  Canada 
to  Great  Britain)  with  amazing  rapidity.  Part  of  this 
land  was  claimed  and  granted  by  New  York,  the 
whole  by  New  Hampshire.  Confusion  of  course  en- 
sued ;  some  claimed  under  New  York,  some  under 
New  Hampshire.  New  York  insisted  it  had  a  right 
as  far  east  as  Connecticut  River.  New  Hampshire 
claimed  for  her  western  boundary  a  line  to  run  at  the 
distance  of  20  miles  east,  of  the  Hudson.  The  New 
York  grantees  applied  to  Great  Britain  for  the  settle- 
ment of  the  dispute ;  and  without  the  consent,  appro- 
bation, or  even  knowledge,  of  New  Hampshire,  the 
matter  was  heard  before  the  King  and  Council.  Coun- 
sel  was  heard  on  the  part  of  New  York.  The  colony 
agent  had  received  full  advices  upon  the  subject.  New 
Hampshire  was  totally  ignorant  of  what  was  doing  in 
England.  A  line  was  determined  upon,  an  ex  parte  line ; 
and  the  Connecticut  was  fixed  upon  as  the  boundary 
between  the  two  colonies.  New  York  soon  after  this 
determination  erected  the  disputed  territory  into  three 
counties,  by  the  names  of  Charlotte,  Cumberland,  and 
Gloucester.  Judges,  justices,  sheriffs,  and  other  offi- 
cers were  appointed  by  New  York.  The  like  officers 
for  the  same  district  were  commissioned  by  New 
Hampshire.  Allen,  Warner,  and  Barker  were  the 
principal  leaders  of  the  party  which  claimed  under 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


49 


New  Hampshire,  and  being  more  numerous  than  those 
claiming  under  New  York,  they  refused  to  let  any 
one  holding  a  commission  under  New  York  do  a  sin- 
gle  act  in  consequence  of  such  commission.  They 
stopped  and  shut  up  the  courts  of  justice,  insulted  the 
judges,  imprisoned  the  sheriffs,  put  the  justices  of  the 
peace  in  the  stocks,  and  to  the  constables  they  gave 
the  discipline  of  the  whipping-post. 

Matters  being  thus  situated,  the  New  York  gran- 
tees, with  James  Duane,  John  Morin  Scott,  Thomas 
Smith,  William  Livingston,  and  Leonard  Lispenard 
Esquires,  at  their  head,  applied  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly to  pass  an  act  declaring  Warner,  Allen,  and 
Barker  traitors  and  outlaws,  and  to  address  the  Gov- 
ernor to  issue  a  proclamation  for  their  arrest.  An  act 
was  accordingly  passed,  an  address  presented,  and  a 
proclamation  issued  offering  a  reward  of  ^500  to  any 
person  or  persons  who  should  apprehend  them,  or  either 
of  them,  and  lodge  him  or  them  in  any  jail,  so  that  he 
or  they,  might  be  brought  to  trial  for  the  treasonable 
and  outrageous  acts  committed  as  aforesaid.  The  act 
passed,  the  address  was  presented,  and  the  proclama- 
tion issued  in  the  spring  of  1774.  In  April  1775  the 
skirmish  at  Lexington  happened.  In  May  the  Con- 
gress met,  declared  war,  and  ordered  an  army  raised. 
These  three  young  men,  irritated  at  the  proceedings 
of  the  New  York  Assembly,  at  the  Governor  of  the- 
Province,  at  the  New  York  patentees,  and  at  the 
Ministry  of  Great  Britain  for  settling  an  ex  parte  line 
between  the  two  provinces,  determined  to  strike  a 
bold  stroke  and  be  revenged  on  the  whole.  They 
secretly  collected  together  between  3  and  400  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  appointed  all  the  necessary  officers, 
and  took  the  command  of  this  little  army  themselves, 
4 


t 

50 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


marched  to,  and  surprised,  the  garrisons  of  Ticonder- 
oga,  and  Crown  Point,  as  before  mentioned.  These 
fortresses  were  held  by  the  rebels,  and  greatly 
strengthened  by  additional  works,  until  July  1777, 
when  they  were  abandoned  upon  the  approach  of 
General  Burgoyne.  The  surprise  of  these  forts  was 
a  lucky  circumstance  for  Congress.  In  them  were 
found  large  quantities  of  military  stores,  and  batter- 
ing cannon  of  all  dimensions,  as  before  related,  with 
a  mortar  called  "The  Old  Sow,"  of  a  particular  con- 
struction, which  hove  bombs  to  an  amazing  distance. 
Had  it  not  been  for  this  bomb,  and  some  of  these  can- 
non, General  Washington  could  never  have  carried  on 
the  siege  of  Boston.  With  incredible  labour  was  the 
bomb,  and  some  of  the  most  heavy  cannon,  drawn  by 
land  to  the  rebel  camp  near  that  place. 

Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  being  thus  taken, 
and  secured,  Allen,  Barker,  and  Warner  boldly  made 
their  appearance  in  New  York,  notwithstanding  the 
act  and  proclamation  aforesaid.  And  what  is  remark- 
able, they  were,  while  there,  treated,  entertained,  and 
courted,  by  some  of  those  very  people  who  had  been 
principally  instrumental  in  procuring  the  act  and  pro- 
clamation aforesaid.  From  New  York  they  went  to 
Philadelphia,  and  though  they  had  acted  without  either 
commissions,  orders,  or  directions,  of  Congress,  they 
received  the  public  thanks  of  that  body  for  the  ser- 
vices they  had  done  to  "  the  great  and  glorious 
"  cause  ; "  and  among  the  most  forward  for  this  measure 
was  James  Duane  Esq.,  one  of  the  principal  patentees 
under  New  York.  He  had  been  a  most  strenuous 
promoter  and  adviser  of  the  act  and  proclamation 
aforesaid,  and  had  most  industriously  interested  him- 
self in  procuring  the  ex  parte  line  before  mentioned 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


51 


They  afterwards  went  with  General  Montgomery  upon 
his  expedition  into  Canada.  Barker  was  killed  at  St. 
Johns,  Allen  was  taken  prisoner  near  Montreal,  sent  to 
England,  and  from  thence  to  New  York,  where  he  was 
exchanged.  He  still  lives  in  Vermont,  where  he  and 
Warner  (who  survived  the  war)  are  now  two  of  the 
principal  leaders  in  opposition  to  the  claims  of  New 
York  and  New  Hampshire,  and  in  support  of  Ver- 
mont as  an  independent  government,  distinct  and  sep- 
arate from  any  other  State,  and  in  nowise  dependent 
upon  New  York,  New  Hampshire,  or  the  Congress  or 
federal  union.  They  exercise  all  the  powers  of  gov- 
ernment in  spite,  and  absolutely  independent,  of  them 
all. 

In  June,  1775,  the  Americans  took  possession  of, 
and  entrenched  upon,  a  noted  place  called  Bunker's 
Hill,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston.  General  Gage, 
who  then  had  the  command  in  America,  ordered  Gen- 
eral Howe  with  a  large  detachment  of  the  royal  army 
to  dislodge  them.  He  crossed  the  Mystic,  but  in  pass- 
ing Charleston  he  was  fired  upon  by  the  rebels,  out 
of  the  windows  of  the  houses,  in  consequence  of 
which  this  noble  town  with  all  its  sacred  edifices  were 
reduced  to  ashes.  Col.  Abercrombie,  who  commanded 
the  Grenadiers,  was  acquainted  with  the  ground,  and 
lost  his  life  in  the  action,  advised  the  General  to  march 
his  army  around  the  hill,  where  the  descent  was  trifling, 
and,  by  getting  in  the  rear,  the  whole  must  become 
prisoners,  without,  perhaps  the  loss  of  a  man.  But 
the  General  was  obstinate,  would  take  no  advice,  and 
as  he  expressed  it  himself,  was  determined  "  to  take 
the  bull  by  tlic  Aorus,"  and  on  he  marched.  To  get 
to  the  enemy's  lines,  he  had  a  steep  hill  to  mount, 
several  fences  were  also  standing  between  him  and  the 


52 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


summit  of  the  hill,  he  had  no  pioneers  to  remove  the 
fences  ;  upon  the  passing  of  each  fence  the  ranks  were 
of  course  broken,  and  obliged  to  be  formed  anew. 
Notwithstanding  all  these  difficulties,  the  General,  with 
coolness  and  intrepidity,  pushed  up  the  hill  in  the  midst 
of  a  most  tremendous  fire.  As  soon  as  the  British 
reached  the  top  of  the  hill  the  rebels  hove  down  their 
guns,  took  to  their  heels  and  made  their  escape,  leav- 
ing about  300  killed  and  wounded  in  the  trenches. 
Among  the  former  was  their  commander,  a  Doctor 
Warren,  a  physician,  and  a  gentleman  of  sense,  char- 
acter, fortune,  and  reputation,  of  amazing  influence  in 
the  Massachusetts  Colony,  a  flaming  republican,  an 
active,  zealous,  advocate  for  the  colonies,  and  an 
avowed  enemy  to  monarchy,  to  episcopacy,  and  to 
Britain.  He  was,  of  course,  a  great  loss  to  the  Ameri- 
cans, especially  as  the  war  was  scarcely  begun.  Gen- 
eral Howe,  it  is  true,  gained  the  victory.  But  alas,  a 
dear  bought  victory  it  was.  Not  less  than  1,200  as 
brave  Britons  as  ever  entered  the  field  were,  on  that 
unfortunate  day  either  killed  or  wounded,  most  of  the 
latter  badly.  Nearly  200  officers  on  that  dismal  day 
either  lost  their  lives,  or  were  so  desperately  wounded 
as  to  render  them  unfit  for  service  the  remainder  of  the 
campaign.  All  this  happened  through  the  General's 
obstinacy.  This  was  owing  to  his  "  taking  the  bull  by 
"  the  horns  ;  "  he  had  much  better  have  taken  him  by 
the  tail.  Had  Abercrombie's  advice  been  followed,  all 
would  have  been  safe.  The  General  was  ever  above 
advice,  the  consequence  of  which  has  been  deplorable 
to  America.  It  is  remarkable,  that  after  this  action 
the  General  during  the  continuance  of  his  command 
in  America,  never  once  ventured  an  attack  upon 
American  intrenchments,  he   had  fatally  experienced 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


53 


the  consequences  of  "taking  bulls  by  tlie  horns;" 
the  first  was  a  rugged  one,  and  he  constantly,  nay, 
almost  timidly,  avoided  encountering  another.  Bunk- 
ers hill  thus  conquered,  was  fortified,  garrisoned,  and 
continued  in  the  possession  of  the  British  army  until 
the  evacuation  of  Boston  the  ensuing  spring. 

In  October,  1775,  General  Gage  was  recalled  from 
his  command  in  America,  and  General  Howe  appointed 
Commander-in-chief.  The  whole  British  army  at  this 
time  were  cooped  up  in  Boston.1  The  Americans 
closely  invested  it.  No  fresh  provisions  could  the 
Britons  get  for  themselves,  nor  forage  for  their  horses. 
On  the  17th  March,  1776,  the  General  evacuated  the 
town,  embarked  his  troops,  nearly  10,000  men,  his 
stores,  and  the  loyal  inhabitants  to  the  number  of  near 
2,000,  on  board  the  transports  in  the  harbour,  without 
the  least  obstruction  from  the  Americans  whatever. 
The  town  was  left  in  good  order,  no  injury  was  done 
to  the  public  buildings  or  private  houses.  This  was 
said  to  be  in  consequence  of  an  agreement  between  the 
rebel  and  the  British  Generals,  that  the  British  should 
embark  without  molestation,  on  the  part  of  the  rebels, 
that  Boston  should  not  be  destroyed  on  the  part  of 
the  British,  a  fair  compromise.  The  army  accordingly 
embarked,  left  the  harbour,  and  after  a  short  passage 
safely  arrived  at  Halifax  in  Nova  Scotia. 

Notwithstanding  the  agreement  between  the  British 

1  Gordon,  in  his  history  of  the  American  revolution  (vol.  ii,  page  172),  says 
that  Washington  in  a  letter  dated  January  1st,  1776,  expressed  himself  thus: 
"  It  is  not  perhaps  in  the  power  of  history  to  furnish  a  case  like  ours ;  to  main- 
"  tain  a  post  within  musket-shot  of  the  enemy  for  six  months  together  without 
"  powder,  and  at  the  same  time  to  disband  one  army  and  recruit  another,  within 
"  that  distance  of  twenty  odd  British  regiments  is  more  than  probably  was  ever 
"attempted."  If  this  be  the  fact,  the  Generals  who  had  the  command  during 
those  six  months  must  have  been  very  remiss,  careless,  or  in  want  of  necessary 
information.    Surely  some  deserters  must  have  come  into  Boston  within  that  time. 


54 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


and  the  rebel  Generals,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
evacuation  took  place,  the  Commissaries,  Barrack- 
Masters,  Quarter-Masters,  &c,  plundered  the  stores 
of  the  inhabitants  that  remained  in  Boston  of  property 
of  the  value  of  at  least  ,£500,000,  which  they  put  on 
board  the  transports,  carried  to  Nova  Scotia,  and 
disposed  of  to  their  own  use  and  advantage.  One 
ship  only,  the  Shrewsbury,  commanded  by  Captain 
Salmon,  carried  150  hogsheads  of  rum,  part  only  of 
the  plunder  of  one  William  Sheriff,  at  that  time  Ouar- 
ter-Master-General  to  the  British  army.  This  anec- 
dote I  had  from  the  Captain  himself,  a  man  of  as  much 
honor,  truth,  and  veracity  as  ever  commanded  a  ship. 

Upon  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  (whether  the  fault 
of  the  Admiral  or  General,  or  both,  is  more  than  I 
know)  no  men-of-war  were  left  to  cruise  in  Boston 
Bay  to  acquaint  such  victuallers,  transports,  or  mer- 
chantmen, who,  unacquainted  with  the  evacuation, 
should  attempt  the  harbor.  This  was  a  bad  look  out 
It  was  (as  it  might  naturally  have  been  expected;  at- 
tended with  very  serious  consequences.  A  number  of 
merchantmen  from  the  West  Indies,  several  victual 
lers,  some  store-ships,  and  two  transports  with  300 
Highlanders  on  board,  under  the  command  of  Col. 
Campbell  and  Major  Menzies,  not  having  the  least 
knowledge  of  the  evacuation,  pushed  for  Boston,  and 
were  captured  in  the  Bay  by  a  few  small  privateers  fitted 
out  for  the  purpose.  One  or  two  frigates  stationed  in 
the  Bay  would  have  prevented  all  this  mischief.  But 
a  fatality,  a  kind  of  absurdity,  or  rather  stupidity, 
marked  every  action  of  the  British  Commanders-in- 
Chief  during  the  whole  of  the  American  war. 


CHAPTER  III. 


In  June,  1775,  General  Tryon  arrived  at  Sandy  Hook, 
from  England,  where  he  had  been  for  some  time  with 
leave  of  absence  from  his  sovereign.  After  1 2  o'clock 
the  same  day  Washington,  Lee,  and  Schuyler,  three 
of  the  first  rebel  Generals  appointed  by  Congress  to 
the  command  of  their  army,  the  two  first  on  their  way 
to  Boston,  the  latter  for  Albany  to  command  the  ex- 
pedition then  preparing  against  Canada,  arrived  from 
Philadelphia,  and  were  entertained  at  the  house  of 
Leonard  Lispenard,  Esq.,  about  two  miles  out  of  town. 
Upon  this  occasion  the  volunteer  companies  raised  for 
the  express  purpose  of  rebellion,  the  members  of  the 
Provincial  Congress,  those  of  the  city  committee,  the 
parsons  of  the  dissenting  meeting-houses,  with  all  the 
leaders  and  partisans  of  faction  and  rebellion  (including 
Peter  R.  Livingston,  Esq.,  and  Thomas  Smith,  John 
Smith  and  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  the  brother-in-law  and 
brothers  of  William  Smith,  Esq.)  waited  upon  the  beach 
to  receive  them  upon  their  landing  from  the  Jersey  shore 
and  conducted  them  up  to  Lispenard's,  amidst  the 
repeated  shouts  and  huzzas  of  the  seditious  and  rebel- 
lious multitude,  where  they  dined,  and  towards  even- 
ing were  escorted  to  town,  attended  and  conducted  in 
the  same  tumultuous  and  ridiculous  manner.1 


1  This  happened  on  a  Sunday,  and  while  William  Walton,  Esq.,  who  was  Col- 
onel of  one  of  the  Governor's  Company  of  Guards,  was  at  church  ;  Rudolphus 
Kitzenia,  before  mentioned,  who  had  the  command  of  a  rebel  company  of  fusileers, 


56 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


About  9  o'clock  the  same  evening  Governor  Tryon 
came  up  from  Sandy  Hook,  and  landed  at  the  Ex- 
change, where  he  was  met  and  welcomed  once  more 
to  his  Government,  by  the  members  of  his  Majesty's 
Council,  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Attor- 
ney General,  the  Speaker  and  Members  of  the  General 
Assembly  then  in  town,  the  Clergymen  of  the  Church 
of  England,  the  Mayor,  Recorder  and  Aldermen  of  the 
City,  the  Governors  of  King's  College,  of  the  Hospital, 
the  Members  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  Ma- 
rine Society,  with  a  numerous  train  of  his  Majesty's 
loyal  and  well  affected  subjects,  who  conducted  him 
with  universal  shouts  of  applause  to  the  house  of  Hugh 
Wallace,  Esq.,  a  Member  of  his  Majesty's  Council, 
where  he  took  up  his  residence  for  the  night.  But 
strange  to  relate  !  yet  strange  as  it  is  !  it  is  neverthe- 
less a  fact,  that  those  very  people  who  attended  the 
rebel  Generals  in  the  morning,  and  conducted  them 
from  place  to  place  with  repeated  shouts  of  approbation, 
congratulated  them  on  their  respective  appointments  to 
such  principal  commands,  in  so  virtuous  an  army, 
upon  so  important  an  occasion  ;  wished  them  joy  of 
their  safe  arrival  in  New  York,  prayed  God  to  bless 
their  "great  and  glorious  undertaking,"  and  to  grant 
them  success  in  all  their  measures  in  the  management 
of  "  so  great  and  necessary  a  war,"  a  war  undertaken 
(as  they  asserted)  for  the  sole  defence  of  the  just 
rights  and  liberties  of  mankind.  I  must  again  say, 
strange  to  relate  !  these  very  men,  who  had  been  not 

under  a  false  pretence  got  possession  of  the  colours  belonging  to  Col.  Walton's 
Company,  a  present  from  General  Tryon,  then  Governor  of  the  province,  and  deco- 
rated with  his  arms,  which  he  never  afterwards  had  the  honour,  the  honesty,  or  the 
good  manners  to  restore  to  the  proper  owner.  This  was  swindling  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  but  in  those  days  of  anarchy  and  confusion  perfectly  justifiable  among 
the  ruling  powers,  as  the  swindler  was  a  whig,  a  republican,  and  a  rebel. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


57 


five  hours  before  pouring  out  their  adulation  and  flat- 
ery,  or  more  probably  the  real  sentiments  of  their 
souls,  to  the  three  rebel  Generals,  now  one  and  all 
joined  in  the  Governor's  train,  and  with  the  loudest 
acclamations,  attended  him  to  his  lodgings,  where,  with 
the  utmost  seeming  sincerity,  they  shook  him  by  the 
hand,  welcomed  him  back  to  the  Colony — wished  him 
joy  of  his  safe  arrival,  hoped  he  might  remain  long  in 
his  Government,  enjoy  peace  and  quietness,  and  be 
a  blessing  to  the  inhabitants  under  his  control.  W  hat 
a  farce  !  What  cursed  hypocrisy  !  A  scheme  was  at 
this  very  time  laid  by  these  very  people  to  subvert  the 
British  Government  in  the  Colonies,  in  Church  and 
State,  and  to  erect  one  of  their  own  upon  its  ruins. 

A  Provincial  Convention,  composed  of  some  of  these 
identical  people,  a  thing  unknown  to  the  British  Con- 
stitution, was  then  sitting  in  New  York.  Under  their 
authority  troops  were  then  actually  raising,  in  order 
to  form  an  army  to  carry  on  an  offensive  war  against 
his  Majesty's  Colony  of  Quebec,  and  the  officers  en- 
gaged in  this  service,  were  actually  receiving  commis- 
sions from  the  President  of  this  illegal  and  unconstitu- 
tional  body,  signed  by  himself,  countersigned  by  their 
secretary,  by  order  of  the  Convention,  and  a  seal  of 
their  own  formation  affixed.  But  what  is  still  more 
strange,  if  anything  can  be  more  strange,  this  very  set 
of  people  as  a  body,  nay  further,  even  pretending  to 
be  a  constitutional  body,  the  very  next  day  waited 
upon  the  rebel  chief,  and  presented  him  with  an  ad- 
dress in  the  name  of  all  the  inhabitants  in  the  Colony, 
who  they  had  the  impudence  to  call  their  constituents, 
and  congratulated  him  on  his  appointment  to  the  chief 
command  of  the  American  army,  wished  him  success 
in  the  great,  arduous,  and  glorious  undertaking,  prayed 


58 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


for  a  speedy  conclusion  of  the  war,  by  a  safe,  honour- 
able and  advantageous  peace,  and  that,  when  ac- 
complished, his  Excellency  the  General,  who  had 
taken  up  the  sword  in  defence  of  the  liberties  of 
America,  and  the  rights  of  mankind,  would  lay  it  again 
aside,  and  return  to  the  gentle  pursuits  of  a  private 
citizen. 

Washington  and  Lee  proceeded  on  their  journey 
to  Boston.1  Schuyler  remained  some  time  in  New 
York,  in  order  to  see  the  necessary  stores,  provisions, 
ammunition,  etc.,  provided. and  forwarded  to  Albany 
for  the  use  of  the  expedition  against  Canada,  of  which 
he  was  by  Congress  commissioned  as  Commander-in- 
Chief.  Governor  Tryon  had  hired,  and  lived  in,  a 
house  in  the  Broadway.  Schuyler  took  lodgings  with 
his  cousin,  his  friend,  his  patron,  his  adviser,  W  illiam 
Smith,  Esq.,  whose  house  then  stood  directly  opposite 
the  one  in  which  the  Governor  lived.  Schuyler  and 
his  father-in-law,  John  Van  Rensselaer,  Esq.,  were 
under  great  obligations  to  Mr.  Tryon  ;  he  therefore 
thought  it  right  to  pay  him  a  visit,  and  congratulate 
him  upon  his  return.  But  can  you  conceive  it,  gentle 
reader !  he  had  the  impudence  to  dress  himself  in  the 
regimentals  of  rebellion,2  go  to  the  Governor's,  and 
send  in  word  that  "  General"  Schuyler  would  be  glad 
to  see  him.  The  Governor,  with  his  usual  spirit,  re- 
turned for  answer,  that  he  knew  no  such  man.  No 
further  attempts  were  ever  after  made  for  an  inter- 

1  Gordon  says  that  the  troops  in  Boston  being  in  want  of  provisions,  Gen.  Gage 
sent  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia  for  them,  with  such  other  articles  as  the  army 
stood  in  need  of ;  that  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia  refused  to  supply  them  ;  that 
three  merchants  of  N.  York  did,  until  the  influence  of  Captain  Sears  put  an  end 
to  such  trade.  Gordon  omits  mentioning  that  Sears  himself,  and  his  son-in-law 
Paschal  Nelson  Smith,  were  two  of  those  three,  a  fact  well  known  in  New  York. 

2  Blue  and  bluff,  a  dress  shortly  afterwards  adopted  by  the  patriots  in  England. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


59 


view.  Schuyler  staid  in  New  York  for  some  time, 
settled  matters  with  the  provincial  Convention,  as  to 
the  supply  of  the  army  going  against  Canada ;  and  all 
the  necessaries  being  procured  and  forwarded  to 
Albany,  he  set  off  for  that  place,  taking  with  him  two 
New  York  rebel  regiments  raised  and  commanded  by 
James  Holmes  and  Alexander  McDougal. 

Smith  and  the  Governor  being  such  near  neighbors; 
the  former  one  of  the  Council,  artful,  hypocritical,  and 
cunning  ;  the  latter  without  disguise,  open,  bold,  and 
brave ;  Smith  being  of  the  Council  had  free  access  to 
the  Governor,  and  made  use  of  all  his  art,  his  craft, 
his  cunning  and  hypocrisy,  by  fawning,  flattering,  and 
cajoling,  to  ingratiate  himself  into  the  good  graces  of 
the  Governor,  the  better  to  disguise  and  conceal  the 
real  sentiments  of  his  heart,  and  to  be  of  more  use  to 
his  friends  thereafter ;  a  great  number  of  whom  being 
then  warmly  engaged  (some  in  the  civil  and  some  in 
the  military  line)  in  carrying  on,  promoting,  and  fur- 
thering what  at  that  time  they  openly  and  publicly 
called  "  the  great  and  glorious  cause."  Notwith- 
standing which,  in  all  their  publications  they  styled 
themselves  "  His  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  sub- 
jects." Hypocrisy  this  with  a  vengeance  !  But  what 
cannot  presbyterians,  republicans,  and  rebels,  do,  to 
forward  their  favourite  system,  the  destruction  of  mon- 
archy, episcopacy,  and  the  established  church. 

In  August,  1775,  a  mob,  or  rather  a  select  party  of 
republicans,  of  which  John  Smith  and  Joshua  Hett 
Smith  were  the  two  most  forward,  collected  together 
in  the  evening  at  a  public-house,  and  after  swallowing 
a  proper  dose  of  Madeira,  set  off  about  midnight  with 
a  full  design  of  seizing  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cooper,  then  Pre- 
sident of  Kings  College,  in  his  bed,  of  shaving  his 


6o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


head,  cutting"  off  his  ears,  slitting-  his  nose,  stripping 
him  naked,  and  turning  him  adrift  (as  the  expression 
was).  Luckily  for  the  President,  a  student,  who  had 
been  out  that  night,  in  returning  to  his  chambers  over- 
took these  bravoes  on  their  way,  and  overhearing  their 
conversation,  instantly  took  to  his  heels,  and  by  turn- 
ing- through  alleys,  and  taking  a  nearer  course  than 
the  assassins,  he  arrived  at  the  President's  room  just 
time  enough  to  give  him  information  of  his  danger. 
Rising  from  his  bed,  and  huddling  on  some  of  his 
clothes,  he  jumped  out  of  a  back  window,  a  few 
minutes  before  the  rascals  entered  the  front  door  of 
the  College.  Having  luckily  escaped  the  intended 
violence,  he  took  refuge  in  the  house  of  a  friend,  was 
concealed  till  the  morning,  and  then  safely  conveyed 
on  board  one  of  his  Majesty's  ships  in  the  harbour, 
from  whence  he  sailed  for  England.  Upon  his  arrival 
he  had  two  livings  given  him,  both  good  ones,  the 
first  in  Berkshire,  the  second  at  Edinburgh,  in  Scot- 
land, where  he  principally  resided.  One  day  in  the 
summer  of  1785  he  went  to  dine  with  a  gentleman,  a 
particular  friend  and  acquaintance  of  his,  who  not  being 
at  home,  the  Doctor  repaired  to  a  tavern,  ordered 
a  dinner,  and  while  it  was  preparing  dropt  down 
dead. 

Among  his  papers  the  following  epitaph  was  found. 

Here  lies  a  priest  of  English  blood, 

Who  living  liked  whate'er  was  good, 

Good  company,  good  wine,  good  name, 

Yet  never  hunted  after  fame, 

But  as  the  first  he  still  preferred, 

So  here  he  chose  to  be  interred, 

And,  unobserved,  from  crowds  withdrew, 

To  rest  among  a  chosen  few, 

In  humble  hope,  that  divine  love, 

Will  raise  him  to  the  bles't  above. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


6l 


His  Library  sold  for  ^5,  the  Liquors  in  his  cellar 
for  /150. 

He  was  buried  a  few  miles  from  Edinburgh,  at  the 
place  of  depositing  the  Episcopal  ministers  who  die  in 
that  city  ;  this  accounts  for  the  words  in  his  epitaph 
"to  rest  among  a  chosen  few." 

I  knew  him  well.  He  was  honest,  just,  learned,  and 
liberal ;  judicious,  sensible,  friendly,  and  convivial ; 
he  loved  good  company,  and  good  company  loved 
him ;  he  was  by  no  means  dissipated.  He  loved  God, 
honoured  his  King,  esteemed  his  friends,  and  hated 
rebellion.  This  tribute  is  due  to  my  deceased  friend.  I 
lived  with  him  for  several  years  in  the  utmost  harmony, 
friendship,  and  familiarity.  Though  he  was  rather 
hasty  in  his  temper,  I  scarcely  ever  saw  him  in  a  pas- 
sion. Rebellion  provoked  him  of  all  things.  Through 
his  means  Kings  College  was  raised  in  reputation  su- 
perior to  all  the  Colleges  upon  the  continent,  and, 
under  his  tuition,  produced  a  number  of  young  gentle- 
men superior  in  learning  and  abilities  to  what  America 
had  ever  before  seen. 

In  the  beginning  of  October,  1775,  the  Governor 
received  information  through  the  means  of  one  of  the 
members  of  the  provincial  Congress1  that  it  was  then 
proposed  to  apprehend  him  as  an  enemy  to  America, 

1  Egbert  Dumonrl,  Esq.,  who  had  been  Sheriff  of  Ulster  by  commission  under  the 
Governor,  but  had  upon  his  return  to  England  been  displaced  by  Lieut. -Govr. 
Colden  in  favor  of  one  of  his  grandsons.  A  restoration  to  the  shrievalty  Du- 
mond  was  now  aiming  at.  This  accounts  for  the  intelligence.  It  was  uncertain  at 
this  time  haw  matters  would  terminate.  Upon  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
this  fellow  became  a  great  supporter  of  the  measures  of  Congress.  Upon  the  for- 
mation of  a  constitution  for  New  York  by  the  rebel  powers  Dumond  was  reap- 
pointed Sheriff  of  Ulster,  soon  became  an  active  partizan  of  theirs,  persecuted  the 
Loyalists  with  unrelenting  fury,  and  was  the  first  Sheriff  in  the  State  who  under 
the  laws  of  the  usurpation  hanged  three  young  men  who  had  been  condemned  by 
a  mock  court  for  treason,  that  is,  for  having  espoused  the  cause  of  Great  Britain. 


62 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


make  him  a  prisoner,  transport  him  to  Connecticut, 
and  there  confine  him  till  the  end  of  the  war.  Alarmed 
at  this  intelligence,  he  prudently  withdrew  from  the 
town,  and  took  refuge  on  board  the  Asia  man-of-war, 
then  in  the  harbor.  All  his  business  now,  as  Governor, 
was  done,  his  visits  from  his  friends  received,  and  his 
Councils  held,  on  board  ship.  The  Council  being  ap- 
pointed by  royal  mandamus  from  the  Crown,  and  by 
the  Governor's  instructions  constituted  a  privy  coun- 
cil, were  consulted  upon  all  occasions.  All  matters  of 
consequence  were  laid  before  them,  all  the  information, 
intelligence,  and  designs  of  the  Governor,  of  his 
Majesty's  ships  in  the  harbour,  of  the  Loyalists  in  the 
country  ;  all  accounts  from  England  of  the  proceed- 
ings and  resolutions  of  the  King,  the  Ministry,  and 
the  Parliament,  with  the  operations,  schemes,  and  de- 
signs of  the  well  affected  to  government  in  the  several 
revolted  colonies,  were  all  laid  before  this  board  with- 
out the  least  suspicion.  If  what  fame  says  be  true 
(I  will  not  aver  it  as  a  fact,  though  it  was  universally 
complained  of  among  his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects  in 
the  city  at  the  time),  I  say,  if  the  report  of  fame  is  to 
be  credited,  then  every  information,  intelligence,  plan, 
or  intended  operations,  were  as  regularly  conveyed  by 
William  Smith  to  a  republican  club  consisting  of  all 
the  ringleaders  of  rebellion  (of  which  himself,  his 
three  brothers,  Thomas,  John,  and  Joshua  Hett  Smith, 
his  brother-in-law,  Peter  R.  Livingston,  with  several  of 
his  most  intimate  and  particular  friends,  to  wit :  Peter 
Van  Brugh  Livingston,  Lewis  Morris,  Richard  Morris, 
John  Van  Cortlandt,  John  Morin  Scott,  Isaac  Sears, 
John  Lamb,  and  Alexander  McDougal  were  standing 
members)  as  they  were  laid  before  and  communicated 
by  the  Governor  to  his  Council ;  and  from  this  club 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


63 


carried  to  the  city  committee  and  Provincial  Congress, 
and  by  them  regularly  transmitted  to  the  General 
Congress  at  Philadelphia,  to  the  rebel  Generals  before 
Boston,  and  to  Schuyler  at  Albany. 

In  the  summer  of  1775,  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "  Com- 
mon Sense  "  was  published  in  Philadelphia,  and  indus- 
triously dispersed  by  the  emissaries  of  Congress 
through  the  continent.  This  pamphlet  fairly  declared 
to  the  world  that  independency  was  the  sole  view  of 
Congress.  That  a  republican  form  of  GoYernment 
was  the  best  in  the  universe,  a  monarchical  one  the 
worst.  That  America  was  abused,  insulted,  and  ag- 
grieved, and  affirmed  that  nothing  short  of  a  total 
and  absolute  independency  could  remedy  the  evils. 
Men's  minds  were  at  this  period  in  a  state  of  agitation. 
It  was  subsequent  to  the  skirmish  at  Lexington,  in 
which  the  first  American  blood  was  spilled.  The 
greatest  part  of  the  thirteen  colonies  were  under  the 
direction  of  Congress,  of  provincial  conventions  and 
committees  of  all  kinds.  The  Kinef's  Courts  indeed 
were  open,  but  no  business  was  suffered  to  be  trans- 
acted in  them,  but  that  on  the  criminal  side.  An 
army  was  raising  under  the  orders  and  direction  of 
Congress.  They  had  published  an  inflammatory  decla- 
ration setting  forth  the  causes  of  their  having  recourse 
to  arms.  It  was,  in  short,  a  declaration  of  war  against 
Great  Britain.  The  publication  of  Common  Sense  at  so 
curious  a  time  (considering  the  doctrine  it  contained, 
avowed,  justified,  and  promulgated)  the  Loyalists 
in  New  York  were  apprehensive  might  be  attended 
with  mischievous  and  fatal  consequences,  unless  fully 
and  particularly  answered.  A  pamphlet,  therefore,  in 
answer  to  the  one  called  Common  Sense,  was  accord- 
ingly written,  in  which  the  fallacy  of  every  argument 


64 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


contained  in  Common  Sense  was  fully  refuted.  In 
short,  it  was  an  unanswerable  production.  Great 
pains  had  been  taken  in  its  fabrication,  and  all  the 
sophistry  of  Congress  could  never  have  made  a  proper 
reply  to  it.  A  shorter  method  was  taken.  Loudon,  a 
printer  in  New  York,  though  a  zealous  presbyterian 
and  warm  republican,  and  a  great  promoter  of  Con- 
gressional measures,  undertook,  no  doubt  for  the  love 
of  gain,  to  print  the  pamphlet,  and  dispose  of  the 
books.  He  accordingly  advertised  in  all  the  papers 
that  he  had  then  in  his  press  an  answer  to  Common 
Sense,  that  would  on  such  a  day  be  ready  for  sale,  at 
such  a  price.  This  was  sounding  the  alarm.  The 
leaders  of  the  republican  faction  took  it.  A  meeting 
was  summoned,  the  parties  met,  and  after  swallowing 
(at  the  house  of  Jasper  Drake,  a  tavern-keeper  upon 
the  dock,  and  father-in-law  to  Isaac  Sears  before  men- 
tioned) a  sufficient  quantity  of  Rumbo,1  about  twelve 
at  night  they  sallied  forth,  headed  by  Alexander  Mc- 
Dougal,  John  Morin  Scott,  Isaac  Sears,  John  Lamb, 
Peter  R.  Livingston,  the  brother-in-law,  and  John 
Smith  and  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  full  brothers  of  William 
Smith,  and  a  few  other  warm,  inveterate  republicans, 
attacked  the  house  of  the  printer,  broke  open  the 
doors,  pulled  him  out  of  his  bed,  and  forcibly  seized 
upon  and  destroyed  the  whole  impression  with  the 
original  manuscript.  This  act  was  publicly  boasted 
of,  the  next  morning,  as  an  act  of  heroism,  of  patriot- 
ism, and  of  virtue.  These  were  the  people  contend 
ing  for  liberty.  They  engrossed  the  whole  to  them 
selves  and  allowed  not  a  tittle  to  their  opponents , 
they  published  whatever  they  pleased,  and  threatened 
destruction  to  any  printer  who  should  dare  to  print 

1  A  kind  of  strong  punch  made  chiefly  of  rum. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


65 


an  answer  to  any  of  their  inflammatory,  detestable 
publications.    The  day  after  the  performance  of  the 
aforegoing  noble,  manly,  spirited  enterprise,  each  print 
er  in  the  city  received  the  following  billet : — 

"  Sir,  if  you  print,  or  suffer  to  be  printed  in  your 
"  press  anything  against  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
"  America,  or  in  favour  of  our  inveterate  foes,  the  King, 
"  Ministry,  and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  death  and 
"destruction,  ruin  and  perdition,  shall  be  your  portion." 

"  Signed,  by  order  of  the  committee  of  tarring  and 
"  feathering. 

"LEGION." 

From  this  time  no  publication,  in  pamphlet  or 
book  form,  ever  appeared  in  New  York,  unless  from 
England,  in  favour  of  the  cause  of  Britain,  or  in  op- 
position to  the  tyranny  of  Congress.  Had  a  printer 
attempted  anything  of  the  kind,  his  life  would  not 
only  have  been  in  danger,  but  his  property  would 
have  been  destroyed,  and  his  family  ruined.  Glorious 
days  these !  and  yet  the  Congress,  the  provincial  Con- 
ventions, and  the  Committees  in  all  quarters  had  the 
impudence  to  approve,  applaud,  and  publish  such  pro- 
ceedings as  the  real  acts  of  true,  genuine  liberty. 

Shortly  after  the  above  transaction  James  Riving- 
ton,  a  printer  in  New  York,  having  made  himself  ob- 
noxious to  the  favourers  of  Congress,  and  the  promoters 
of  their  despotic,  arbitrary,  disloyal,  treasonable,  and 
rebellious  measures,  by  printing  in  favour  of  Govern- 
ment, and  in  opposition  to  congressional  proceedings, 
was  pitched  upon  as  a  proper  object  to  wreak  their 
vengeance  upon,  and  by  such  means  to  deter  all  per- 
sons within  the  thirteen  colonies  from  publishing  any- 
thing in  favour  of  the  King,  the  Ministry,  or  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Great  Britain.  In  consequence  of  which,  the 
5 


66 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


aforesaid  Isaac  Sears  (who,  apprehensive  of  danger, 
as  matters  were  drawing  towards  a  crisis,  removed 
with  his  family  from  New  York  and  settled  at  New 
Haven  in  Connecticut)  formed  a  plan,  in  conjunction 
with  the  mob  leaders  in  New  York,  to  break  Riving- 
ton's  press.  In  pursuance  of  which,  and  a  day  being 
fixed  upon,  Sears  set  off  from  New  Haven  as  com- 
mander of  a  select  body  of  the  disaffected  crowd  for 
the  purpose,  and  arrived  at  New  York  at  the  time 
appointed.  Alexander  McDougal,  Peter  R.  Living- 
ston, John  Smith,  and  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  the  brothers 
of  William  Smith,  Esq.,  and  some  others  of  the  prin- 
cipal leaders  of  the  New  York  Mobility  had  collected 
a  party  upon  a  parade  before  Rivington's  door  (which 
being  a  place  of  public  resort  no  notice  was  taken  of 
the  unusual  numbers  at  that  time  assembled).  Notice 
being  given  Sears  before  he  reached  the  suburbs  of 
the  city,  that  all  was  ready,  he  triumphantly  entered 
the  town  at  the  head  of  about  200  men  well  mounted, 
and  all  proceeded  directly  to  Rivington's,  entered  his 
house,  demolished  his  printing  apparatus,  destroyed 
a  part  and  carried  off  the  remainder  of  his  types. 
This  piece  of  wickedness,  of  injustice,  and  villainy,  be- 
ing performed,  Sears  with  his  cavalry  rode  off,  receiv- 
ing from  the  mob  collected,  as  before  mentioned,  three 
cheers,  to  which  his  party  returned  the  compliment. 

This  public  robbery  being  effected,  Sears  proceeded 
back  to  New  England.  On  his  way  he  stopped  at  West- 
chester, and  made  prisoners  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Seabury, 
an  Episcopal  Clergyman  of  that  County,  and  Nathaniel 
Underhill,  Esq.,  Mayor  of  the  Borough  of  Westchester. 

The  former  having  the  spirit  to  remonstrate  in  just 
and  severe  terms,  against  this  manifest  piece  of  injus- 
tice, was  not  only  insulted  himself  by  the  brutes,  but 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


6; 


they  abused  his  wife,  and  actually  beat  his  eldest 
daughter,  for  daring  to  speak  in  favour  of  her  father. 
He  stopped  again  at  East  Chester  (about  six  miles 
distant  from  the  former)  where  he  forcibly  entered  the 
house  of  Jonathan  Fowler,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Judges  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  Colonel  of 
one  of  the  battalions  of  militia  for  the  County,  broke 
open  his  house,  and  after  robbing  him  of  his  sword, 
his  gun,  and  his  pistols,  conducted  them  all  three  into 
Connecticut.  Upon  his  arrival  at  New  Haven,  the 
three  prisoners,  an  Episcopal  Clergyman,  the  Mayor 
of  a  Borough,  and  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  were  carried  in  triumph  through  the  whole 
town,  and  stopped  at  every  corner  for  the  gaping 
mob  to  insult  and  abuse  as  New  York  tories.  This 
military  parade  being  ended,  they  were  all  confined  in 
a  public  house  under  a  strict  guard,  where  every  low 
lived  wretch  for  ten  miles  around  the  country,  had 
free  liberty  to  enter  their  apartments  at  pleasure,  and 
to  treat  them  with  the  vilest  lanoaiasje,  accusing  them 
as  enemies  to  their  country,  as  the  friends  of  a  tyrant, 
and  betrayers  of  the  liberties  of  America.  Complaints 
were  made  to  the  magistracy,  they  had  no  effect ;  to 
the  Council  of  safety  with  as  little.  They  petitioned 
the  Assembly — the  petition  was  negatived  ;  an  appli- 
cation was  made  to  the  Governor — it  was  none  of  his 
business  was  the  answer.  No  redress  was  to  be  had, 
the  Courts  of  Justice,  it  is  true,  were  open,  but  shut  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  against  tories,  that  is,  Loyal- 
ists. They  were  not  suffered  to  carry  on  any  prosecu- 
tions, or  commence  any  suits  in  that  colony  against 
any  trespassers,  rioters,  or  other  breakers  of  the 
peace,  if  done  in  the  cause  of  rebellion,  or  in  defence 
of  an  unconstitutional  Congress.     These  gentlemen 


68 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


after  being  detained  as  prisoners  for  many  weeks,  at  a 
heavy  expense  to  themselves  (no  provision  being 
made  for  their  maintenance),  and  absent  from  their 
business,  their  families,  and  avocations,  were  dis- 
charged and  suffered  to  return  home  without  the  least 
compensation  being  made  for  the  damages  they  sus- 
tained, and  without  being  ever  permitted  to  prosecute 
the  persons  by  whom  they  had  been  robbed,  plundered 
pillaged,  insulted,  and  imprisoned,  for  no  other  reason 
than  acknowledging  themselves  (as  they  really  were) 
the  lawful  subjects  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain. 

In  January,  1776,  the  Continental  Congress,  ordered 
Gen.  Hurd,  a  low  tavern  keeper  at  Woodbridge  in 
New  Jersey,  with  1500  men  to  invade  Queens  county 
upon  Long  Island  (a  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
having  refused  to  join  in,  or  have  anything  to  do  with, 
Congressional  measures),  to  disarm  the  people,  and 
take  away  their  ammunition.  This  order  was  effec- 
tually, and  rigorously  carried  into  execution.  Every 
loyal  subject  within  the  county  was  robbed,  not  only 
of  his  arms  and  ammunition,  but  of  whatever  else  the 
rebel  officers  and  soldiers  could  lay  their  hands  upon. 
After  continuing  in  the  county  for  several  days  living 
upon  free  quarters,  and  ransacking  every  part  of  it, 
Hurd  marched  back  with  his  army,  loaded  with  the 
spoils  of  his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  carrying  away 
with  him  a  number  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  the 
county  as  prisoners.1     These  he  delivered  up  to  the 

1  Among  these  were  Daniel  Kissam,  Esq.,  one  of  the  representatives  for  the 
county.  John  Willett,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Common 
Pleas.  Thomas  Smith  and  Samuel  Clowes,  Esqs.,  both  in  the  commission  of  the 
peace,  Dr.  Samuel  Martin,  a  gentleman  of  a  most  amiable  character,  and  of  one  of 
the  first  families  in  the  county.  He  was  originally  from  Antigua,  where  the  family 
still  hold  large  possessions,  but  had  been  settled  in  this  county  for  many  years ; 
Dr.  David  Brooks,  Captain  Shoals  and  Captain  Hallett.  with  several  others.  They 
were  all  principal  people,  strict  Loyalists,  and  consequently  obnoxious  to  rebellion. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


69 


Congress  at  Philadelphia,  where  they  were  confined 
for  several  weeks,  and  then  sent  back  under  a  guard 
to  the  provincial  Congress  at  New  York,  by  whom 
they  were  confined  and  kept  under  a  close  guard  for 
several  weeks  more,  in  a  little  dirty  tavern,  in  a  most 
unhealthy  part  of  the  town,  with  a  drum  constantly 
beating  at  the  door  of  the  apartment  in  which  they 
were  confined.  (But  one  room  was  allowed  for  the 
whole.)  After  spending  weeks  in  this  horrid,  hellish 
and  disagreeable  manner,  they  were  discharged  upon 
parole,  an  instance  this  of  rebel  generosity. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  Hurd  with  his 
troops,  passed  from  Elizabethtown  in  New  Jersey 
across  the  bay  in  the  daytime,  landed  at  the  Whitehall 
in  New  York  early  in  the  evening,  and  marched  with 
drums  beating,  fifes  playing  and  colors  flying,  through 
the  City,  and  took  possession  of  the  upper  barracks. 
After  recruiting  and  refreshing  his  troops  for  twenty- 
four  hours  he  marched  to  Horn's  hook,  passed  Wal- 
dron's  ferry,  landed  upon  Long  Island,  and  entered  the 
county,  the  object  of  the  expedition.  He  met  with  no 
interruption  in  the  whole  of  this  manoeuvre,  though 
four  British  men  of  war  were  then  in  the  harbor,  and 
their  passage  across  the  bay,  as  well  as  their  transpor- 
tation to  Long  Island  might  have  been  prevented  with 
the  utmost  ease.  Hurd  continued  in  the  county  for 
nearly  a  fortnight.  The  King's  fleet  had  the  command 
of  all  the  waters  surrounding  Long  Island,  and  every 
boat  might  have  been  destroyed.  The  retreat  of 
Hurd  and  his  army  would,  in  such  case,  have  been 
impossible.  The  marines  might  have  been  landed, 
and  in  conjunction  with  the  loyal  and  irritated  militia 
of  Queens,  captured  the  whole  corps.  Instead  of  which 
no  steps  were  taken  by  the  men-of-war,  and  Hurd 


7o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


peaceably  returned  with  his  army,  his  prisoners,  and 
plunder,  the  same  way  that  he  came,  without  the  least 
interruption  whatever.  Upon  this  thieving,  plunder- 
ing expedition,  as  no  danger  was  apprehended,  a 
number  of  the  young  republican  gentry  of  New  Jersey 
and  New  York,  honoured  themselves  in  serving  as 
volunteers,  and  among  those  from  New  York,  besides 
many  others,  were  the  before-mentioned  John  Smith 
and  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  the  brothers  of  William. 
These  volunteers  gained  great  applause  by  their  con- 
duct and  heroism  upon  this  expedition.  They  were 
extremely  alert  at  plunder,  refined  in  acts  of  cruelty 
and  persecution,  and  treated  every  loyalist  with  insult 
and  abuse.  For  these  meritorious  services  they  after- 
wards received  the  public  thanks  of  the  honourable 
the  Continental  Congress. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


In  December,  1775,  Congress  ordered  General  Schuy- 
ler (in  violation  of  a  most  solemn  treaty,  entered  into 
by  Commissioners  appointed  by  themselves,  and  the 
Six  united  Indian  Nations  at  Albany,  the  fall  preceding, 
by  which  it  was  stipulated  and  agreed,  that  the  Mo- 
hawk river  should  be  left  open  for  trade,  that  no 
troops  should  be  sent  into  those  parts,  and  that  Sir 
John  Johnson  should  remain  untouched,  unmolested, 
and  undisturbed,  by  Congress  or  any  persons  acting 
under  their  orders,  in  consequence  of  which  the  In- 
dians engaged  to  continue  peaceable,  and  in  a  perfect 
state  of  neutrality  ;  a  treaty  executed  by  each  party 
with  all  the  pomp  and  solemnity  usual  with  the  In- 
dians upon  such  occasions,  and  afterwards  fully  and 
absolutely  ratified  by  Congress),  to  march  with  the 
Albany,  the  Ulster,  and  some  New  England  Militia, 
amounting  to  about  4,000  men,  into  Tryon  County, 
to  disarm  Sir  John,  the  loyal  inhabitants  of  Johns- 
town, and  to  break  up  a  settlement  of  Highlanders 
then  forming  upon  a  part  of  Sir  John's  large  estate 
in  that  county.  The  committee  at  Albany,  to  whom 
the  management  of  this  expedition  was  recommended, 
were  for  some  time  at  a  loss,  or  as  Schuyler  himself 


72 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


expressed  it  in  his  letter  to  Congress,  puzzled,  for  a 
pretence  to  obey  the  orders  of  Congress  by  carrying 
the  expedition  into  execution.  But  Sir  John  having 
built  some  months  before  a  small  island  in  a  duck 
pond  contiguous  to  the  Hall,  a  poor  ignorant,  illiterate 
fellow  was  prevailed  upon  by  the  Albany  committee, 
(and  perhaps  paid  for  it  besides),  to  swear,  that  this  lit- 
tle island  contained  within  its  bowels  several  thousand 
stand  of  arms,  that  the  deponent  was  present,  saw  and 
assisted  in  the  putting  them  in,  and  covering  them  up. 
This  affidavit,  which  did  not  contain  a  single  word  of 
truth,  was  made,  as  Schuyler  mentions  in  another  letter 
to  Congress,  the  ostensible  reason  for  undertaking  the 
expedition.  The  real  truth  of  this  iniquitous  business 
was  a  design  formed  by  Congress  to  rob  and  plunder 
Sir  John,  the  loyal  inhabitants  of  Johnstown,  to  break 
up  and  destroy  the  Highland  settlement,  and  to  im- 
press the  Indians  with  an  idea  of  the  amazing  power 
of  Congress,  and  to  gratify  at  the  same  time  the  malice 
and  satiate  the  vengeance,  of  some  individual  members 
of  that  body  who  were  vexed,  piqued,  and  chagrined, 
at  the  Highlanders  having  preferred  a  settlement  upon 
Sir  John's  land  in  preference  to  their  own.1  This 
these  selfish  and  disappointed  persons  had  the  impu- 
dence to  call  "patriotism." 

The  army  was  assembled  at  Albany,  reviewed  by 
Schuyler,  marched  to  Schenectady,  from  thence  to 
Cognawaga,  and  so  on  to  Johnstown.  Sir  John,  with 
a  few  domestics,  and  some  friends  then  at  the  Hall, 
stood  upon  his  defence.  The  Indians  appeared  as 
mediators.  They  complained  of  the  breach  of  the 
violation  of  a  solemn  treaty  so  recently  made,  so 

1  Philip  Livingston,  James  Duane,  and  Isaac  Low,  three  of  the  delegates  from 
New  York  who  had  large  tracts  of  unsettled  land  in  the  same  county. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


73 


sacredly  entered  into  by  the  contracting  parties,  and 
so  solemnly  ratified  by  the  sachems  of  the  Six  united 
Indian  Nations,  and  by  Congress,  the  sachems  of  the 
thirteen  revolted  colonies.  It  had  no  effect,  Schuyler 
was  in  their  country,  and  there  at  the  head  of  4,000 
men  in  arms.  Articles  of  capitulation  were  at  length 
proposed,  litigated,  settled  and  signed,  by  which  Sir 
John,  the  inhabitants  of  Johnstown,  and  the  High- 
landers surrendered  their  arms  and  ammunition.  They 
were  to  be  exempt  from  plunder,  and  all  the  Kings 
stores  in  the  possession  of  Sir  John  were  delivered 
up.  The  business  thus  finished,  Schuyler  began  his 
march  back  for  Albany,  taking  away  with  him,  all  the 
leading  men  among  the  Highlanders  as  prisoners  ;  but 
stopping  in  the  suburbs  of  Johnstown,  he  pretended 
that  the  Scotchmen  in  delivering  up  their  arms  had 
omitted  some  leathern  pouches,  and  a  few  dirks  ; 1  he 
therefore  sent  back  and  demanded  them.  The  High- 
landers denied  the  charge.  Whether  this  was  a 
thought  of  his  own,  or  the  contrivance  of  some  other 
person,  has  been  hitherto  undiscovered,  but  from 
Schuyler's  well-known  character,  and  the  antipathy 
and  hatred  of  himself,  and  all  his  connections  to  the 
Johnson  family,  it  requires  no  great  conjuration  to  find 
out  from  whence  the  scheme  originated.  This  was  all 
that  was  wanted.  It  was  now  su jested  that  the 
capitulation  was  broken  ;  permission  was  therefore  given 
to  the  army  to  plunder  ;  they  accordingly  pillaged  Sir 
John,  the  inhabitants  of  Johnstown,  and  the  Highland- 
ers, in  which  indiscriminate  plunder  none  were  exempt. 
Men,  women,  and  children  all  fared  alike.  They  even 
robbed  the  Episcopal  Church,  destroyed  the  organ, 

1  Something  similar  to  this  was  afterwards  made  use  of  by  Congress  to  justify 
the  scandalous  breach  of  the  Saratoga  Convention. 


74 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


and  in  their  lust  for  plunder,  broke  open  the  vault  in 
which  were  deposited  the  remains  of  the  great,  the 
good,  the  brave,  old  Sir  William,  and  scattered  the 
bones  about  the  sacred  edifice.  This  done,  the  army 
returned  to  Albany,  divided  the  plunder,  and  were 
disbanded.  For  this  meritorious  piece  of  service 
Schuyler  received  the  thanks  of  Congress.  From  the 
destruction  of  a  large  flock  of  peacocks  which  Sir 
John  had  upon  his  farm,  and  the  whole  army  decorat- 
ing themselves  with  the  stolen  feathers,  the  loyalists 
in  that  part  of  the  country  gave  it  the  name  of 
"  Schuyler  s  Peacock  Expedition"  by  which  it  is  still 
known,  and  perhaps  ever  will  be.  The  laurels  gained  in 
this  pious  expedition  were  the  only  ones  reaped  by 
the  magnanimous  General  Schuyler  during  the  whole 
course  of  the  American  war. 

After  this,  the  committee  of  Albany  designedly  em- 
ployed themselves  in  harassing  Sir  John  as  much  as 
possible.  If  an  Indian  was  seen  with  a  new  coat,  a 
new  blanket,  or  a  new  hat,  Sir  John  was  summoned  to 
Albany,  and  strictly  interrogated  how  the  Indian  came 
by  it.  He  was  sometimes  ordered  down  twice  in  a 
week.  The  distance  between  Johnson  Hall  and  Al- 
bany is  at  least  40  miles.  This  was  vexatious  ;  it  was 
done  to  give  Sir  John  as  much  trouble  as  possible. 
He  at  length  grew  angry  at  such  barbarous  and  irri- 
tating usage,  and  being  a  man  of  spirit,  was  conse- 
quently chagrined  at  the  treatment  he  was  constantly 
and  repeatedly  receiving  from  a  set  of  common  fel- 
lows who  composed  the  Albany  committee,  a  pack  as 
much  below  him,  as  they  were  themselves  superior  to 
the  wolves  that  prowled  the  woods.  He  therefore  took 
the  resolution  of  leaving  that  part  of  the  country,  and 
accordingly  in  the  month  of  June  following,  with  a  few 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


75 


loyalists,  and  some  steady  true  friends  of  the  Mohawk 
Indians,  he  left  the  Hall  and  went  through  the  woods 
without  pursuing  any  of  the  usual  routes,  and  safely 
arrived  in  Canada  after  a  fortnight's  journey.  The 
deserts  he  passed  were  in  many  places  almost  impene- 
trable. Sir  Guy  Carleton,  then  Governor  of,  and  Com- 
mander-in-chief in,  Canada,  received  him  with  open 
arms.  As  he  was  bold,  resolute,  spirited,  brave,  and 
active,  well  acquainted  with  the  frontiers  of  New 
York,  and  in  high  estimation  among  the  inhabitants, 
he  was  an  acquisition  to  Sir  Guy.  He  gave  him  a 
commission  to  raise  two  Battalions  of  500  men  each, 
of  which  he  was  appointed  the  Colonel  commandant. 
Sir  John  had  the  recommendation  of  his  own  officers, 
and  he  made  a  most  judicious  choice  ;  in  consequence 
of  which  his  Battalions  were  soon  complete,  and  prin- 
cipally consisted  of  loyalists  from  the  Counties  of  Al- 
bany, Charlotte,  and  Tryon,  where  Sir  John  was  well 
known,  and  his  honour,  his  justice,  his  virtue,  and  gen- 
erosity held  in  as  much  estimation  as  were  those  of  his 
father,  the  hospitable  old  Sir  William,  in  his  lifetime. 
Sir  John  continued  in  Canada  during  the  whole  war 
(the  winter  of  1776  excepted,  which  he  spent  in  New 
York),  and  behaved  with  a  spirit,  a  courage,  an  intre- 
pidity, and  a  perseverance,  scarcely  to  be  equalled.  He 
did  more  mischief  to  the  rebel  settlements  upon  the  fron- 
tiers of  New  York  than  all  the  partizans  in  the  British 
service  put  together.  He  was  ever  out  and  always 
successful.  He  was  so  much  beloved  by  the  Mohawks, 
whose  castles  and  settlements  were  in  his  neighbor- 
hood, that  the  whole  nation  to  a  man  followed  him  into 
Canada,  and  attended  him  in  all  his  excursions  during 
the  war.  For  this  the  rebels  seized  upon  their  lands, 
burnt  their  churches,  destroyed  their  towns,  and  de- 


76 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


molished  their  castles.  They  are  now  settled  in 
Canada,  where  they  have  land  assigned  them  by  an 
order  from  Great  Britain,  whose  King  they  still  call 
their  Father.  They  were  always  the  steady  friends 
and  allies  of  England.  They  have  joined  her  stand- 
ard in  every  war  since  the  settlement  of  America. 
Yet  the  lands,  the  property  of  these  firm  friends  and 
steady  allies,  were  by  Lord  Shelburne's  peace  abso- 
lutely and  totally  surrendered  and  ceded  to  the  rebel 
States  without  a  condition,  a  term,  or  a  stipulation  in 
their  favour  ;  and  this  too,  after  an  eight  years'  war,  dur- 
ing the  whole  course  of  which  they  had  taken  an  active 
and  decided  part  in  favour  of  the  British  cause,  had  lost 
many  of  their  men,  and  some  of  their  principal  sachems. 

No  sooner  had  the  Committee  of  Albany  intelli- 
gence that  Sir  John  was  gone  to  Canada,  than  a  de- 
tachment of  continentals  was  sent  up  to  the  Hall,  with 
orders  to  make  Lady  Johnson  a  prisoner  and  bring 
her  to  Albany.  This  was  accordingly  done.  The 
mansion  was  completely  plundered  of  all  its  contents. 
The  farm  in  Sir  John's  own  occupation  was  robbed 
of  his  cattle,  his  negroes,  his  horses,  hogs,  sheep,  and 
utensils  of  husbandry.  His  carriages  were  taken  away, 
his  papers  of  every  kind  (some  of  the  utmost  conse- 
quence) were  stolen  or  destroyed,  and  all  his  slaves 
carried  off.  This  done,  Lady  Johnson  was  escorted 
under  a  guard  to  Albany,  a  lady  of  great  beauty,  of 
the  most  amiable  disposition,  and  composed  of 
materials  of  the  most  soft  and  delicate  kind.  Besides 
this  she  was  more  than  seven  months  advanced  in  her 
pregnancy.  She  was  suffered  to  go  to  Albany  in  her 
own  carriage  driven  by  a  servant  of  her  own.  But  in 
order  to  add  insult  to  insult,  she  was  obliged  to  take 
the  Lieutenant  who  commanded  the  detachment  intc 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


77 


the  carriage  with  her,  who  was  now  converted  from  a 
mender  of  shoes  in  Connecticut,  into  an  officer  holding 
a  commission  under  the  honourable  the  Continental 
Congress.  Thus  was  Lady  Johnson  conducted  from 
Sir  John's  seat  to  Albany,  guarded  by  a  parcel  of  half- 
clothed  dirty  Yankees,  and  squired  by  a  New  England 
officer,  by  trade  a  cobbler,  as  dirty  as  themselves,  until  he 
had  decorated  himself  with  a  suit  of  Sir  John's  clothes, 
and  a  clean  shirt,  and  a  pair  of  stockings,  stolen  at 
the  Hall.  A  younger  sister,  and  two  children  accom- 
panied her  ladyship  to  Albany.  Lady  Johnson  had  re- 
lations of  opulence  and  interest  in  Albany,  through 
whose  influence  she  was  permitted  to  reside  with  a 
venerable  old  Aunt,  with  this  positive  injunction,  not 
to  leave  the  city  tender  pain  of  death.  She  was,  however, 
not  in  a  condition  to  leave  the  town,  had  she  been  so 
disposed.  She  was  also  given  to  understand  that  if 
Sir  John  appeared  in  arms  against  the  Americans,  re- 
taliation should  be  made,  and  she  should  be  the  object, 
and  her  life  depended  upon  her  husband's  action. 
What  inhuman,  unfeeling  conduct!  And  yet  these 
were  the  people  who  during  the  whole  war  boasted 
of  their  humane,  generous,  behaviour,  and  taxed  the 
British  and  Loyalists  as  butchers,  cut-throats  and  bar- 
barians. 

Lady  Johnson  being  safely  delivered,  perfectly  re- 
covered, and  the  Kings  troops  having  defeated  the 
rebel  army  upon  Long  Island,  and  at  the  White  Plains, 
taken,  and  in  possession  of,  all  York  Island,  Staten 
Island,  Long  Island,  a  part  of  Westchester,  almost 
the  whole  of  New  Jersey ;  and  Washington  with  the 
remains  of  his  scattered  army  gone  to  the  southward ; 
the  Albany  committee  began  to  cool,  and  upon  her 
ladyship  s  application  to  them  for  permission  to  go  to 


73 


HISTORV  OF  NEW  YORK. 


New  York,  she  was  referred  to  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress, which  was  then  sitting  at  the  Fish  Kills,  a  small 
neat  Dutch  village,  situate  upon  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  nearly  midway  between  New  York  and 
Albany.  A  pass  for  this  purpose  was  given  her,  it  was 
the  latter  end  of  November,  when  the  weather  is  in 
general  very  severe.  In  consequence  of  her  permis- 
sion and  pass,  she  left  Albany,  her  sister  accompanied 
her,  she  had  no  male  friend  or  servant  to  attend  her, 
she  got  safe  to  the  Fish  Kills,  and  made  her  applica- 
tion. It  was  unanimously  rejected  in  a  manner,  in- 
famous, scornful,  and  brutish.  Upon  her  arrival  at  the 
Fish  Kills,  she  thought  it  best,  prior  to  her  application 
to  the  convention  as  a  body,  to  apply  to  James  Duane, 
Esq.,  one  of  the  members,  and  intercede  with  him  to 
use  his  interest  to  procure  her  permission  to  go  to 
New  York.  Mr.  Duane  was  an  intimate  acquaintance 
of  her  ladyship's  father,  Mr.  Watts  of  New  York,  who 
had  been  his  patron,  his  friend,  his  protector,  and  in 
whose  family  he  had  been  for  many  years  as  familiar 
as  in  those  of  his  nearest  relations.  Lady  Johnson 
was  of  course  well  known  to  him.  Duane,  being  the 
descendant  of  an  Irish  father,  and  having  purchased 
large  tracts  of  land  in  the  County  of  Tryon,  had  been 
particularly  noticed,  entertained,  and  most  hospitably 
treated,  and  assisted  by  Sir  William  Johnson,1  the 
father  of  Sir  John,  in  the  settlement  and  improvement 
of  his  lands.  Upon  the  death  of  Sir  William,  which 
happened  in  July,  1774,  Sir  John  appointed  him  his  At- 
torney and  Counsel  to  transact  all  law  matters  what- 
ever relative  to  the  estate  of  his  deceased  father,  a 
lucrative  appointment.  To  this  being  did  Lady  John- 
son (with  all  the  meekness  of  a  lamb,  with  a  figure  as 

1  Sir  William  Johnson  was  a  native  of  Ireland. 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK. 


79 


delicate  as  imagination  can  conceive,  and  with  those 
bewitching  smiles  ever  attendant  upon  her  intellectual 
face)  apply  for  his  interest  and  influence  with  the  con- 
vention for  leave  to  <ro  into  New  York.  Me  received 
her  with  a  haughty,  supercilious  air.1  She,  with  a 
tongue  equal  to  that  of  a  siren,  with  an  infant  in  her 
arms,  recounted  the  favours  he  had  received,  and  the 
great  intimacy  that  had  for  many  years  subsisted  be- 
tween him,  her  father,  her  late  father-in-law,  and  her 
husband.  He  scarcely  asked  her  to  sit  down,  treated 
her  with  incivility  and  impoliteness,  and  with  a  coun- 
tenance as  black  and  grim  as  Milton's  Devil,  told  her, 
"  that  private  friendship  must  be  sacrificed  to  the  good 
"  of  the  public,  and  no  favours  were  to  be  expected  from 
"  him."    What  base  ingratitude  ! 

Upon  the  rejection  of  Lady  Johnson's  application  by 
the  Provincial  Congress,  they  gave  her  liberty  to  take 
up  her  residence  with  the  family  of  David  Johnson, 
Esq.,  an  old  acquaintance  of  her  father's,  who  lived  at 
the  Nine  Partners,1  Patent  in  Dutchess  County,  about 
1 6  miles  to  the  east  of  the  Hudson,  or  with  that  of  Cad- 
wallader  Colden,  Esq.,  another  of  her  father's  friends, 
who  lived  at  Coldenham,  in  Ulster  County,  about  12 
miles  distant  from  the  western  shore  of  the  Hudson. 
The  latter  was  her  choice.  She  was  given,  however,  to 
understand,  that  if  she  attempted  to  escape,  and  should 

1  This  Genius  was,  before  the  war,  one  of  the  greatest  time-servers — haughty, 
proud,  and  overbearing  to  his  inferiors,  and  sycophantical  to  a  degree  of  servility 
to  his  superiors,  or  to  those  who  could  serve  his  ambitious  purposes,  and  if  his  own 
brother  could  be  believed,  not  over  honest.  But  this  might  be  owing  to  his  pro- 
fession— he  was  a  lawyer.  Being  married  in  the  Livingston  family,  disappointed 
in  an  application  to  Lord  Dunmore,  and  in  another  to  Genl.  Tryon,  to  be  made 
one  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  and  his  determination  to  be  a  great  man,  all  com- 
bined to  hurry  him  down  the  stream  of  rebellion.  Upon  the  evacuation  of  New 
York  in  1 783,  he  was  made  Mayor  of  the  city.  The  Marquis  De  Chastellux  in 
speaking  of  him  says  he  is  civil,  jovial,  and  drinks  without  repugnance. 


So 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


be  retaken,  she  should  be  treated  with  the  utmost  se- 
verity ;  or  if  Sir  John  appeared  in  arms  and  entered 
the  State  as  an  enemy,  she  must  expect  to  be  made 
the  victim  of  retaliation  for  his  conduct.  Is  it  possible 
that  anything  could  be  more  cruel,  in  a  Christian 
country  ?  Savages  and  barbarians  would  even  shudder 
at  the  thought.  Yet  these  were  the  people  who  called 
themselves  the  lambs  of  God,  asserted  they  were  con- 
tending in  a  righteous  cause,  and  fighting  for  the  rights 
of  mankind.  Lady  Johnson  possessed  great  resolu- 
tion. She  was  not  terrified  with  their  threats.  She 
removed  to  Mr.  Colden's,  and  the  first  thing  she  did, 
was  to  hire  a  faithful  honest  Loyalist,  to  go  to  Johns- 
town with  a  message  to  an  honest,  trusty  loyal  tenant 
of  Sir  John's  with  directions  to  be  with  her  at  such  an 
hour  with  a  sleigh  and  a  pair  of  good  horses.  (It 
was  now  the  middle  of  January,  and  the  whole 
country  covered  with  snow.)  Lady  Johnson  and  her 
sister  procured  dresses,  by  way  of  disguise,  and  ap- 
peared in  the  characters  of  common  country  wenches. 
The  messenger  was  true  to  his  trust,  and  the  tenant 
appeared  at  the  appointed  time.  Lady  Johnson  and 
her  sister  set  out  in  the  evening,  travelled  all  night,  and 
the  next  morning  arrived  safe  at  Paulus  Hook,  a  Brit- 
ish post  upon  the  west  side  of  the  North  River,  and 
directly  opposite  to  New  York.  Here  Sir  John  met 
her,  and  conducted  her  to  the  City,  since  which  they 
have  never  parted.  She  went  with  him  the  ne;ct 
spring  from  New  York  to  Canada,  has  been  twice 
with  him  to  England  and  twice  returned  to  Canada, 
where  they  are  now  (i  787)  living  in  splendour,  affluence 
and  reputation,  and  her  ladyship  the  very  idol  of  the 
people.  Sir  John  is  his  Majesty's  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Affairs  in  that  part  of  the  country. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Si 


A  particular  anecdote  must  be  here  related.  Lady 
Johnson  and  her  sister,  disguised  as  before  mentioned, 
stopped  upon  the  road  at  a  public  house  for  a  little  re- 
freshment. In  this  house  there  happened  to  be  a  party 
of  rebels,  and  among  them  a  Major  Abeel  of  the  Con- 
tinentals, who  had  served  Lady  Johnson's  father  in  the 
character  of  a  clerk  for  many  years,  and  was  as  well 
acquainted  with  her  as  with  a  sister  of  his  own.  Her 
Ladyship  recognized  him  the  moment  she  entered  the 
room,  and  he  steadily  fixed  his  eyes  on  her.  And  after 
sitting  for  some  time,  the  Major  says,  "  Your  face, 
"  madam,  seems  very  familiar  to  me,  I  must  have  seen 
"  you  somewhere."  Lady  Johnson  with  great  coolness, 
and  an  amazing  presence  of  mind,  answered,  "  very 
"  like,  I  lived  in  New  York  before  the  war,  my  name  is 
"  Kip.  I  left  it  upon  the  defeat  of  our  army  on  Long 
"  Island,  have  been  in  the  country  ever  since,  and  am 
"  going  mto  Jersey  to  see  some  relations  that  live  at 
"  Newark."  The  Major  asked  no  further  questions,  and 
her  Ladyship  soon  took  herself  away.  Whether  Abeel 
knew  her  or  not  is  uncertain.  She  has  a  countenance 
not  easily  to  be  disguised.  If  he  did  really  know  her, 
and  concealed  his  knowledge  out  of  friendship  to  her 
father,  herself,  and  family,  he  has  great  merit,  for  had 
he  taken,  and  returned  her,  to  the  Provincial  Congress, 
he  would  have  been  most  generously  rewarded  ;  but 
as  there  was,  during  the  war,  so  little  generosity  and 
friendship  shown  by  rebels  to  loyalists,  I  suspect  he 
was  fairly  deceived  by  a  story  told  by  her  Ladyship 
with  so  much  coolness  and  deliberation. 
6 


CHAPTER  V. 

Eakly  in  February,  1776,  General  Lee  arrived  at 
New  York,  with  a  detachment  of  the  grand  rebel  army 
from  Boston,  under  orders  from  General  Washington 
to  fortify  the  city,  swear  the  tories,  and  take  their 
property;  which  orders  were  as  punctually  as  they  were 
rigorously,  wantonly,  and  cruelly  carried  into  execu- 
tion. Upon  his  arrival  in  New  York  he  took  up 
his  lodgings  at  a  Mrs.  De  La  Montaine's,  who  kept  a 
public  house  upon  the  Common.  Here  he  was  sup- 
plied with  his  provisions  and  liquor,  here  his  head- 
quarters were  established,  here  his  friends,  his  suite, 
and  his  principal  officers,  were  all  entertained  and 
feasted ;  the  whole  was  at  the  poor  woman's  expense. 
When  this  General  was  ordered  to  the  southward  upon 
General  Clinton's  invasion  of  the  Carolinas,  Mrs.  De 
La  Montaine  presented  him  her  bill.  He  damned  her 
for  a  tory,  cursed  her  for  a  bitch,  and  left  the  house 
without  paying  her  a  sixpence.  While  this  immaculate 
General  had  the  command  in  New  York,  about  200 
pieces  of  heavy  cannon,  which  were  mounted  in  Fort 
George  and  upon  the  Battery,  were  forcibly  taken 
away  by  his  orders,  and  lodged  upon  the  Common 
facing  his  quarters.    But  lest,  upon  the  arrival  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


83 


British  army,  they  should  be  retaken,  he  ordered  them 
carried  up  to  King's  Bridge,  about  14  miles  from  New 
York.  The  persons  employed  in  this  service  wanting 
horses,  applied  to  the  General  to  supply  the  defect. 
An  honest,  a  virtuous  man,  and  a  Christian,  will 
shudder  at  the  answer  :  "  Chain  20  damned  Tories  to 
"  each  gun,  and  let  them  draw  them  out,  and  be  cursed. 
"It  is  a  proper  employment  for  such  villains,  and  a 
"  punishment  they  deserve  for  their  eternal  loyalty  that 
"  they  so  much  boast  of." 

In  March,  1776,  Congress  sent  one  Hopkins  as 
Commodore  of  a  rebel  fleet,  under  a  Congress  Commis- 
sion, from  Philadelphia  to  the  Bahama  Islands,  who 
surprised  Providence,  the  principal  of  them,  and  the 
seat  of  government ;  robbed  the  inhabitants,  and 
brought  away  the  Governor,  his  secretary,  and  several 
other  gentlemen  prisoners,  with  all  the  artillery  and 
other  military  stores  which  they  could  discover  upon 
the  island.  This  circumstance  is  mentioned  because 
at  this  very  time  Congress  was,  in  the  name  of  the  con- 
tinent, and  the  respective  provincial  conventions  in  the 
name  of  their  respective  provinces  were,  acknowledg- 
ing themselves  the  loyal,  faithful,  and  dutiful  subjects 
of  his  Majesty  George  the  Third,  and  the  Bahama  Is- 
lands had  no  more  to  do  with  the  thirteen  disaffected 
Colonies,  or  they  with  them,  than  they  had  with  Gib- 
raltar or  Morocco. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  April  following,  General 
Washington  entered  New  York  with  the  main  body  of 
the  rebel  army  from  Boston,  took  possession  of  the 
city,  converted  it  into  a  garrison,  pulled  down  houses, 
dug  up  streets,  built  fortifications,  and  threatened, 
robbed,  confined,  imprisoned,  and  banished  his  Majes- 
ty's loyal  subjects  without  mercy.    It  was  at  this  time 


84 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


uncertain  where  General  Howe  was  o-one  with  his 
army  after  evacuating  Boston.  Most  people  thought 
he  would  come  directly  to  New  York.  The  Loyalists 
wished  it.  The  rebels  expected  it.  They  were  all 
mistaken.  New  York  being  now  taken,  and  reduced 
to  a  rebel  garrison,  the  Loyalists,  as  also  the  republi- 
cans, moved  with  their  effects  into  the  country.  They 
had  different  motives.  The  Loyalists  that  they  might 
be  ready  to  join  the  British  army  whenever  it  arrived. 
The  republicans  to  be  out  of  harm's  way  in  case  the 
royal  army  should  attack  the  city,  and  because  they 
knew  (which  was  then  a  secret  to  the  Loyalists)  that  a 
resolution  had  been  entered  into  the  preceding  year  by 
a  committee  from  Congress,  and  a  committee  of  the 
New  York  provincial  convention,  and  solemnly  ratified 
by  both,  to  burn  the  city  of  New  York  if  the  rebel 
army  should  be  obliged  to  abandon  it.1  The  town 
being  thus  forsaken,  the  inhabitants  took  refuge,  some 
in  one  place,  and  some  in  another.  Numbers  of  the 
Loyalists  settled  upon  the  west  end  of  Long  Island 
(chiefly  in  the  loyal  county  of  Queens),  upon  Staten 
Island,  along  the  adjacent  shore  of  New  Jersey,  and  in 
that  part  of  the  County  of  Westchester  which  adjoins 
the  Island  of  New  York,  in  daily  expectation  of  the  ar- 
rival of  the  royal  army.  The  republicans  seated 
themselves  in  Connecticut,  in  the  presbyterian  parts  of 

!  Andrew  Allen,  Esq.,  one  of  the  delegates  in  Congress  for  the  City  of  Phila- 
delphia, a  trooper  in  the  militia  of  that  city,  and  formerly  Atty. -General  of  the 
Colony,  was  one  of  this  pious,  righteous,  and  godly,  Committee  ;  he  continued  a 
most  violent  advocate  for  Congressional  measures  until  the  Royal  Army  had  taken 
Staten  Island,  Long  Island,  York  Island,  and  the  whole  province  of  New  Jersey, 
compelled  Washington,  with  the  broken  remains  of  the  Rebel  Army,  to  pass  the 
Delaware  and  scamper  to  the  southward.  He  then  came  into  the  British  lines, 
took  the  benefit  of  Genl.  Howe's  proclamation,  swallowed  the  oaths  of  allegiance 
to  the  King,  renounced  those  he  had  taken  to  Congress,  went  to  England  and  was 
compensated  with  a  pension  of  ^400  sterling  per  annum. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


85 


New  Jersey,  and  the  republican  counties  of  Dutchess, 
Ulster,  and  Albany,  in  the  province  of  New  York,  to 
be  out  of  the  way,  in  case  the  royal  army  should  at- 
tack the  town,  or  the  rebel  army  burn  it.  Upon  this 
occasion,  William  Smith,  Esq.,  accommodated  General 
Washington  with  his  house  in  town,  his  brother  Tom 
did  the  same  with  his  to  General  Gates,  and  retired  to 
Haverstraw,  in  Orange  County,  about  30  miles  from 
New  York,  upon  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  where  they 
had  each  a  farm  and  a  country  seat. 

In  the  packet  which  arrived  at  Sandy  Hook  early 
in  May,  1776,  came  a  Mr.  Temple,  full  brother  to  John 
Temple,1  Esq.,  now  (1786)  Sir   John   Temple,  and 

1  It  seems  to  have  been  the  policy  of  Great  Britain,  from  the  commencement  to 
the  conclusion  of  the  war,  to  provide  handsomely  for  those  who  had  been  active 
rebels,  and  leave  the  poor  Loyalists  who  had  lost  their  all  in  the  cause  of  their 
sovereign  to  languish  out  miserable  lives  upon  trifling  pittances,  while  those  who 
had  been  in  actual  rebellion  were  caressed,  genteelly  pensioned,  and  lived  upon  the 
fat  of  the  land.  As  witness  the  said  Andrew  Allen,  General  Arnold,  Isaac  Low, 
Joseph  Galloway,  and  a  number  of  others  needless  to  mention.  John  Temple, 
Esq.,  must  not,  however,  be  forgotten.  He  was  always  an  advocate  for  the 
Americans  during  the  rebellion,  fomented  and  encouraged  it  ;  avowed  his  senti- 
ments openly  and  publicly  ;  was  one  of  the  T's  which  the  f-atriots  in  London  used 
to  give  as  a  favourite  toast,  and  drink  in  three  times  three.  Yet  this  man  upon 
the  conclusion  of  the  war  was  made  Consul-General  to  the  American  Slates, 
with  a  salary  of  ^1,500  per  annum.  Surely  a  Loyalist  might  have  been  found 
of  as  much  virtue,  honor,  honesty  and  integrity  as  Mr.  Temple  to  have  filled 
so  honourable  and  lucrative  a  post.  This  gentleman,  when  commissioners  were 
sent  to  America  in  1778,  offering  almost  a  "carte  blanche  "  to  the  Americans, 
procured  from  ministers  a  large  sum  of  money  to  enable  him  to  go  to  America, 
under  pretence  that  his  influence  there  was  so  great  that  he  could  easily  prevail  upon 
the  States  to  accept  the  proffered  terms.  He  went  to  Boston,  proved  himself 
a  whig  persecuted  by  Great  Britain,  from  thence  to  Congress,  never  saw  the  com- 
missioners, spent  the  money,  and  returned  to  England  ;  did  no  good  in  America, 
but  much  harm,  and  is  now  in  full  enjoyment  of  an  office  of  great  consequence, 
under  that  government  which  he  opposed  with  all  his  might  during  the  rebellion. 
The  Marquis  De  Chastellux,  in  his  travels  through  America,  speaking  of  this  gen- 
tleman, says:  "  When  I  was  at  Boston  this  gentleman  was  there,  and  held  himself 
"  up  in  every  paper  in  which  he  could  get  admission  as  a  paragon  of  American  pa- 
"  triotism,  as  the  most  active  and  inveterate  enemy  to  England,  and  as  a  victim  to 
"  British  vengeance,  which  he  endeavoured  to  prove  by  paragraphs  from  the  English 
"  prints,  of  his  treachery  to  England,  of  his  dexterity  in  outwitting  tire  ministry  of 


86 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Consul-General  from  Great  Britain  to  the  American 
States.  The  packet  was  detained  at  the  Hook.  Mr. 
Temple,  from  his  connections  being  suspected  of  going 
to  Congress  with  intelligence  from  England,  he  was 
therefore  brought  on  board  one  of  the  King's  ships, 
his  baggage  and  himself  searched  ;  nothing  was  dis- 
covered.   He  went  through  a  close  and  critical  exam- 

"  that  country,  all  this  did  he  say,  assert,  publish  and  declare  when  in  America.  Yet 
"  no  sooner  was  peace  established  than,  to  the  surprise  of  all  honest  men,  this  very 
"  gentleman,  equally  detested  by  and  obnoxious  to  both  countries,  was  dispatched  as 
"  the  sole  representative  from  Britain  to  America,  of  which  he  is  a  sworn  citizen,  and 
"his  father-in-law,  Bowdoin,  a  patriot,  a  whig,  and  then  Governor  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts." It  is  impossible  to  add  to  the  folly  and  infamy  of  such  a  nomination. 
The  choice  of  an  Ambassador  to  the  Congress  would  have  fallen  with  more  propriety 
on  Arnold.  His  was  a  bold  and  single  act  of  treason,  Temple's  political  life  a  con- 
tinued violation  of  good  faith.  The  following  are  copies  of  the  letters  which  Mr. 
Temple,  upon  his  arrival  in  America,  procured  and  carried  to  Congress,  John 
Trumbull,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  rebel  army,  and  was  supposed  a  spy  in 
England,  on  the  8th  of  September  1780,  wrote  thus  to  his  father,  the  rebel  Gov- 
ernor of  Connecticut  :  "I  write  this  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Temple,  who  means  to 
"follow  soon  to  America,  and  wishcs,to  be  received  as  a  deserving  friend  to  his 
"country.  His  residence  in  this  Country  since  he  left  Boston  has  been  essentially 
' '  serviceable  to  the  cause  of  America,  by  giving  such  ideas  of  her  resources  as  have 
"  preserved  her  friends  and  staggered  her  enemies.  The  Duke  of  Richmond, 
"  Mr.  D.  Hartley,  Dr.  Price,  and  others  of  similar  dignity  and  principles  are 
"  his  acquaintances  here,  and  among  such  names  his  principles  or  integrity  cannot 
"  be  doubted." 

When  Mr.  Temple  was  in  America,  in  1778,  when  the  commissioners  were 
there,  the  Council  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  a  letter  to  the  President  of  Congress, 
expressed  themselves  thus  :  "  John  Temple  having  given  a  most  explicit  declaration 
"of  his  principles,  this  Board  therefore  considering  the  laudable  conduct  of  Mr. 
"  Temple,  his  exertions  to  counteract  the  tyranny  of  Britain,  his  kind  offices  exer- 
cised in  favour  of  America,  while  in  England,  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  the  loss  of  a 
"  profitable  commission  under  the  Crown  in  consequence  of  his  attachment  to  his 
"  country,  we  therefore  take  this  opportunity  to  recommend  him  to  the  notice  of 
"  the  honorable  Congress,  as  he  intends  to  pay  his  respects  to  them." 

The  State  of  New  Hampshire,  in  a  letter  to  the  President  of  Congress  about -the 
same  time,  express  themselves  thus:  "John  Temple,  Esq.,  late  Eieutenant-Gov- 
"ernor  of  this  State,  being  about  paying  his  respects  to  Congress,  we  beg  leave  to 
"recommend  him  as  a  gentleman  who  lias  been  steady  and  uniform  for  many 
"years  in  his  faithful  attachment  to  the  rights  and  liberties  of  his  native  country, 
"and  who  we  have  the  greatest  reason  to  believe,  retains  the  same  warm  and  affec« 
"  tionate  regard  for  those  rights  and  liberties  that  he  hath  upon  all  occasions  con- 
stantly expressed  ' 

Mr.  Winthrop  professor  of  Philosophy  at  Cambridge  College  near  Boston,  in  a 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  8/ 

ination  from  General  Tryon,  General  Skinner  (then 
Attorney-General  of  New  Jersey),  and  Colonel  Fan- 
ning (then  Secretary  to  Governor  Tryon),  but  nothing 
criminal  appearing  he  was  discharged.  Tryon,  who 
had  in  matters  of  this  kind  as  many  eyes  as  Argus,  was 
fairly  outwitted.  Temple  was  represented  as  a  mad- 
man.   He  might  have  been  so,  but  his  conduct,  his 

letter  dated  about  the  same  time  to  John  Adams,  a  delegate  in  Congress,  recom- 
mends Mr.  Temple  to  him,  mentions  his  early  attachment  to  the  cause  of  America, 
his  uniform  behaviour  in  that  cause,  his  invariable  opposition  to  those  wretched  in- 
cendiaries who  prevailed  upon  Britain  to  use  coercive  measures  to  enforce  her 
tyranny  in  America,  the  important  services  he  rendered  America  when  in  England. 

James  Bowdoin,  Esq.,  at  that  time  Lieut. -Governor  of  the  Massachusetts,  in  a 
letter  to  Samuel  Adams,  a  delegate  in  Congress,  says,  "  Mr.  Temple  is  arrived,  that 
"  he  intends  for  Philadelphia  to  pay  his  respects  to  Congress,  that  he  was  received 
"upon  his  arrival  with  the  cordiality  and  friendship  due  to  a  man  who  had  given 
"  the  fullest  proof  of  his  firm  and  undeviating  attachment  to  America,  to  its  liber- 
"ties  and  independence,  and  his  steady  opposition  from  the  commencement  of  the 
"  war,  to  the  tyranny  of  Britain." 

Mr.  Temple  on  his  way  to  Congress  waits  upon  Governor  Trumbull  of  Con- 
necticut, who  writes  to  the  President  of  Congress  thus,  "  This  will  be  delivered  you 
"  by  John  Temple,  Esq.,  he  has  suffered  much  for  this  his  native  and  much  injured 
"country,  he  appears  a  warm  and  real  friend  to  our  American  liberties  and  in- 
dependence. I  recommend  to  your  regard,  trusting  he  will  meet  the  esteem  and 
"  respect  due  to  his  services,  sufferings  and  merit." 

As  Mr.  Temple  proceeds  towards  Philadelphia  he  calls  upon  General  Washing- 
ton at  Frederick sburgh,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  who,  in  a  letter  to  the  President 
of  Congress,  says,  "John  Temple,  Esq.,  will  deliver  you  this,  from  his  recommen- 
"dationsl  consider  him  as  a  gentleman  of  sense  and  merit,  and  of  warm  attach- 
"ments  to  the  rights  of  his  country,  for  which  he  appears  to  have  suffered  greatly 
"  in  the  present  contest." 

Mr.  Temple  next  makes  his  application  to  William  Livingston,  the  rebel  Gov- 
ernor of  New  Jersey,  who  writes  to  the  President  of  Congress,  thus,  "John 
"Temple,  Esq.,  from  his  abundant  testimonials,  and  from  his  conversation,  has 
"convinced  me  of  his  attachment  to,  and  sufferings  for,  the  cause  of  America.  I 
"believe  Mr.  Temple  to  be  able  and  willing  to  serve  our  cause,  and  am  sure  Con- 
"  gress  has  sufficient  judgment  to  distinguish  our  friends,  and  sufficient  gratitude 
"to  reward  their  merit."  This  is  the  man  that  cajoled  Lord  North  out  of  some 
thousands  to  make  a  peace  with  America  in  1778.  This  man  went  thus  recom- 
mended to  Congress,  the  foregoing  letters  speak  for  themselves,  what  did  he  do  ? 
Nothing.  Went  to  America,  was  caressed  by  the  rebels,  by  Congress,  and  the 
American  Army,  returned  to  England,  laughed  at  Lord  North,  and  was  made 
Consul  General  of  America  by  Mr.  Pitt.  A  pretty  reward  for  a  man  who,  for  several 
years,  had  endeavoured  to  ruin  Great  Britain  ! — Vide  the  Political  Magazine,  voL 
1st,  page  740. 


88  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

behaviour,  and  his  art,  showed  no  traces  of  it  upon  his 
examination.  No  sooner  was  he  discharged  by  the 
Governor,  and  safely  arrived  in  New  York  (then  a_ 
rebel  garrison),  than  he  openly  avowed  himself  an 
emissary  from  the  Opposition  in  England  to  the 
American  Congress.  He  particularized  the  large 
metal  buttons  upon  his  coat,  and  publicly  declared 
that  in  one  of  these  buttons  was  contained  a  letter 
from  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham  to  Congress,  in  an- 
other, one  from  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  in  another,  one 
from  Charles  James  Fox,  Esq.,  in  another,  one  from 
David  Hartley ;  another  contained  one  from  Lord 
Shelburne,  another,  one  from  General  Conway,  and,  in 
another,  one  from  his  brother,  John  Temple. 

This  gentleman  shortly  afterwards  set  off  for  Phila- 
delphia upon  his  embassy  to  Congress.  In  all  com- 
panies upon  the  road  he  repeated  the  above  particulars, 
and  boasted  of  his  imposition  upon  General  Tryon. 
Congress  received  him  with  the  greatest  marks  of 
affection.  .  He  was  caressed,  treated  and  entertained, 
his  intelligence  revived  their  hopes,  they  were  at  this 
time  almost  in  a  state  of  despondency,  and  read)-  to 
accept  of  almost  any  terms  that  Great  Britain  should 
offer.  The  information  by  Temple  restored  their  hopes 
and  exhilarated  their  spirits.  It  raised  them  out  of 
their  lethargy.  From  it  they  were  acquainted  with 
how  much  they  might  expect  from  England,  who  were 
their  friends  in  the  two  houses  of  Parliament,  and  t\\e 
lengths  the  opposition  intended  to  go  to  serve  them. 
By  these  letters  they  were  advised  to  remain  firm, 
fixed,  and  steady,  in  their  opposition  to  Great  Britain, 
and  that  every  assistance  that  the  opposition  could 
give  them,  by  thwarting  every  measure  of  Government, 
as  far  as  possible,  might  be  depended  upon.    It  had 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


89 


the  desired  effect.  The  drooping-  spirits  of  Congress 
were  raised,  and  independence  in  little  better  than  two 
months  thereafter  was  declared  in  form. 

The  city  of  Quebec  having  been  invested  by  a 
rebel  army  from  December,  1775,  until  the  spring  of 
1776,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  first  succours,  the  siege, 
or  rather  blockade,  was  precipitately  abandoned.  The 
rebels,  leaving  all  their  cannon,  baggage,  and  military 
stores  behind  them,  proceeded  up  the  river  towards 
Montreal.  Being  joined  by  the  reinforcements  from 
the  revolted  colonies  under  the  command  of  General 
Thompson,  near  Trois  Rivieres,  about  half  way  be- 
tween Quebec  and  Montreal,  they  made  a  stand. 
General  Carleton  was  eager  in  his  pursuit.  The  two 
armies  met,  an  action  was  the  consequence,  and  the 
rebels  were  defeated.  Thompson  who  commanded 
the  rebel  army  and  between  2  and  300  of  his  men 
were  taken  prisoners,  hundreds  were  either  killed  or 
wounded,  and  the  scattered  remains  of  his  broken 
army  retreated  out  of  Canada,  with  the  utmost  expe- 
dition. General  Carleton  upon  this  occasion  displayed 
a  noble  instance  of  his  humanity.  He  was  not  only 
Governor  of  the  Province,  but  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  army  in  that  quarter.  Receiving  intelligence 
that  numbers  of  the  rebels  who  had  been  in  the  late 
action  under  Thompson,  were  dispersed  in  the  woods, 
concealed  themselves  in  swamps,  and  were  afraid  of 
surrendering  lest  they  should  be  tried  as  traitors,  or, 
being  unacquainted  with  the  situation  of  the  country, 
were  unable  to  get  back  to  the  revolted  colonies  ;  on 
the  10th  of  May,  1776,  he  issued  a  proclamation  set- 
ting forth,  "Whereas  I  am  informed  that  many  of  his 
"  Majesty's  deluded  subjects  of  the  neighboring  Prov- 
"  inces  and  labouring  under  wounds  and  divers  dis- 


9o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  orders  are  dispersed  in  the  adjacent  woods  and  par- 
"  ishes,  and  in  great  danger  of  perishing  for  want  of 
"  proper  assistance  ;  all  captains  and  other  officers  of 
"  militia  were  thereby  commanded  to  make  diligent 
"  search  for  all  such  distressed  persons,  afford  them 
"  all  necessary  relief,  and  convey  them  to  the  general 
"  hospital,  where  proper  care  shall  be  taken  of  them  ; 
"  and  all  reasonable  expenses  that  might  be  incurred 
"  in  complying  with  such  order  shall  be  repaid  by  the 
"  Receiver-General ;  and  least  a  consciousness  of  past 
"  offences  should  deter  such  miserable  wretches  from 
"  receiving  that  assistance,  which  their  distressed  situ- 
"  ation  might  require,  I  hereby  make  known  to  them 
"  that  as  soon  as  their  health  was  restored  they  should 
"  have  free  liberty  to  return  to  their  respective  prov- 
"  inces."  What  an  instance  of  generosity,  of  lenity, 
of  kindness,  and  humanity,  is  displayed  in  this  procla- 
mation. It  breathes  the  language  of  hospitality,  and 
was  worthy  the  character  of  a  Christian,  a  British 
general,  and  a  generous  enemy.  It  would  have  done 
honour  to  the  feelings  of  a  Marlborough,  an  Eugene, 
a  Turenne,  or  a  Saxe.  Had  all  our  generals  during 
the  American  War  acted  the  same  noble  part,  concilia- 
tion would  soon  have  been  the  consequence,  and  the 
honour  of  Great  Britain  saved,  instead  of  being  dis- 
graced, and  ridiculed,  through  all  Europe. 

Another  instance  must  be  mentioned  which  is 
equally  honourable,  and  that  is  the  strict  discipline 
which  the  Northern  Army  was  obliged  to  observe 
while  under  his  command.  As  the  royal  army  in  1776 
were  pursuing  the  rebels  in  their  retreat  out  of  Canada, 
in  marching  through  some  of  the  villages,  a  few  of 
the  inhabitants  were  plundered  by  some  of  the  for- 
eigners.   Complaints  were  made  to  the  General,  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


plunderers  pointed  out,  taken  up,  tried,  convicted,  and 
severely  punished,  and  three  of  the  ringleaders  were 
hanged.  Not  another  instance  of  plunder  happened 
in  the  Northern  Army  so  long  as  it  continued  under 
his  command.  Had  the  British  generals  who  com- 
manded more  southward  acted  with  the  same  spirit, 
the  same  resolution,  and  the  same  rigid  though 
proper  discipline,  it  would  have  greatly  contributed 
towards  assuring  the  Americans  that  Great  Britain 
aimed  at  nothing  more  than  a  happy,  and  a  mutual 
reconciliation,  between  herself  and  her  Colonies,  the 
mother  and  the  children.  But  an  indiscriminate  uni- 
versal plunder  being  not  only  countenanced,  but  pub- 
licly and  openly  encouraged  in  the  army  acting  to  the 
southward  (in  which  the  officers  equally  participated 
with  the  privates),  it  so  far  widened  the  breach,  that  it 
became  very  soon  visible  to  every  impartial  observer 
that  no  conciliation  could  possibly  be  thought  of,  and 
that  Great  Britain  had  no  chance  of  ever  recovering 
her  Colonies,  but  by  conquest,  and  this  most  people 
looked  upon  (as  it  in  the  end  turned  out)  totally  im- 
practicable. 

While  the  rebel  army  were  lying  before  Quebec, 
the  Canadians  in  general  showed  a  backwardness  in 
giving  them  an)-  assistance,  in  consequence  of  the 
oaths  of  allegiance  and  fidelity  which  they  had  taken  to 
the  King  of  Great  Britain  and  from  which  their  own 
clergy  refused  to  absolve  them.  This  being  made 
known  to  Congress,  notwithstanding  their  then  at- 
tempts to  alienate  the  colonists  from  Great  Britain 
under  the  pretence  that  she  had  established  the  Romish 
religion  in  Canada,  and  was  about  extending  it  to  all 
her  other  Colonies,  they  despatched  that  old  inveterate 
rebel  Dr.  Franklin,  with  two  Roman  Catholic  Priests, 


92 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


from  Maryland,  by  the  name  of  Carroll,  into  Canada  in 
order  to  absolve  his  Majesty's  subjects  from  their 
allegiance  to  their  Sovereign,  and  thereby  enable  them 
to  take  up  arms  in  the  cause  of  an  unprovoked  rebel- 
lion. Upon  the  arrival  of  these  pious,  godly,  and  Con- 
gressional, embassadors  upon  the  frontiers  of  Canada, 
they  received  intelligence  that  the  rebels  had  aban- 
doned the  siege  of  Quebec,  that  their  army  had  been 
attacked  and  defeated,  and  the  scattered  remains  were 
retreating  out  of  the  country  as  fast  as  possible.  They 
took  the  alarm,  and  instantly  returned.  This  anec- 
dote is  mentioned  to  show  that  Congress,  to  serve  their 
own  purposes,  would  go  any  lengths,  abandon  the 
religion  of  their  ancestors,  as  well  as  their  own,  court 
Roman  Catholics,  propagate  the  most  absurd  false- 
hoods, and  impose  upon  their  constituents,  by  fraud 
and  deceit,  if  it  could  have  been  of  any  material  and 
essential  service  to  them  in  their  opposition  to  Great 
Britain. 

In  the  spring  of  1776,  prior  to  the  rebels  having 
quitted  Canada,  as  Captain  Foster  with  a  small  detach- 
ment of  the  8th  regiment  and  a  number  of  Indians 
(the  allies  of  Britain)  were  proceeding  from  the  upper 
posts  down  the  St.  Lawrence  towards  Montreal,  at  a 
place  called  the  Cedars,  about  40  miles  above  that 
city,  he  found  two  small  forts  built  and  garrisoned  by 
rebels.  He  summoned  the  forts.  They  both  surren- 
dered upon  unconditional  terms.  The  garrisons,  thus 
made  prisoners  of,  consisted  of  2  majors,  9  captains, 
20  subalterns,  and  443  rank  and  file.  The  Indians 
being  the  most  numerous,  claimed  the  prisoners  as  their 
property.  Upon  receiving  intelligence  at  Montreal 
that  the  Cedars  were  attacked,  General  Arnold  was 
dispatched  with  a  considerable  force  to  their  relief. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


93 


Hearing  upon  his  way  of  the  surrender  of  the  forts, 
he  stopped,  wrote  to  Foster,  and  a  treaty  was  opened 
between  them,  for  the  exchange  of  the  prisoners.  The 
Indians  claimed  the  whole.  In  order  to  effect  an  ex- 
change Foster  purchased  the  Indians  claim,  for  which 
a  large  sum  was  paid  by  Government.  His  motive 
was  humanity.  The  Indians  frequently  use  their 
prisoners  ill.  The  terms  being  settled  between  Foster 
and  the  Indians,  the  prisoners  were  delivered  over  to 
the  English.  This  done,  a  treaty  between  Arnold  and 
Foster  took  place.  Matters  were  settled  in  a  short 
time.  It  was  agreed  that  all  the  rebel  prisoners  should 
be  delivered  up  to  Arnold,  he  engaging  to  return  in 
exchange  an  equal  number  of  the  late  garrison  of  St. 
John's,  which  had  been  taken  by  the  rebels  the  pre- 
ceding fall  ;  officers  to  be  in  number  and  rank  equal 
to  those  taken  at  the  Cedars.  The  agreement  being 
mutually  signed,  the  prisoners  were  delivered  over  to 
Arnold,  and  returned  to  the  several  colonies  to  which 
they  belonged.  General  Carleton  now  demanded  a 
performance  of  the  agreement  by  a  return  of  the  gar- 
risons taken  at  St.  John's.  Congress  took  the  matter 
into  consideration,  quibbled,  prevaricated,  and  at 
length  determined  that  Arnold  had  no  power  to  enter 
into  an  agreement  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  which 
were  not  in  his  power  at  the  time,  as  the  garrison  of 
St.  John's  was  not ;  and  upon  a  further  pretence,  that 
a  verbal  agreement  had  been  made  upon  the  surrender 
at  the  Cedars  which  the  English  and  the  Indians  had 
not  complied  with,  that  the  prisoners  from  the  time  of 
their  surrender  to  the  time  of  their  release  were  not 
allowed  a  sufficiency  of  provisions,  had  been  plun- 
dered of  their  clothes,  and  one  of  them  murdered  in 
cool  blood.     This  information  (the  whole  of  which 


94 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


was  a  mere  falsity)  was  collected  principally  from  hear- 
say evidence  and  from  the  reports  of  a  common  soldier 
or  two  of  the  party. 

The  truth  was,  Congress  had  got  their  own  people, 
and  were  determined  the  British  should  not  be  bene- 
fited by  an  addition  of  near  500  veterans,  then  prison- 
ers in  the  Colonies,  who,  by  the  agreement  between 
Foster  and  Arnold,  ought  to  have  been  returned  ;  and 
under  the  aforesaid  false  pretences,  supported  by  hear- 
say evidence,  and  the  testimony  of  two  or  three 
privates,  the  Congress  absolutely  refused  to  ratify  the 
agreement  so  solemnly  made,  and  of  which  they  had 
received  the  full  benefit  by  a  return  of  the  whole  of  the 
troops  taken  by  Foster  and  the  Indians.  Punica  fides ! 
This  was  the  constant  practice  of  Congress  during  the 
whole  of  the  war.  Every  art,  deception,  and  hypocris)' 
which  tended  to  their  advantage,  and  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  Britain,  were  made  use  of  by  these  Ameri- 
can Saints.  After  an  altercation  of  more  than  four 
years  about  this  business,  their  High  Mightinesses  at 
last  found  themselves  under  a  mistake,  and  suffered  the 
agreement  to  be  carried  into  execution  by  delivering 
up  an  equal  number  of  British  prisoners  in  exchange 
for  the  rebels  taken  at  the  Cedars.  At  that  time  it 
was  of  little  service  to  Britain.  Had  they  been  sent 
to  Quebec  immediately  after  the  execution  of  the 
agreement,  they  would  have  been  of  great  conse- 
quence, or  had  they  been  delivered  to  Gen.  Howe 
upon  his  landing  upon  Staten  Island,  they  would  have 
been  of  equal  service.  This  Congress  well  knew.  It 
was  an  advantage  they  were  determined  Great  Britain 
should  not  be  benefited  by,  and  to  counteract  which, 
all  their  art  and  dissimulation  were  made  use  of  for 
several  years 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


95 


In  the  spring-  of  1776,  Lieut.-Colonel  Donald  Mc- 
Donald, who  had  served  his  Majesty  more  than  50 
years,  and  was  now  80,  being  settled  with  a  number  of 
his  countrymen  at  a  place  called  the  Cross  Creek,  upon 
the  frontiers  of  the  province  of  North  Carolina,  re- 
ceived a  commission  from  Mr.  Martin  (Governor  of  the 
Colony,  and  then  on  board  a  man-of-war  in  Cape  Fear 
River,  opposite  Brunswick)  as  a  Brigadier-General  in 
the  King's  service,  with  directions  to  embody  the  loyal 
Militia  in  that  part  of  the  country,  promising  to  sup- 
port him  with  arms,  clothing,  ammunition,  money,  and 
a  junction  with  troops,  if  he  could  penetrate  through 
the  country  as  far  as  Wilmington  or  Brunswick.  In 
consequence  of  this,  the  sturdy  old  veteran  raised  and 
arrayed  about  1,500  men  in  a  few  days,  hoisted  the 
Royal  standard,  and  issued  a  proclamation  ordering-  all 
persons  in  the  Colony  to  repair  to  it  on  pain  of  being 
treated  as  traitors.  The  march  of  the  troops  was  de- 
layed for  several  weeks,  the  reasons  were  cogent,  Mc- 
Donald was  not  to  blame.  This  delay  gave  the  rebels 
an  opportunity  of  collecting  their  forces  in  every 
quarter  before  McDonald  marched.  The  rebel  army 
consisted  of  near  8,000  men,  well  armed,  raised  on 
purpose  to  obstruct  the  march  of  the  loyalists  to 
Brunswick.  In  the  face  of  this  body  of  rebels  did  Mc- 
Donald, with  his  handful  of  brave  men,  not  one-sixth 
of  them  armed,  and  the  greatest  part  of  them  without 
ammunition,  march  boldly  on,  forced  their  way  with 
great  spirit  and  resolution,  for  more  than  90  miles,  in 
spite  of  all  opposition,  to  Moore's  Creek  Bridge,  within 
16  miles  of  Wilmington,  which  lies  upon  the  sea. 
When  here  they  found  themselves  unsupported — no 
troops,  according  to  promise,  joined  them.  Of  course 
they  received  from  the  Governor  neither  arms,  pro- 


Q6       ■  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

visions,  nor  ammunition.  McDonald  was  taken  ill,  dis- 
sentions  took  place  in  the  army,  the  rebels  were  on 
one  side,  the  loyalists  on  the  other  side,  of  Moore's 
Creek.  Though  unprovided  in  a  great  measure  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  the  General  ill,  and  no  accounts 
from  the  Governor,  they  attempted  to  cross  the  river  in 
the  face  of  a  superior  enemy,  almost  treble  their 
number,  covered  with  Avorks,  supported  by  artillery, 
and  the  bridge  rendered  by  the  enemy  in  a  great 
measure  impassible.  Tt  was  a  mad,  though  a  bold  act. 
They  met  with  a  total  defeat ;  several  were  killed 
.  (among  the  rest  Col.  McLeod,  who  had  the  command 
in  the  absence  of  McDonald),  bravely  fighting  with 
their  broadswords  only  ;  most  of  the  officers  were  taken 
prisoners.  McDonald  shared  the  same  fate  at  his 
quarters  the  next  day.  They  were  treated  by  the 
rebels  with  a  rigor  and  barbarity  to  a  degree  scarcely 
credible,  and  unknown  to  civilized  nations.  They  were 
paraded  through  the  country  in  triumph,  in  the  most 
miserable,  distressed  condition,  destitute  even  of  com- 
mon necessaries ;  exhibited  in  all  the  little  towns  as 
shows,  insulted  by  the  populace,  abused  as  tories,  the 
friends  of  a  tyrant,  and  at  last  distributed  in  different 
prisons,  erected  by  merciless  rebels  for  the  express 
purposes  of  cruelty,  upon  the  frontiers  of  Virginia, 
Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania.  The  severity  of  their 
usage  was  such  that  few.  very  few  of  them  ever  re- 
turned to  their  families.  The  General  was  in  the  most 
ignominious  manner  conducted  to  Philadelphia,  carried 
through  every  street  in  triumph  by  the  orders  of  Con- 
gress, insulted  by  the  mob,  and  then  lodged  in  a  jail, 
in  a  room  close  and  confined,  secured  with  iron  doors, 
bolts,  and  bars,  and  this  in  the  most  sultry  season  of 
the  year.    He  had  nine  gentlemen  (loyalists)  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


97 


same  room  for  his  companions.  His  servant  was  re- 
fused access.  They  could  scarcely  stir  from  their 
number,  the  smallness  of  the  room,  and  the  heat  of  the 
season.  It  was  almost  equal  to  the  Black  Hole  at  Cal- 
cutta. Thus  much  for  the  boasted  humanity  of  rebels, 
and  this  not  only  under  the  eyes,  but  by  the  express 
orders  and  directions  of  Congress. 

Early  in  1 776  General  Clinton  left  Boston,  in  a  man-of- 
war,  with  some  transports,  and  a  few  troops  on  board, 
and  sailed  to  the  southward,  in  consequence  of  an 
expedition,  intended  for  the  reduction  of  some,  or  one, 
of  those  colonies,  of  which  General  Clinton  was  to  be 
the  Commander.  He  touched  at  New  York,  where 
he  staid  a  few  days,  and  after  consulting  with  General 
Tryon  and  the  Captains  of  the  men-of-war,  then  all 
afloat  in  the  harbour,  proceeded  to  Virginia  ;  but  find- 
ing Lord  Dunmore  with  a  force  not  sufficient  to  assist 
(with  the  few  troops  the  General  had)  in  any  offensive 
operations,  nor  any  great  encouragement  that  the  Vir- 
ginians in  any  numbers  would  join  in  case  the  troops 
landed,  all  thoughts  of  Virginia  were  laid  aside,  and 
General  Clinton  sailed  with  his  transports  to  North 
Carolina,  and  anchored  in  Cape  Fear  River,  opposite  to 
Brunswick.  Something  great  was  expected  here. 
Sanguine  accounts  had  been  sent  to  the  northward, 
by  General  Martin  of  that  Colony,  of  the  loyalty  of  the 
inhabitants,  their  zealous  attachment  to  the  British 
Constitution,  and  their  abhorrence  of  the  rebellion. 
This  account  was  confirmed  by  General  Tryon,  then 
Governor  of  New  York,  and  a  few  years  before  a  favour- 
ite Governor  of  North  Carolina.  Upon  General  Clin- 
ton's arrival  at  Cape  Fear,  he  found  Governor  Martin 
had  been  obliged  to  abandon  his  province  and  take 
refuge  on  board  one  of  the  King's  ships  ;  that  an  insur- 
7 


98 


HISTORV  OF  NEW  YORK. 


rection  which  had  taken  place  upon  the  frontiers  of  the 
Colony,  through  the  Governor's  means  and  influence, 
(headed  by  a  McDonald,  to  whom  his  excellency  had 
given  the  commission  of  a  General,  and  who  had  em- 
bodied about  2,000  men,  chiefly  emigrants  from  Scot- 
land, who,  in  their  attempt  to  penetrate  from  the  fron- 
tiers through  the  Colony  to  the  sea-coast  (a  distance 
of  near  300  miles),  had  been  defeated  by  the  militia 
and  totally  dispersed  ;  that  numbers  of  them  had  been 
killed,  wounded  or  taken  prisoners,  among  the  latter 
the  General  himself. '  All  hopes  therefore  of  assistance 
from  North  Carolina  were  at  an  end.  A  fleet  with 
land  forces  on  board  was  expected  from  England. 
The  General  waited  at  Cape  Fear  for  their  arrival. 
At  length,  about  the  middle  of  May,  the  fleet  arrived. 
It  was  commanded  by  Admiral  Sir  Peter  Parker,  and 
consisted  of  two  50  gun  ships,  4  frigates  of  28  guns, 
one  of  20,  an  armed  vessel  of  22,  a  sloop  of  war,  an 
armed  schooner,  and  a  bomb,  with  a  number  of  trans- 
ports, having  seven  English  regiments,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lord  Cornwallis  and  General  Vaughn  (two 
as  brave,  intrepid,  valiant,  courageous,  sensible,  ju- 
dicious, prudent,  and  spirited  Generals  as  ever  com- 
manded, perhaps,  in  an  English  army).  Clinton  took 
the  command  of  the  army.  An  attack  was  now  pro- 
posed upon  the  province  of  South  Carolina,  and  for 
the  harbour  of  Charleston,  the  metropolis  of  the 
colony,  the  fleet  accordingly  sailed.  They  arrived 
safely  off  the  bar,  but  instead  of  immediately  attacking 
the  town  which  was  almost  defenceless,  and  might  have 
been  an  easy  conquest,  General  Clinton  and  the  Ad- 
miral agreed  to  attack  a  strong  fort  which  the  rebels 
had  erected  upon  an  Island  called  Sullivan's  Island, 
situate  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbour,  as  its  protec- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


99 


tion,  upon  a  supposition  that  the  ships  could  not  safely 
go  up  to  the  town  until  the  reduction  of  this  island.1 
An  attack  was  therefore  determined  upon.  Gen- 
eral Clinton  and  the  troops  were  landed  upon  Long 
Island,  adjoining  Sullivan's,  and  divided  only  by  a 
small  Creek,  said  to  be  at  the  highest  tides  not  more 
than  knee  deep.  The  ships  were  to  pass  and  attack 
the  works  by  water  while  Clinton  with  the  army  was 
to  pass  the  creek  and  make  an  attack  upon  the  land 
side.  It  was  the  28th  of  June  before  the  men-of-war 
all  got  over  the  bar.  On  the  morning  of  that  clay  the 
attack  was  made  by  the  bomb,  covered  by  the  armed 
ships,  and  supported  by  the  two  5o's,  and  two  of  the 
frigates.  Three  of  the  frigates,  through  the  ignorance 
of  the  pilots,  ran  aground,  two  got  off  with  considerable 
damage,  the  other  was  burnt  to  prevent  her  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  A  most  incessant  fire 
was  kept  up  by  the  bomb,  the  two  5o's  and  the  two 
frigates,  upon  the  fort  till  near  10  o'clock  at  night, 
when  the  admiral  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  enter- 
prise,  his  ships  having  suffered  amazingly  in  their 
hulls,  masts,  yards,  and  sails,  besides  a  number  of 
men  either  killed  or  wounded,  including  some  very  able 
and  expert  officers.  This  attack  lasted  and  was  con- 
tinued with  vigour  for  no  less  than  1 2  hours.  It  began 
at  10  in  the  morning  and  ended  at  10  at  night.  During 
this  long  and  heavy  cannonade  the  army,  according 
to  its  projected  plan,  never  made  its  appearance,  nor 
did  the  Commander  ever  send  word  to  the  Admiral  of 
his  reasons  for  not  co-operating  with  the  fleet,  the  diffi- 

1  In  the  spring  of  17S0,  during  the  siege  of  Charleston,  Admiral  Arbuthnot, 
with  a  large  fleet  of  frigates  and  armed  vessels,  passed  this  island  with  all  its  forti- 
fications and  sailed  up  to  the  very  town  with  the  loss  of  about  40  men  and  some 
little  damage  to  the  rigging  of  some  of  the  ships. 


IOO 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


culties  in  its  way,  and  its  utter  impracticability.  This 
was  inexcusable  at  least.  The  reason  it  seems  was 
this  :  when  the  army  marched,  in  order  to  carry  their 
part  of  the  plan  into  execution,  they  found  the  creek 
which  divided  the  island  instead  of  being-  knee  deep 
to  be  not  less  than  seven  feet,  and  as  they  had  neither 
boats  nor  bridge,  the  passage  was  impossible.  This  is 
the  only  reason  that  has  been  hitherto  given  and  a 
surprising  one  it  is.  That  a  General  should  be  19 
days  upon  an  island,  was  to  carry  on  an  attack  upon 
another  island  adjacent,  knew  there  was  a  creek  to 
pass,  and  yet  in  all  that  time  had  never  discovered,  or 
endeavoured  to  discover,  its  depth  of  water  !  This  oc- 
casioned the  failure  of  the  attack,  and  of  course  all 
prospect  of  success  in  the  Southern  Colonies  at  that 
time.  Was  there  ever  a  more  stupid  piece  of  business, 
except  indeed  when  the  Ministry,  after  this,  intrusted 
this  man  with  the  supreme  command  in  North  America, 
and  the  numberless  stupid  acts  he  did  in  that  com- 
mand ? 


CHAPTER  VI. 


About  the  middle  of  June,  1776,  New  York  being-  a 
rebel  garrison  in  which  General  Washington  had  estab- 
lished  his  headquarters,  and  the  Provincial  Convention 
as  well  as  the  City  Committee  being  then  sitting,  the 
former  at  the  City  Hall,  the  latter  at  the  Exchange,  a 
republican  mob  was  raised  in  the  middle  of  the  day, 
headed  by  a  number  of  staunch  presbyterians,  among 
whom  the  principal  was  one  Lasher,  a  shoemaker,  and 
then  a  Colonel  in  the  rebel  army,  John  Smith,  Joshua 
Hett  Smith,  the  brothers  of  William  Smith,  Esq.,  Peter 
Van  Zandt,  and  Abraham  Lott,  late  an  alderman  of  the 
city.  This  mob,  thus  led  on,  searched  the  whole  town 
in  pursuit  of  tories  (his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects  mean- 
ing), and  found  and  dragged  several  from  their  lurking 
holes,  where  they  had  taken  refuge  to  avoid  the  unde- 
served vengeance  of  an  ungovernable  rabble.  When 
they  had  taken  several  of  these  unhappy  victims,  des- 
tined to  the  will,  the  sport,  and  the  caprice,  of  a  banditti, 
and  the  diversion  of  republicans  and  rebels,  they  placed 
them  upon  sharp  rails  with  one  leg  on  each  side  ;  each 
rail  was  carried  upon  the  shoulders  of  two  tall  men,  with 
a  man  on  each  side  to  keep  the  poor  wretch  straight  and 
fixed  in  his  seat.     In  this  manner  were  numbers  of 


102 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


these  poor  people,  in  danger  of  their  lives  from  the 
extremity  of  pain  occasioned  by  this  cruel  contrivance, 
paraded  through  the  most  public  and  conspicuous 
streets  in  the  town,  and  at  every  corner  a  crier  made 
proclamation  declaring  the  offenders  to  be  such  and 
such  (mentioning  their  names),  and  notorious  tories 
(loyal  subjects  meaning).  The  mob  then  gave  three 
huzzas  and  the  procession  went  on.  The  like  procla- 
mations were  made  before  the  City  Hall,  where  the 
provincial  Convention  was  then  sitting  forming  laws 
for  the  civil  government  of  the  province  ;  before  the  Ex- 
change where  the  Committee  were  sitting  making  rules 
and  regulations  for  preserving  the  good  order,  the 
peace  and  quiet  of  the  city ;  and  before  the  door  of  Gen- 
eral Washington,  who  pretended  the  army  under  his 
command  was  raised  for  the  defence  of  American  Lib- 
erty, for  the  preservation  of  the  rights  of  mankind,  and 
for  the  protection  of  America  against  the  unjust  usur- 
pation of  the  British  Ministry.  Notwithstanding  which, 
so  far  did  this  humane  General,  and  the  two  public 
bodies  aforesaid,  approve  of  this  unjustifiable  mob,  that 
it  received  the  sanction  of  them  all.  They  appeared  at 
the  windows,  raised  their  hats,  returned  the  huzzas  and 
joined  in  the  acclamations  of  the  multitude.  Nay  so  far 
did  General  Washington  give  his  sanction  of,  and  appro- 
bation to,  this  inhuman  barbarous  proceeding  that  he 
gave  a  very  severe  reprimand  to  General  Putnam,1  who 

'  An  old  illiterate  fanner  of  Pomfret  in  Connecticut,  he  served  in  the  provin- 
cial army  in  the  war  preceding  the  rebellion  as  a  Captain,  and  at  last  was  promo- 
ted to  a  Majority.  He  is  resolute,  bold,  enterprising  and  intrepid,  has  no  notion 
of  fear,  and  is,  at  the  same  time  generous,  kind,  and  humane ;  was  fond  of  doing  good 
acts  and  ever  treated  loyal  prisoners  with  the  same  attention  and  hospitality  as  he 
treated  his  own  soldiers.  In  1775  he  offered  his  services  to  General  Gage,  the 
Commander-in-Chief  in  America,  if  he  could  have  a  provincial  regiment,  which  he 
offered  to  raise  at  his  own  expense.    The  proposal  was  rejected  with  scorn  and  in. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


accidentally  meeting  one  of  the  processions  in  the  street, 
and  shocked  with  its  barbarity,  attempted  to  put  a  stop 
to  it,  Washington  declaring  that  to  discourage  such  pro- 
ceedings was  to  injure  the  cause  of  liberty  in  which  they 
were  then  engaged,  and  that  nobody  would  attempt  it 
but  an  enemy  to  his  country.  Some  of  these  unhappy 
victims  to  the  vengeance  of  American  liberty  and  the 
rights  of  mankind  \\B.d  nearly  lost  their  lives  by  this  fatal 
piece  of  reptiblican  witticism.  Some  were  confined  to 
their  houses  for  many  days,  and  not  one  but  what  re- 
ceived some  considerable  hurt  from  the  cruel,  unmerci- 
ful operation. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  General  Howe  left  Halifax, 
with  his  army,  and  arrived  at,  landed  upon,  and  took  pos- 
session of,  Staten  Island,  on  the  30th  of  the  same  month. 
Sir  Peter  Parker  having  refitted  the  ships  injured  in  the 
attack  upon  Sullivan's  Island,  proceeded  to  the  north- 
ward with  the  army  under  General  Clinton,  and  about 
the  middle  of  July  also  arrived  and  landed  upon  the  same 
island,  as  did  shortly  afterward  Lord  Dunmore  and  Ma- 
jor Cadjoe,  with  the  refugees  and  blackamoors  from  Vir- 
ginia. The  inhabitants  upon  Staten  Island  (the  most 
of  whom  were  perfectly  loyal)  received  the  troops  with 
open  arms  and  supplied  them  with  everything  the  island 
could  afford.  Lord  Howe  who  was  appointed  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  fleet  destined  to  act  in  America, 
also  arrived  from  England,  in  the  Eagle,  of  60  guns, 
early  in  July.  The  foreign  troops  were  not  yet  arrived. 

An  anecdote  shall  be  now  mentioned  in  order  to 
show  with  how  much  severity  the  rebel  chiefs  were 
capable  of  treating  even  the  wives  of  his  Majesty's  loyal 
subjects.    A  lady  of  the  first  rank,  character,  and  family, 


dignity.  How  prudent  the  rejection  of  such  an  offer  at  such  a  time  I  leave  to  the 
decision  of  all  true  loyalists,  real  patriots  and  lovers  of  their  country. 


io4 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


happened  to  be  upon  a  visit  to  some  of  her  relations 
upon  New  York  Island,  attended  by  her  postilion  only, 
at  the  time  that  General  Howe  landed  upon  Staten 
Island  with  the  army  from  Halifax.  Upon  this  event 
General  Washington  issued  orders  that  no  person 
should  pass  the  ferries  without  a  written  order  from  the 
commandant  of  the  city.  Not  knowing  who  the  com- 
mandant was,  and  the  lady  desirous  of  returning  to  her 
family  upon  Long  Island,  nearly  thirty  miles  from  the 
city,  she  wrote  a  polite  note  to  General  Washington, 
begging  the  favour  of  a  permit  to  pass  the  ferry.  This 
note  was  delivered  to  General  Washington  by  a  gentle- 
man of  character,  fortune,  and  reputation,  a  near  relation 
of  the  lady.  Washington  read  the  note,  whispered 
to  McDougal,  turned  round,  tossed  the  paper  towards 
the  gentleman,  and  insultingly  said,  "  Carry  the  note 
back  to  your  tory  relation,  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  it, 
and  if  I  had  " — Here  he  stopped  and  again  entered  into 
conversation  with  McDougal.  The  gentleman  how- 
ever, before  he  returned  to  the  lady,  was  informed 
that  Lord  Stirling  was  the  commandant  of  the  city, 
and  that  all  applications  for  passes  must  be  made  to 
him.  His  lordship  was  a  native  of  the  city,  was  per- 
fectly acquainted  with  the  lady,  her  husband,  and  all 
their  relations  and  connections,  with  some  of  whom  he 
had  always  lived  upon  terms  of  the  utmost  familiarity  ; 
some  favour  might,  therefore,  be  expected  from  him, 
and  to  him  the  gentleman  applied.  He  hearkened  to  a 
relation  of  the  particular  situation  in  which  the  lady  then 
was,  and  the  peculiar  hardships  of  her  case,  after  which 
he  sat  down  and  deliberately  wrote  the  following  pass  : 
"  Let  Mrs.  Jones  pass  to  Long  Island.  But  without 
"  any  male  attendant.    July  4th,  1776. 

"  STIRLING,  Brig.  General." 
"  To  the  Officers  of  the  Guards." 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  What  !  "  says  the  gentleman,  "  is  my  cousin  to 
"  mount  the  coach  box  and  drive  herself  home  ? "  His 
Lordship  angrily  replied,  "  I  shall  grant  no  other,  your 
"  relation  may  think  herself  well  off  to  have  got  this, 
"  and  if  she  does  not  incline  to  make  use  of  it,  let  her 
"  stay  where  she  is  and  be  damned."  She  was  obliged 
to  continue  several  days  after  this,  unable  to  return 
home,  absent  from  her  husband  and  her  family,  and 
there  she  might  have  continued  until  the  evacuation 
of  New  York  by  the  rebels  the  September  following, 
had  it  not  been  for  an  honest,  humane,  worthy  Dutch- 
man, at  that  time  one  of  the  city  Committee,  and  a 
member  of  the  Provincial  Convention,  who  being  at 
his  country  seat  adjoining  the  East  River,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  family  where  the  lady  then  was,  and 
hearing  of  her  situation,  was  struck  with  astonishment. 
He  immediately  waited  on  her,  and  offered  his  assist- 
ance. It  was  gratefully  accepted.  He  accordingly 
took  her  and  her  servant  in  a  boat  of  his  own,  carried 
them  across  the  river,  landed  them  upon  Long  Island, 
and  never  left  the  lady  till  she  entered  her  carriage, 
and  the  postilion  drove  off.1  The  politeness  and 
civility  of  this  gentleman  ought  to  be  ever  remembered 
by  the  lady,  her  friends  and  connections,  with  the  ut- 
most gratitude  to  the  latest  posterity,  while  the  un- 
manly, impolite,  ungenerous,  and  unmilitary  conduct 
of  Washington  and  Stirling  ought  to  be  condemned 
forever. 

On  the  30th  of  June,  1776,  General  Howe,  as  men- 
tioned before,  landed  upon  Staten  Island  with  his 
army  from  Halifax.  On  the  4th  of  July,  Congress  de- 
clared themselves  independent  States.    This  was  fol- 


1  Captain  Anthony  Rutgers,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  reputa- 
ble Dutch  families  in  the  province  of  New  York. 


io6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


lowed  in  a  very  short  time  by  a  similar  declaration 
from  each  colony.  The  General,  being  a  joint  commis- 
sioner with  the  Admiral,  not  then  arrived,  for  restoring 
peace  to  America,  attempted  a  negotiation  with  Wash- 
ington, whose  headquarters  were  in  New  York.  Upon 
this  subject  he  wrote  him  a  letter,  directed  to  George 
Washington,  Esq.,  &c,  and  sent  it  by  his  adjutant-gen- 
eral. This  letter  Washington  refused  to  receive  be- 
cause not  directed  to  him  as  "  General."  General 
Howe,  wishing  for  an  accommodation,  waived  the  point 
and  directed  his  letter  to  General  Washington.  But 
he  still  refused  to  treat,  insisting  that  no  person  could 
be  authorized  to  negotiate  in  a  business  of  this  kind 
unless  deputed  by  Congress,  or  Congress  itself.  The 
adjutant-general  replied  that  the  commissioners  could 
not  treat  with  Congress  as  a  legal  and  constitutional 
body.  Washington  expressed  great  surprise.  "  Con- 
"  gress,"  said  he,  "  have  declared  the  Colonies  indepen- 
"  dent  of  Great  Britain.  I  am  appointed  by  a  commis- 
"  sion  from  them  as  General  of  their  armies.  Gen- 
"  eral  Howe  had  sent  him  a  letter  directed  to  him  as 
"  General,  and  his  power  being  under  Congress,  the 
"  direction  of  that  letter  acknowledged  the  indepen- 
"  dency  of  the  Colonies."  All  hope  of  a  negotiation 
was  now  at  an  end.  Washington  transmitted  the  par- 
ticulars to  Congress,  and  received  their  thanks  for  his 
spirited  conduct  (as  they  expressed  it)  upon  this  occa- 
sion. 

Washington,  upon  the  arrival  of  General  Howe  ,at 
Staten  Island,  in  order  to  prevent  the  people  upon 
Long  Island  from  either  joining  the  royal  army,  sup- 
plying them  with  provisions,  or  conveying  them  intelli- 
gence, sent  large  detachments  of  his  troops  to  that 
Island  and  posted  them  all  along  the  shore  from  Yel- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


low  Hook  to  Gravesend ;  quartered  a  regiment  of 
riflemen  at  Rockaway ;  and  filled  the  bay  on  the  south 
side  of  the  island  with  armed  whale  boats,  small  pri- 
vateers and  pettiaugers,  that  constantly  kept  patrolling 
the  bay  from  Hog  Island  to  Blue  Point  (distant  from 
each  other  about  40  miles).  Not  content  with  this 
precaution,  he  ordered  all  the  small  craft  along  the 
shore,  consisting  of  hay  boats,  canoes,  batteaus,  and 
floats,  to  be  seized,  taken  away,  and  destroyed,  or 
deposited  in  particular  places  under  proper  guards. 
Notwithstanding  which,  numbers  found  means  to  es- 
cape and  join  the  royal  army,  while  others,  at  the  risk 
of  their  lives,  carried  them  boat-loads  of  provisions, 
and  furnished  them  with  all  the  intelligence  and  infor- 
mation  necessary  to  be  known  prior  to  opening  of  the 
campaign. 

Queen's  County  was  extremely  obnoxious  to  the 
rebels  on  account  of  the  loyalty  of  its  inhabitants,  who 
had  constantly,  in  spite  of  all  oppression,  ill-treatment, 
and  hard  usage,  acknowledged  their  attachment  to 
their  sovereign  ;  had  refused  to  send  a  delegate  to 
the  Continental  Congress,  members  to  the  Provincial 
Convention,  or  to  elect  a  committee  in  the  County. 
For  this  they  were  put  under  the  ban  of  the  13  revolt- 
ed Colonies,  outlawed  by  an  act  of  the  Provincial 
Congress,  not  suffered  to  attend  the  New  York  mar- 
kets, to  dispose  of  the  produce  of  their  farms,  or  to 
prosecute,  for  the  recovery  of  their  just  debts,  while  all 
demands  against  them  were  declared  recoverable,  and 
their  property  ordered,  whenever  found  in  the  markets 
at  New  York,  to  be  seized  and  disposed  of  (as  pre- 
tended) for  the  use  of  the  poor.  Notwithstanding 
such  pretence,  many  a  good  fat  pig,  a  well-fed  turkey, 
an  excellent  goose,  or  a  plump  dunghill  fowl,  has 


io8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


regaled  the  appetite  of  a  rich  and  penurious  republi- 
can, forcibly  taken  (or  rather  stolen)  from  the  Queen's 
County  marketmen,  in  consequence  of  this  act  of  out- 
lawry. This  was  by  the  rebel  powers  called  "  Liberty.'' 
Queen's  County  being  thus  obnoxious  to  rebellion 
in  consequence  of  its  firm  and  steady  attachment  to 
the  British  Constitution,  and  avowed  opposition  to  all 
Congressional  measures,  a  design  was  formed  by  the 
republicans  to  apprehend  as  many  of  the  principal 
gentlemen  there  as  possible,  transport  them  to  Con- 
necticut, and  to  dragoon  and  compel  the  common  peo- 
ple to  form  themselves  into  a  militia,  and  join  the 
rebel  army,  whenever  the  King's  troops  should  land 
upon  Long  Island.  To  effect  which  a  detachment  of 
about  1,000  men,  under  the  command  of  a  Col.  Cor- 
nell, of  the  Rhode  Island  line,  by  Washington's  orders, 
marched  from  New  York,  and  established  his  head- 
quarters at  Hempstead,  nearly  the  centre  of  the  Coun- 
ty. The  disaffected,  consisting  of  about  300,  out  of 
1,500  militia,  of  which  the  County  then  consisted,1  soon 
joined  him.  The  Loyalists,  having  been  disarmed  by 
Hurd  the  preceding  winter,  all  fled  and  hid  themselves 
in  swamps,  in  woods,  in  barns,  in  holes,  in  hollow  trees, 
in  corn-fields,  and  among  the  marshes.  Numbers  took 
refuge  in  the  pine  barrens  in  Suffolk,  while  others  in 
small  boats  kept  sailing  about  the  Sound,  landing  in 
the  night,  sleeping  in  the  woods,  and  taking  to  the 
water  again  in  the  morning.  John  Harris  Cruger,  Esq., 
one  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  and  Jacob  Walton,  Esq., 
one  of  the  representatives  in  General  Assembly,  for 

1  Nearly  one-third  of  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  County  have  since  the 
late  peace  and  the  recognition  of  American  independence,  preferred  the  inhospita- 
ble wilds  of  Nova  Scotia,  rather  than  live  in  a  County  governed  by  the  iron  and 
oppressive  hand  of  rebellion,  though  settled,  planted  and  improved  by  their  ances- 
tors, nearly  a  century  and  a  half  ago. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


IO9 


the  City  of  New  York,  were  concealed  for  three  weeks 
in  the  sultry  heat  of  summer,  upon  a  mow  in  a  farm- 
er's barn,  and  supplied  by  the  owner,  a  loyal  old 
Quaker,  with  whatever  they  wanted.  Augustus  Van 
Cortland,  Esq.,  a  principal  gentleman,  a  man  of  family, 
and  town  clerk  of  the  City  of  New  York,  was  con- 
cealed in  a  cow  house  for  a  considerable  time,  by  an 
honest  old  Dutch  Loyalist,  and  supplied  with  every 
necessary.1  The  rebel  Colonel,  having  established  his 
headquarters  at  Hempstead,  converted  the  Episcopal 
church  into  a  store  house,  forbid  the  parson  to  pray 
for  the  King  or  any  of  the  Royal  family,  and  made  use 
of  the  communion  table  as  a  conveniency  for  his 
Yankees  to  eat  their  pork  and  molasses  upon.  A 
universal  hunt  after  Loyalists  took  place,  parties  for 
that  purpose  were  sent  into  every  quarter  of  the  Coun- 
ty, under  the  guidance  and  direction  of  the  disaffect- 
ed. The  Loyalists  were  pursued  like  wolves  and  bears, 
from  swamp  to  swamp,  from  one  hill  to  another,  from 
dale  to  dale,  and  from  one  copse  of  wood  to  another. 
In  consequence  of  which,  numbers  were  taken,  some 
were  wounded,  and  a  few  murdered.  The  prisoners 
were  conducted  with  infamy  under  a  guard  of  rebels 
to  New  York,  insulted  and  abused  upon  the  road,  and 
without  a  hearing,  ordered  by  a  Board  of  officers 2 
(appointed  by  Washington  for  that  purpose)  to  be 
transported  into  different  parts  of  New  England.  The 
inland  parts  of  Connecticut  became  filled  with  loyal 
prisoners.     The  most  obnoxious  were  imprisoned 

1  This  old  Loyalist,  one  Lcfferts,  when  he  carried  Mr.  Van  Cortland  his  provi- 
sions, used  to  go  backwards,  that,  in  case  of  necessity,  he  might  safely  swear  he 
had  not  seen  him. 

3  Lord  Stirling,  John  Morin  Scott,  and  Alexander  McDougal,  rebel  generals, 
With  Joseph  Read,  Adjutant-General  to  the  rebel  army. 


I  IO 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


while  others  had  the  liberty  of  certain  small  districts 
upon  parole,  where  they  met  with  bad  usage,  rascally 
accommodations,  and  daily  insults. 

It  must  be  observed,  as  already  mentioned,  that 
General  Howe  landed  upon  Staten  Island  on  the  30th 
of  June,  1776,  that  his  army  consisted  of  10,000  men, 
that  he  was  soon  after  joined  by  General  Clinton  with 
several  regiments  from  the  southward,  consisting  of  at 
least  5,000  men,  and  by  Lord  Dunmore  from  Virginia 
with  about  1,000  more;  that  he  was  joined  by  a 
number  of  refugees,  by  some  companies  of  provincials 
raised  under  the  orders  of  General  Tryon,  and  by 
10,000  Hessians  under  General  De  Heister  ;  that  the 
marines  on  board  the  ships  amounted  to  at  least 
1,000  men,  that  Staten  Island  and  Long  Island  were 
at  his  command,  the  greatest  part  of  the  inhabitants 
being  Loyalists  ;  and  that  upon  the  arrival  of  General 
Howe  at  Staten  Island,  only  nine  miles  from  New 
York,  a  universal  consternation  took  place  in  that 
city.  The  Convention  left  the  city,  and  went  to  the 
White  Plains,  in  the  County  of  Westchester,  about  30 
miles  from  New  York.  The  rebel  army  at  that  time 
in  New  York  did  not  consist  of  more  than  20,000  men  ; 
they  were  badly  clothed,  half  armed,  dirty,  lousy,  and 
without  discipline.  Such  an  army  of  ragamuffins  no 
general  ever  commanded  (the  arch  rebel  Washington 
excepted).  The  rebel  army  that  entered  England, 
headed  by  the  Pretender,  in  1745,  though  perfectly 
undisciplined,  were  martinets  compared  to  the  rebel 
host  that  now  occupied  New  York.  It  has  been  al- 
ready mentioned  that  upon  the  landing  of  the  royal 
army  upon  Staten  Island,  an  almost  universal  panic 
took  place  in  that  of  the  rebels  at  New  York.  It  was 
unexpected.     Its  arrival  surprised  them.    The  lines 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


upon  Long  Island  were  not  even  begun.  A  few  forts 
had  been  built  along  the  river  to  annoy  the  King's 
ships,  should  they  attempt  to  enter  the  harbour.  All 
this  General  Howe  was  soon  apprised  of ;  his  informa- 
tion was  good,  authentic,  and  which  he  well  knew  could 
be  depended  upon.  But  under  pretence  of  waiting 
for  reinforcements  he  continued  upon  Staten  Island 
until  the  226.  day  of  August,  when,  having  no  pretence 
for  a  longer  delay,  and  the  rebel  army  having  recov- 
ered its  fright  and  consternation,  completed  their  works 
and  lines  upon  Long  Island,  put  themselves  into  a 
proper  posture  either  for  attack  or  defence,  and  the 
militia  of  the  Eastern  Colonies,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
Southern,  as  far  as  Virginia,  being  arrived  at  New 
York  ;  on  which  day  (happy  for  Long  Island,  particu- 
larly so  for  the  loyal  County  of  Queen's,  as  it  was  then 
thought)  the  King's  troops  embarked  at  Staten  Island, 
and  landed  upon  Long  Island  in  Gravesend  Bay,  with- 
out the  least  opposition,  or  the  loss  of  a  man.1  Upon 
which  Colonel  Cornell  seized  upon  all  the  fat  cattle, 
horses  and  waggons  that  he  had  time  to  lay  his  hands 
upon,  called  in  his  tory-hunting  detachments,  and 
marched  with  his  booty  to  Brookland,  within  the  rebel 
lines.  No  sooner  had  Washington  notice  that  the 
British  army  were  landed  upon  Long  Island  than  he 
instantly  transported  his  army  (leaving  a  small  garri- 
son in  New  York)  to  the  same  Island.    The  British 

1  This  day,  though  then  looked  upon  as  the  most  fortunate  one  that  could  hap- 
pen for  the  Long  Island  Loyalists,  proved  in  the  end  a  most  unfortunate  one,  for 
instead  of  finding  protectors  in  the  King's  troops,  they  were  most  scandalously, 
barbarously,  and  indiscriminately  plundered  ;  suffered  every  insult  and  abuse  dur- 
ing the  whole  war  ;  could  never  obtain  redress  either  from  Generals  or  Governors ; 
and  at  last  were,  by  Lord  Shelburne's  peace,  sacrificed  and  given  up  to  their  most 
inveterate  enemies,  without  a  single  condition,  a  term,  an  article,  or  a  stipulation 
in  their  favour. 


I  I  2 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


landed  at  Gravesend,  the  rebels  at  Brookland  ferry, 
the  distance  about  10  miles  ;  the  former  consisted  of 
at  least  30,000  well  disciplined  troops,  the  latter  of 
about  45,000  half  clothed,  undisciplined  fellows,  a  third 
of  whom  were  nothing  more  than  common  militia  men 
taken  from  the  plow  and  forced  into  the  field. 

On  the  27th  of  August  the  two  armies  met,  an  action 
was  the  consequence,  the  rebels  were  defeated.  The 
victory  on  the  part  of  the  British  was  complete.  Three 
rebel  Generals,  Lord  Stirling,  Sullivan,  and  Wood- 
hull,  were,  with  a  number  of  colonels  and  other  offi 
cers,  made  prisoners.  More  than  2,000  were  either 
killed,  wounded,  or  taken.  The  rebel  army,  upon  its 
defeat,  took  refuge  within  their  lines,  the  British  were 
at  their  heels.  The  generals,  Clinton,  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  and  Vaughn, pressed  the  Commander-in-Chief 
hard  for  leave  to  enter  the  lines,  and  the  common  men 
were  with  difficulty  restrained.  He  thanked  the  three 
generals  and  the  soldiers  for  their  spirit  and  alacrity, 
coolly  declaring,  that  "  enough  had  been  done  for  one 
"  day,  that  the  lines  could  be  easily  carried  by  regular 
"  approaches  with  little  or  no  loss."  He  accordingly  re- 
called the  troops  from  the  pursuit,  and  broke  ground 
at  the  distance  of  600  paces  from  the  nearest  redoubt. 
That  very  night  the  rebels  abandoned  their  works 
upon  Long  Island,  and  retired  to  New  York.  The  re- 
treat of  the  rebels  was  not  discovered  by  the  British 
till  daylight  the  next  morning,  when  they  were  sur- 
prised to  find  that  the  rebel  army  was  gone,  the  lines 
abandoned,  and  not  an  enemy  to  be  seen.  Naturally 
supposing  them  gone  for  New  York,  the  British  in- 
stantly pursued,  but  before  they  reached  Brookland 
ferry,  the  rear  of  the  enemy  had  obtained  the  middle 
of  the  river,  and  were  of  course  beyond  any  pursuit 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  I  1 3 

from  the  British.  General  Howe  was  now  in  complete 
possession  of  all  Long  Island.  The  rebels  in  their 
hurry  and  consternation  upon  abandoning  Long  Island 
left  the  garrison  upon  Nutten  Island  (which  they  had 
strongly  fortified)  consisting  of  2,000  men,  40  pieces 
of  heavy  cannon,  military  stores  and  provisions  in 
abundance,  without  the  least  means  of  quitting  the 
island.  The  British  army  was  at  Brookland,  the  dis- 
tance from  thence  to  Nutten  Island  not  more  than  a 
mile,  the  distance  from  Long  Island  opposite  to  it  not 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  royal  army  con- 
sisted of  near  30,000  men,  in  high  spirits  and  flushed 
with  victory,  yet  no  steps  were  taken  to  make  prisoners 
of  the  garrison  and  get  possession  of  the  forts,  stores, 
artillery  and  provisions  there  deposited.  In  the 
evening  of  the  same  day  (unaccountable  as  it  is)  a 
detachment  of  the  rebel  army  went  from  New  York  to 
Nutten  Island  with  a  number  of  boats,  and  carried  off 
the  troops,  the  stores,  artillery  and  provisions  without 
the  least  interruption  whatever,  though  General  Howe's 
whole  army  lay  within  a  mile  of  the  place,  and  his 
brother,  the  Admiral,  with  his  fleet,  covered  the  Bay  at 
a  little  distance  below  the  island.  It  is  a  circumstance 
somewhat  remarkable  that  while  General  Howe  was 
engaging  the  rebel  army  upon  Long  Island,  the  Ad- 
miral lay  still  at  Staten  Island.  Indeed  he  sent  up 
four  ships,  which  anchored  about  two  miles  below 
Nutten  Island,  and  kept  up  a  most  tremendous  fire 
against  the  rebel  fortifications  there.  But  the  distance 
was  so  great  it  made  no  impression,  did  no  injury,  and 
might  as  well  have  been  directed  at  the  moon  as 
at  Nutten  Island,  for  the  good  it  did.  The  rapidity  of 
the  tide  between  Staten  Island  and  New  York  is  such, 
that  the  whole  fleet  might  with  ease  have  reached  the 
8 


ii4 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


East  River  with  the  flood  in  two  hours,  had  the  wind 
even  been  ahead.  Had  this  been  done  on  the  day 
of  the  action  upon  Long  Island,  and  the  river  lined 
from  Nutten  Island  to  Hellgate  (and  the  ships  he  had 
under  his  command  were  more  than  sufficient  for  the 
purpose)  not  a  rebel  would  have  escaped  from  Long 
Island  ;  all  must  have  submitted.  The  whole  rebel 
grand  army,  with  Washington  at  their  head,  would  have 
been  prisoners,  rebellion  at  an  end,  the  heroes  im- 
mortalized, and  the  27th  of  August,  1776,  recorded  in 
the  annals  of  Britain  as  a  day,  not  less  glorious  than 
those  on  which  the  famous  battles  of  Ramilies  and 
Blenheim  were  fought,  and  celebrated  victories  ob- 
tained, by  the  heroic  Duke  of  Marlborough.  But  this 
was  not  done,  and  why  it  was  not,  let  the  brothers 
Howe  tell. 

As  General  Howe  was  now  in  full  possession  of 
Long  Island,  he  placed  his  army  in  different  positions 
in  King's  County  and  the  westernmost  part  of  Queen's, 
adjoining  the  river,  opposite  the  island  of  New  York.' 
This  done,  a  little  plunder  was  connived  at,  and  rather 
encouraged  than  discouraged  by  some  principal  of- 
ficers in  the  army.  The  Hessians  bore  the  blame  at 
first,  but  the  British  were  equally  alert.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  fact.  Lieut. -Colonel  Birch,  who  then  com- 
manded the  17th  Light  Dragoons,  in  one  of  his  rides 
accidentally  met  upon  the  road  a  Dr.  Tredwell,  a  gen- 
tleman of  fortune,  of  character,  and  of  one  of  the 
first  families  upon  the  island,  and  as  warm  and  steady 

1  Gordon  says  General  Howe  here  made  two  capital  mistakes,  ist,  that  instead  of 
landing  upon  Long  Island  he  should  have  run  up  the  Hudson  and  landed  in  the 
rear  of  the  rebels,  and  2d,  when  in  possession  of  Long  Island,  instead  of  spending 
three  weeks  there  and  then  going  to  York  Island  he  should  have  instantly  crossed 
the  Sound  and  landed  in  the  rear  ol  the  rebel  army ;  had  either  of  these  steps  been 
taken,  V  'ashington's  army  would  have  been  ruined. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


115 


a  Loyalist  as  ever  had  an  existence.  The  Doctor  was 
fond  of  horses  and  loved  the  sport  of  the  turf.  He 
had  a  good  breed,  of  which  he  took  great  care.  He 
was  at  this  time  mounted  upon  a  noble  one,  of  the  true 
English  kind,  a  descendant  of  the  famous  Wildair, 
worth  not  less  than  150  guineas.  Birch  viewed  the 
horse,  liked  him,  and  was  determined  to  have  him. 
The  Colonel  had  several  military  attendants  with  him. 
The  Doctor  was  alone,  an  opposition  at  all  events 
would  have  been  fruitless.  Birch  ordered  the  Doctor  to 
dismount  and  unsaddle  his  horse.  He  remonstrated 
against  this  act  of  injustice.  He  told  the  Colonel  who 
he  was,  and  desired  him  to  inquire  into  his  character 
and  political  conduct  from  the  commencement  of  the 
American  troubles.  It  had  no  effect.  The  Colonel 
ordered  the  Doctor  to  dismount,  directed  a  servant  to 
unsaddle  the  horse,  give  the  saddle  to  the  Doctor  and 
to  lead  away  the  horse,  telling  him  at  the  same  time  to 
carry  home  the  saddle  upon  his  own  back  and  be 
damned  ;  and  to  thank  his  stars  that  the  saddle  was  not 
taken  as  well  as  the  horse.  The  Doctor  afterwards 
made  repeated  applications  either  for  a  return  of,  or 
payment  for,  his  horse ;  neither  was  he  able  to  obtain. 
There  was  no  civil  law.  The  Courts  of  Justice  were 
shut,  and  the  Colonel  was  superior  to  the  powers  of  a 
Court  of  police,  and  instead  of  being  suffered  to  pre 
sent  a  memorial  to  the  General  upon  the  occasion,  upon 
his  application  at  headquarters  for  that  purpose,  the 
aides-de-camp  charged  the  Doctor  with  being  a  rebel 
and  threatened  him  with  the  prevost. 

Upon  the  evacuation  of  Long  Island  by  the  rebels, 
after  the  Battle  of  Brookland,  the  King's  troops  found 
within  their  lines  a  lar^e  number  of  cattle  which  had 
been  taken  from  the  inhabitants  and  driven  therein,  to 


n6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  British. 
Notice  was  publicly  given  by  the  General  for  all  per- 
sons claiming  any  of  these  cattle  to  make  out  their 
right,  prove  their  loyalty,  and  take  them  away.  This 
was  done,  and  all  the  milch  cows,  lean  and  young  cattle, 
were  delivered  up  to  the  several  owners  and  taken 
away.  But  the  owners  of  fat  cattle  were  given  to  un- 
derstand that  all  such  must  be  detained  for  the  use  of 
the  army.  That  a  regular  account  should  be  kept  of 
the  whole,  and  the  proprietors  receive  full  satisfaction 
for  the  cattle  so  detained.  All  this  was  just,  right, 
reasonable  and  proper.  The  owners  grumbled  not, 
the  chief  of  them  were  steady  Loyalists,  and  were 
happy  in  having  it  in  their  power  to  assist  the  royal 
army.1  Upon  the  close  of  the  campaign  applications 
were  made  for  payment,  agreeable  to  the  General's 
promises.  Notwithstanding  which,  in  violation  of  his 
word,  in  breach  of  his  honour,  and  of  the  public  faith 
by  him  pledged,  not  a  man  ever  received  a  farthing. 
Some  of  the  applicants  were  damned  for  rebels,  and 
ordered  about  their  business  ;  others  were  threatened 
with  the  prevost  for  their  impudence,  others  were  told 
their  only  remedy  was  against  the  original  captors,  and 
to  them  they  might  apply  for  redress.  Several  had 
their  memorials  (after  being  read)  hove  at  their  heads 
and  desired  to  take  themselves  away.  The  cattle 
taken  at  Brookland,  the  property  of  the  loyal  inhabi- 
tants of  Long  Island  (amounting  to  some  hundreds), 
and  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  army,  were  charged 
to  the  Crown  at  a  round  price,  and  produced  a  large 
sum,  which,  if  fame  speaks  truth,  was  equally  divided 

1  Gcn'l  Howe,  in  his  letter  to  Lord  Geo.  Germain,  after  the  Battle  of  Brookland, 
says,  ".The  inhabitants  of  Long  Island  are  in  general  loyal,  were  forced  into 
rebellion,  and  received  the  army  with  open  arms  as  their  deliverers,"  &c. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


i  '7 


between  the  immaculate  General  who  commanded  at 
that  time,  and  the  yet  more  immaculate  Mr.  Commis- 
sary Chamier,  instead  of  being  paid  to  those  persons 
who  were  justly  and  honestly  entitled  to  it. 

A  particular,  and  very  remarkable  case  of  this  kind  I 
shall  now  relate,  and  as  the  gentleman  is  a  person  of 
character,  honour,  and  reputation,  from  whom  I  had 
the  particulars,  the  facts  will  not  admit  of  a  dispute. 
Thomas  Jones,  Esq.,  a  noted  loyalist  and  one  of  the 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Colony  of  New 
York  was,  when  the  King's  troops  landed  upon  Long 
Island,  a  prisoner  in  New  England.  Among  others, 
this  gentleman  had  been  plundered  of  a  number  of  fat 
cattle,  all  of  which  were  retaken  at  Brookland  and  ap- 
propriated to  the  use  of  the  royal  army.  Upon  his 
return  from  New  England,  he  presented  a  memorial  to 
the  General  with  affidavits  annexed,  proving  his  pro- 
perty in  the  cattle,  their  being  forcibly  taken  away  by 
the  rebels,  retaken  at  Brookland,  their  appropriation 
to  the  use  of  the  arm)-,  their  value,  the  promise  afore- 
said, and  a  desire  of  payment.  The  answer  was  that 
the  whole  must  be  referred  to  Mr.  Chamier,  the  Com- 
missary-General, to  report  upon,  before  anything 
further  could  be  done.  A  reference  to  the  Commissary 
was  accordingly  made,  and  all  the  vouchers  laid  be- 
fore him.  Notwithstanding  repeated  applications,  four 
months  elapsed  before  any  report  was  made,  and  when 
made,  was  of  such  a  nature  that  no  order  could  be 
given  in  consequence  of  it  for  the  payment  required. 
It  was  referred  back  for  a  more  ample  report,  the  Com- 
missary refused  to  give  any  other,  and  the  General 
refused  payment  upon  the  one  already  made.  The 
report  was  a  curious  one,  "that  he  (the  Commissary) 
"  did  not  know  nor  did  the  papers  point  out  what  regi- 


n8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  ments  eat  the  cattle."  By  which  manoeuvre  a  steady, 
firm,  and  persecuted  loyalist  was  deprived  of  his  prop- 
erty because  he  was  unable  to  tell  whether  the  meat 
of  his  cattle  had  been  chewed  by  the  teeth  of  the 
English,  the  Irish,  or  the  Germans,  the  Scots,  or  the 
provincials  ;  and  that  at  the  time  when  he  was  a  pris- 
oner at  the  distance  of  over  100  miles  from  the  scene  of 
action.  In  a  conversation  with  the  Commissary  upon 
the  subject,  he  was  asked  whether  the  Crown  was  not 
charged  for  the  cattle  ?  he  answered,  "  Yes,  for  all  the 
cattle  when  at  Brookland."  He  was  then  asked  as  the 
Crown  was  charged,  who  was  to  have  the  money  ?  his 
answer  was  "  The  owners  of  the  cattle,  most  certainly." 
The  next  question  was,  whether  he  was  not  convinced 
from  the  several  affidavits  annexed  to  the  memorial 
that  Mr.  Jones  was  the  owner  of  the  cattle  mentioned 
therein  ?  he  turned  upon  his  heel,  at  the  same  time 
saying  "  I  have  nothing  further  to  do  in  the  matter,  I 
have  made  my  report,  and  by  God  I  will  never  alter  it 
or  make  any  other."  Here  the  matter  rested  and  is 
likely  to  rest  till  doomsday.  Mr.  Jones's  cattle  were 
taken  from  him,  applied  to  the  use  of  the  army,  the 
amount  charged  to,  and  paid  for  by,  the  Crown,  and 
the  cash,  the  absolute  and  real  property  of  Mr.  Jones, 
divided  between  (if  fame  speaks  truth)  the  General 
and  the  Commissary. 

In  the  winter  of  1776  the  refugees  at  Kingsbridge 
received  intelligence  from  their  friends  in  the  country, 
that  a  large  parcel  of  cattle,  for  the  use  of  the  rebel 
army  at  Morristown,  in  New  Jersey,  was  at  such  a  time 
to  pass  through  the  County  of  Westchester  on  the  way 
to  their  place  of  destination,  under  rather  a  slender  es- 
cort. The  refugees  came  to  a  resolution  of  waylaying 
them  upon  the  road,  and  finding  where  they  quartered 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


II9 


of  a  night,  they  surprised  the  guard  attending  the 
cattle,  surrounded  the  house  in  which  the  party  lay, 
made  them  all  prisoners,  and  brought  them  all  safe 
within  the  British  lines,  with  the  whole  drove  of  cattle, 
consisting  of  about  500  head.  Under  pretence  that 
the  cattle  were  wanted  for  the  use  of  the  army  (which 
might  be  the  real  case)  the  Commissary  obtained  an 
order  to  seize  these  cattle  for  the  use  of  the  troops, 
which  was  accordingly  done,  and  the  captors  were  al- 
lowed sixpence  currency  a  pound,  though  the  butchers 
in  New  York  wrould  willingly  have  purchased  every 
one  of  them  at  the  rate  of  a  shilling  a  pound  currency. 
It  will  appear  from  the  Commissary's  accounts  of  that 
period  that  all  the  fresh  beef  he  then  supplied  the  army 
with,  is  charged  to  the  Crown  at  1/6  sterling  per 
pound.  The  head  and  skins  he  claimed  as  perquisites 
of  his  own,  and  disposed  of  them  accordingly.  Thus 
went  John  Bull's  money,  and  this  accounts  for  the 
amazing  sums  accumulated  by  Commissaries,  Barrack- 
Masters,  etc.,  during  the  American  rebellion. 

General  Howe,  to  the  surprise  of  every  body,  after 
spending  three  weeks  upon  Long  Island  after  the  de- 
cisive battle  at  Brookland,  his  troops  having  com- 
pletely plundered  the  inhabitants  in  those  parts  where 
they  were  encamped,  and  the  rebels  having  recovered 
the  panic  in  which  they  were  thrown  by  the  action  of 
the  27th  of  August,  his  Excellency,  on  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember,1 embarked  the  royal  army  in  flat  bottomed 

1  The  rebels  themselves  were  astonished  at  this  delay.  General  Putnam,  in  a 
letter  to  the  Governor  of  Connecticut,  dated  New  York,  12th  Sept.,  1776,  says, 
"  General  Howe  is  either  our  friend  or  no  General.  He  had  our  whole  army  in 
"  his  power  on  Long  Island  and  yet  suffered  us  to  escape  without  the  least  interrup- 
"  tion  ;  not  to  escape  but  to  bring  off  our  wounded,  our  stores  and  our  artillery.  We 
"  are  safe  upon  York  Island,  and  the  panic  (which  was  at  first  universal)  is  nearly 
"  worn  off.    He  is  still  with  his  army  upon  Long  Island — his  long  stay  there  sur- 


1 20 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


boats  in  Newtown  Creek,  crossed  the  river,  and,  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  man,  effected  a  landing  upon  New 
York  Island  at  a  place  called  Kipp's  Bay,  proceeded 
to  (defeating  every  thing  that  attempted  to  impede  its 
march),  and  took  possession  of,  the  Heights  of  Inclen- 
bergh,  about  the  middle  of  the  island,  and  equally  dis- 
tant between  the  two  rivers.  Upon  this  the  enemy 
evacuated  the  city,  and  retired  deliberately,  and  with- 
out opposition,  to  their  works  upon  the  Heights  of 
Harlem,  to  Fort  Washington,  and  to  Kingsbridge, 
passing  the  right  flank  of  the  royal  army  in  full  view, 
within  less  than  a  mile.  The  greatest  part  of  their  stores 
and  provisions  and  all  their  cannon  were  Left  behind. 
The  British  army  entered  and  took  possession  of 
the  city  the  same  evening.  Six  nights  after  which, 
some  of  the  emissaries  of  rebellion  (who  had  concealed 
themselves  in  the  city),  in  consequence  of  the  resolu- 
tion entered  into,  as  before  mentioned,  between  a  Com- 
mittee of  Congress  and  another  of  the  New  York 
Convention,  to  burn  the  city  in  case  the  rebel  army 
should  be  obliged  to  abandon  it,  set  fire  to  the  town  in 
several  different  places,  with  a  strong  southeasterly 
wind,  and  destroyed  nearly  one  fourth  part  of  it,  be- 
fore an  end  could  be  put  to  the  flames.  Numbers  were 
taken  in  the  very  act,  with  matches  in  their  hands, 
setting  fire  to  the  houses,  and  committed.  But  as 
many  had,  during  the  consternation,  been  sent  to  jail 
upon  suspicion,  and  as,  in  the  hurry,  no  affidavits  could 
be  taken  or  even  memorandums  made  of  the  names  of 
the  prisoners,  or  the  particular  circumstances  under 
which  the  several  commitments  took  place,  no  specified 
charge  could  be  laid  against  any  one  in  particular. 


"  prises  us  all.  Had  he  instantly  followed  up  his  victory  the  consequence  to  the 
"  cause  of  liberty  must  have  been  dreadful." 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


121 


The  consequence  of  which  was  an  order  from  the 
General  to  discharge  the  whole.  Many  honest,  worth)-, 
loyal  subjects  were  by  this  fire  reduced  from  affluence, 
to  indigence,  and  some  lost  their  all. 

While  General  Howe  is  preparing  in  New  York  for 
the  future  operations  of  the  army,  let  me  observe  that 
if  instead  of  exchanging  the  rebel  officers  taken  at 
Brookland,  the  Governor  of  New  York  had  issued  a 
special  Commission  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  for  King's 
County  and  tried  them  for  treason,  conviction  must 
have  taken  place.  The  treason  was  committed  in  the 
presence  of  thousands,  they  were  taken  in  arms,  fight- 
ing against  their  Sovereign,  with  the  avowed  intent  of 
throwing  off  their  dependence  and  subverting  his 
government  in  America.  Sentence  of  death  should 
have  been  passed  upon  every  one  above  the  degree  of 
a  captain  (though  not  carried  into  execution  but  kept 
hanging  over  their  heads  in  terrorem),  and  all  captains, 
subalterns,  non-commissioned  officers,  and  privates  dis- 
charged upon  promise  of  not  taking  up  arms  again 
during  the  war.  I  say,  had  this  been  done,  the  most 
salutary  consequences  would,  in  all  probability,  have 
ensued.  With  this  measure,  rebellion  would  probably 
have  ended.  But  a  different  set  of  politics  at  this  time 
prevailed,  the  rebels  were  to  be  converted,  the  loyalists 
frowned  upon.  Proclamations  were  to  end  an  in- 
veterate rebellion.  An  opposition,  a  most  unprincipled 
opposition,  in  England  was  to  be  pleased,  the  almighty 
powers  and  patronage  of  the  Commander-in-chief  to  be 
continued,  that  Quartermasters,  Barrack-masters,  Com- 
missaries, &c,  might  enrich  themselves  by  amassing 
large  fortunes  out  of  the  public.  This  was  effectually 
done.  They  became  nabobs  of  the  West,  and  became 
equally  rich  with  those  of  the  East.    Had  half  the 


122 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


pains  been  taken  to  suppress  the  American  rebellion, 
as  there  was  to  drain  the  British  Treasury  of  its  cash, 
any  one  year  of  the  war  would  have  demolished  rebel- 
lion, and  Great  Britain  been  at  this  day  still  in  full  pos- 
session of  13  opulent  Colonies,  of  which  she  has  been 
dismembered  by  the  misconduct  and  inattention  of  one 
General,  by  the  stupidity  of  another,  and  by  an  in- 
famous Ministry  who  patched  up  an  ignominious  peace, 
to  the  dishonour  of  the  nation,  the  discredit  of  their 
sovereign,  and  to  the  ridicule  of  all  Europe. 

On  the  12th  of  October,  1776,  a  month  after  being 
in  full  possession  of  New  York,  the  General  embarked 
his  army  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  attended  by  a  number 
of  men-of-war,  and  other  armed  vessels,  sailed  up 
the  East  River  or  Sound,  passed  Hellgate  and  landed 
upon  Frog's  Neck ;  here  a  whole  fortnight  was  spent 
in  doing  nothing  (plundering  the  inhabitants  and  steal- 
ing their  horses  excepted).  The  army  was  then  re- 
embarked,  sailed  again,  and  landing  upon  Pell's  Neck, 
immediately  marched  up  to  the  White  Plains.  Several 
skirmishes  took  place  upon  the  march  between  de- 
tachments of  the  two  armies.  The  British  were 
always  victorious,  and  vanquished  whatever  appeared 
to  give  it  opposition.  Upon  the  near  approach  of  the 
royal  army,  the  rebels  burnt  the  village  of  White 
Plains,  consisting  of  about  50  houses  and  an  elegant 
Court  House,  retreated  some  distance  to  the  eastward, 
took  possession  of,  and  fortified  some  rising  ground. 
General  Howe  took  possession  of  the  destroyed  village. 
The  armies  continued  looking  at  each  other  for  several 
days.  The  British  General  in  the  meantime  increased 
his  army  with  fresh  troops  drawn  from  New  York  and 
Staten  Island.  The  Anspachers  from  Germany  also 
joined  him  at  this  place.    The  rebel  army  was  now 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


123 


mouldering  away  by  the  desertion  of  the  New  England 
militia  in  whole  regiments  at  a  time.  The  rebels, 
expecting  every  hour  an  attack,  and  being  greatly  re- 
duced in  numbers,  silently  struck  their  tents  in  the 
night,  unknown  to  the  English  army,  retired  to  and 
took  possession  of  the  high  ground  near  North  Castle, 
about  six  miles  further  eastward  and  adjoining  the 
frontiers  of  Connecticut. 

Before  we  proceed  to  relate  the  further  operations  of 
the  campaign,  an  anecdote  must  be  now  mentioned. 
General  Silliman  was  at  this  time  in  Washington's 
army,  where  he  commanded  the  Militia  of  the  County 
of  Fairfield,  in  Connecticut.  In  June,  1779,  he  was 
taken  prisoner  by  some  refugees  from  Lloyd's  Neck 
and  carried  to  Long  Island ;  he  had  quarters  assigned 
him  at  Flatbush,  in  King's  County,  about  five  miles 
distant  from  New  York.  Living  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, an  intimacy  took  place  between  the  General 
and  the  writer.  In  one  of  our  conversations  the 
subject  turned  upon  the  situation  of  the  two  armies, 
encamped  at  so  small  a  distance  from  each  other  at  the 
White  Plains,  in  the  fall  of  1776,  when  the  General 
(who  is  rather  enthusiastic)  thus  expressed  himself: 
"  Providence  there  favoured  us  in  a  most  remarkable 
"  manner.  A  mist  was  cast  before  the  British  General's 
"eyes.  It  was  no  doubt  an  act  of  the  Almighty,  who 
"  favoured  our  righteous  cause.  General  Howe  had  our 
"  whole  army  in  his  power,  and  had  he  not  been  blinded 
"  by  the  directions  of  providence,  every  soul  of  us  must 
"  have  been  prisoners,  and  our  cannon,  baggage,  and 
"  stores  either  taken  or  destroyed."  I  asked  the  Gen- 
eral what  would  have  been  the  consequence  of  such 
defeat  ?  He  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  exclaimed,  "  The 
"  Lord  befriended  us,  had  we  been  then  defeated " 


I24 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


(which  General  Howe  could  with  ease  have  effected) 
"  another  army  could  never  have  been  raised,  the 
"  Colonies  must  have  submitted  and  accepted  such 
"terms  as  Great  Britain  would  have  offered."  Then 
again  lifting  up  his  eyes,  sighed,  and  with  great  em- 
phasis uttered,  "  The  Lord  was  our  protector."  The 
rebel  army  I  fancy  were  much  more  obliged  to  a  fac- 
tious opposition  in  England,  of  which  the  General  was 
a  member,  than  they  were  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

The  rebels  having  abandoned  their  lines  near  the 
White  Plains,  and  retreated  with  their  cannon  and  bag- 
gage, and  taken  possession  of  the  high  grounds  about 
North  Castle  as  before  mentioned,  the  British  General 
thought  it  needless  (as  he  expressed  it  himself)  to 
pursue  a  flying  enemy  (most  people  differ  with  the 
General  upon  this  head  and  think  a  flying  enemy  the 
only  enemy  that  can  be  pursued),  broke  up  his  encamp 
ment,  left  Westchester,  returned  to  Kingsbridge, 
passed  Harlem  River  to  New  York  Island,  attacked 
and  carried  all  the  rebel  lines,  redoubts  and  fortifica- 
tions upon  the  heights  of  Harlem,  Fort  Washington 
excepted,  which  General  Knyphausen  being  prepared 
to  storm,  the  garrison,  consisting  of  3,000  men,  on 
the  1 6th  of  November  surrendered  prisoners  of  war. 
This  put  the  British  in  full  possession  of  the  whole  of 
New  York  Island.  Fort  Washington  stood  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Hudson,  and  a  fort  stood  opposite 
to  it  on  the  western  bank  called  Fort  Lee.  To  at- 
tack the  latter,  early  the  morning  after  the  surrender 
of  Fort  Washington,  Lord  Cornwallis  and  General 
Vaughn  passed  the  Hudson  with  part  of  the  royal 
army.  The  rebels,  getting  intelligence  of  this  move- 
ment, abandoned  the  fort,  and  fled  with  the  utmost  pre- 
cipitation, leaving  their  artillery,  stores,  baggage,  and 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


everything  else  behind  them.  They  left  their  very 
pots  boiling  upon  the  fire.  Washington,  in  the  mean- 
time, being  deserted  by  the  militia  of  New  York,  and 
the  four  New  England  Colonies,  who  had  left  his  army 
and  returned  to  their  respective  homes,  marched  with 
a  few  broken  regiments  of  Continentals  to  Peekskill, 
crossed  the  Hudson,  and  at  Hackensack,  in  New  Jer- 
sey, joined  the  runaway  garrison  of  Fort  Lee ;  the 
whole,  after  the  junction,  forming  an  army  of  about  six 
thousand  half  starved,  half  clothed,  half  armed,  discon- 
tented, ungovernable,  undisciplined  wretches.  Lord 
Cornwallis  and  General  Vaughn  upon  the  evacuation  of 
Fort  Lee,  differing  in  opinion  from  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  "pursued  the  flying  enemy"  with  the  utmost  dis- 
patch. The  rebels  fled  towards  New  Brunswick  upon  the 
Raritan,  on  the  road  to  Philadelphia.  Whenever  a  Brit- 
ish detachment  in  this  pursuit  fell  in  with  a  rebel  detach- 
ment the  latter  was  instantly  dispersed.  So  great  was 
the  panic  at  this  time  among  the  rebels,  that  a  captain 
of  their's  with  above  50  men,  near  Hackensack,  took  to 
their  heels  upon  the  approach  of  six  waggoners  dressed 
in  red  coats.  In  a  very  few  days  Lord  Cornwallis 
and  General  Vaucrhn  entered  Brunswick,  Washington 
having  left  it  and  proceeded  to  Princeton,  twelve  miles 
further  on.  At  Brunswick,  Lord  Cornwallis  halted, 
his  orders  being  positive  from  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  to  proceed  no  further.  Washington,  finding 
the  British  army  remained  at  Brunswick  in  quarters, 
continued  at  Princeton.  In  the  beginning  of  Decem- 
ber, General  Howe,  upon  receiving  intelligence  from 
Lord  Cornwallis  of  the  situation  of  affairs  in  New 
Jersey,  left  New  York,  joined  Lord  Cornwallis  at 
New  Brunswick,  and  after  making  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements, continued  the  pursuit  of  the  rebel  army. 


126 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


They  pushed  for  the  Delaware.  The  British  pursued. 
The  moment  Washington  reached  the  Delaware  at 
Trenton,  he  seized  upon  the  boats,  scows,  flats,  and 
small  craft,  embarked  his  army  and  passed  the  river. 
He  had  scarcely  landed  on  the  opposite  shore  when 
the  British  arrived  upon  its  eastern  bank.1  This  com- 
pleted the  conquest  of  all  New  Jersey,  Morristown 
excepted,  where  Gates  and  Lee  then  lay  with  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  Northern  army  then  just  returned 
from  Ticonderoga.  The  violent  partisans  of  Jersey 
fled  either  to  New  England,  the  upper  parts  of  New 
York,  or  to  the  Southern  Colonies,  "  all  was  given  up 
for  lost."  While  all  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  Colony, 
amounting  to  many  thousands,  returned  to  their  allegi- 
ance, submitted  to  Government,  renewed  their  oaths 
of  allegiance,  received  protections,  and  peaceably 
returned  to  their  several  places  of  abode. 

Had  the  British  General,  with  his  army,  passed  the 
Delaware  and  gone  to  Philadelphia,  from  whence 
Congress,  and  all  its  warm  advocates  had  fled,  and 
where  the  inhabitants  were  impatiently  waiting  their 
arrival,  wishing  personally  to  congratulate  them  as 
their  deliverers  from  the  tyranny,  the  arbitrary  power, 
and  oppression,  of  Congress,  all  would  have  been  safe. 
Washington's  army,  at  crossing  the  Delaware,  were  re- 
duced to  less  than  4,000  men.2    Had  the  pursuit  been 

1  "  Washington's  army,  which  consisted,  when  the  campaign  of  1 776  commenced, 
of  50,000  men,  was,  before  Christmas  in  that  year,  reduced  to  3,000.  General  Lee 
was  also  about  this  time  surprised  and  made  a  prisoner,  he  was  the  best  General 
the  rebels  then  had."    This  is  an  extract  from  Harvey's  Naval  History. 

4  Harvey  says  to  3,000,  and  Gordon  says,  when  at  Newark  a  few  days  after  the 
evacuation  of  Fort  Lee  it  consisted  but  of  3,500,  that  Washington  considered  the 
cause  in  the  greatest  danger,  and  said  to  Colonel  Reed,  "Should  we  retreat  to  the 
back  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  will  the  Fcnnsylvanians  support  us?"  The  Colonel 
answered,  "  If  the  lower  counties  are  subdued  and  give  up.  the  back  will  do  the 
same."  "  Wc  must  then,"  said  Washington,  "  retire  to  Augusta  County  in  Virginia. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


127 


continued,  the  rebel  chief  (whose  army  was  still 
dwindling  away)  would  scarcely  have  stopped  short  of 
Maryland,  and  perhaps  gone  even  into  Virginia. 
Philadelphia  stood  ready  to  open  her  gates  to  the 
conqueror,  and  to  give  him  a  hearty  welcome  as  her 
happy  deliverer.  Congress  even  went  so  far  as  to  ad- 
vise the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  to  make  their  peace 
with  the  British,  as  soon  as  they  entered  the  Colony, 
declaring  "  that  as  they  could  no  longer  give  them  pro- 
"  lection,  they  must  submit  to  that  power  which  could." 

Had  the  General  gone  to  Philadelphia  (quarters 
might  have  been  had  in  that  City  for  10,000  men),  the 
whole  country  between  Philadelphia  and  New  York 
would  have  remained  open  and  quiet,  provided  Gen- 
eral Assemblies  had  been  called  in  the  conquered  pro- 
vinces, the  loyalists  armed  and  formed  into  a  militia, 
all  suspected  persons  disarmed,  the  Courts  of  Justice 
opened  upon  the  old  Constitutional  foundation,  and  the 
army  restrained  from  plunder.  Had  this  been  done,  the 
American  rebellion,  in  all  probability,  would  have  closed 
with  the  year  1 776.  But  unhappily  for  America,  as  much 
so  for  Great  Britain,  a  victorious  army,  in  full  pursuit 
of  a  flying  inconsiderable  enemy,  were  stopped  upon 
the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  and  instead  of  taking  the 
necessary  steps  for  the  security  of  New  Jersey,  a  licen- 
tious army  was  suffered  to  plunder  and  to  commit 
every  kind  of  rapine,  injustice,  and  violence,  indiscrimi- 
nately upon  the  inhabitants,  the  consequence  of 
which  became  dismal.  It  ended  in  the  loss  of  the  pro- 
vince, the  ruin  of  hundreds,  and  the  lives  of  thousands. 

The  only  reason  I  ever  heard  given  for  the  General 


Numbers  will  lie  obliged  to  repair  to  us  for  safety,  and  we  must  try  what  we  can 
do  in  carrying  on  a  predatory  war  ;  and  if  overpowered  we  must  pass  the  Alleghany 
Mountains.''    Such  was  the  wretched  situation  of  the  rebels  in  November,  1776. 


128 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


not  passing  the  Delaware  was,  "  that  the  rebels  had 
"carried  all  the  boats  across  the  river."  But  I  have 
been  told  by  a  gentleman  of  the  first  character,  a  noted 
loyalist,  and  a  member  of  his  Majesty's  Council  for 
New  Jersey  1  "  that  there  was  a  board  yard  entirely 
full,  and  directly  back  of  the  house  in  which  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief had  his  headquarters,  and  which  he 
must  have  seen  every  time  he  looked  out  of  his  bed- 
room window."  Besides,  there  were  in  Trenton  a 
number  of  large  barns,  and  store  houses,  built  of 
boards,  out  of  which  rafts  might  have  been  made  in 
the  space  of  two  days  sufficient  to  have  transported 
the  whole  British  army,  with  their  baggage,  artillery, 
and  provisions  across  the  river.  But  it  seems  the 
American  War  was  not  to  end  yet.  This  was  but  the 
first  real  campaign  ;  the  General's  favourites  were  not 
yet  sufficiently  enriched ;  the  rebellion  was  to  be 
nursed,  the  General  to  continue  in  command,  and 
his  friends,  flatterers,  mistresses,  and  sycophants,  to 
be  provided  for. 

While  the  British  army  lay  at  Trenton,  upon  the 
banks  of  the  Delaware,  Colonel  Harcourt  of  the  Light 
Horse,  with  a  small  party  guided  by  an  honest  loyal- 
ist, left  his  quarters  in  the  evening,  rode  near  70  miles, 
surprised  General  Lee  in  his  lodgings,  made  him 
a  prisoner,  and  conducted  him  to  Trenton  early  the 

'  Daniel  Coxe,  Esq.  This  is  confirmed  by  Gordon,  in  his  History  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  who  says  "  that  when  General  Washington  retreated  with  a  hand- 
ful of  men  across  the  Delaware  he  trembled  for  the  fate  of  America,  which  nothing 
but  the  infatuation  of  the  enemy  could  have  saved,  though  they  missed  the  boats 
with  which  they  expected  to  follow  him  into  Pennsylvania  immediately.  Yet 
Trenton  could  have  supplied  him  with  materials  which  industry  might  soon  have  con- 
structed into  sufficient  convenience  for  the  transportation  of  the  troops,  over 
a  smooth  river,  not  more  than  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  at  the  most."  I  have  often 
passed  it,  and  can  aver  what  Gordon  says  upon  the  subject  to  be  facts.  I  was  at 
the  time  a  loyalist,  but  not  in  the  army." 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


I2Q 


next  morning.  Lee  was  sent  to  New  York,  accommo- 
dated with  good  quarters  and  treated  with  hospitality. 

General  Howe,  after  quartering  his  troops  at  Trenton, 
Mount  Holly,  Maidenhead,  Princeton,  New  Brunswick, 
Elizabethtown,  Newark,  Woodbridge,  Burlington,  and 
Amboy,  returned  with  his  suite  to  New  York.  In  the 
disposal  of  the  troops,  one  thing  at  the  time  was 
thought  remarkable,  he  posted  at  Trenton,  which  lies 
upon  the  Delaware  and  was  the  utmost  extent  of  the 
British  cantonments  to  the  southward,  a  parcel  of 
Hessians  who  understood  not  a  word  of  English,  nor 
did  the  inhabitants  understand  a  word  of  German  ;  and 
he  gave  the  command  to  a  Colonel  Rahl  (though  a 
brave  man),  a  notorious  drunkard.  Neither  was  the 
necessary  precaution  taken  of  fortifying  the  church, 
the  meeting-house,  or  Court-house,  placing  a  few 
cannon  therein  and  surrounding  them  with  an  abattis 
to  which  the  troops  upon  an  alarm  might  have  retired 
and  defended  themselves  until  relieved  ;  which  might, 
with  the  greatest  ease,  have  been  done  by  the  troops 
from  Mount  Holly,  Maidenhead,  Princeton,  and  Bruns- 
wick, in  24  hours ;  and  all  Washington's  army  at 
that  time  put  together,  could  not  have  taken  a  place 
thus  fortified  under  a  week  at  least. 

Early  in  December,  1776,  General  Howe  dispatched 
General  Clinton  with  10,000  men,  contained  in  100 
sail  of  transports  at  least,  escorted  by  14  men-of-war 
under  the  command  of  Sir  Peter  Parker,  to  attack 
Rhode  Island.  The  transports  and  frigates  went 
up  the  Sound,  the  large  ships  went  round  Long  Island, 
and  a  junction  was  formed  off  the  harbor  of  New  Lon- 
don. The  fleet  arrived  at  Newport,  the  capital  of 
the  island,  on  the  8th  December,  when  the  island  sur- 
rendered without  a  gain  being  fired.  The  General 
9 


13° 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


landed  the  army  and  took  peaceable  possession.  He 
found  great  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  remaining,  but 
they  were  all  Loyalists.  The  rebel  Governor,  Coun- 
cil, Assembly,  and  Magistrates,  with  about  500  Con- 
tinentals, of  which  the  garrison  consisted,  fled  to  the 
main  upon  the  approach  of  the  fleet.  The  conquest 
of  this  island  was  of  no  service  to  Great  Britain  or  to 
the  general  cause.  It  divided  the  army,  New  York  and 
Rhode  Island  being  200  miles  apart.  Common  report 
at  the  time  asserted  that  the  expedition  was  planned 
in  order,  by  its  success,  to  wipe  off  some  aspersions 
that  had  been  cast  upon  the  naval  and  land  Command- 
ers for  their  conduct  and  behaviour,  in  an  attack  upon 
Sullivan's  Island,  near  Charleston  in  South  Carolina, 
the  preceding  summer,  which  failed  of  success,  owing, 
as  numbers  insinuated,  to  the  carelessness,  mismanage- 
ment, and  want  of  conduct  in  the  Commanders.  It 
this  was  the  intent  of  the  expedition  it  answered  the 
purpose,  for  the  land  Commander  was  honored  with 
the  order  of  the  Bath  for  the  conquest  of  an  island 
without  firing  a  gun  or  losing  a  man,  without  a  garri- 
son, and  at  the  time  of  its  surrender  in  the  possession 
only  of  loyalists,  quakers,  and  old  women  ;  and  the 
Admiral  was  appointed  Commander-in-Chief  upon  the 
lucrative  station  of  Jamaica  in  the  West  Indies.  Had 
this  army,  consisting  of  10,000  effective  men,  instead  of 
being  sent  upon  the  Don  Quixote  expedition  to  Rhode 
Island,  penetrated  the  Jerseys  by  way  of  Amboy,  and 
formed  a  junction  with  Lord  Cornwallis  at  Brunswick, 
Washington's  army  must  have  been  ruined,  the  con- 
quest of  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  insured.  The 
unfortunate  affair  at  Trenton  (of  which  the  particulars 
hereafter),  with  all  the  ill  consequences  attending  it, 
never  could  have  happened.      Washington's  army 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


being  in  a  great  measure  annihilated,  another  in  that 
early  stage  of  the  rebellion  could  never  have  been 
raised,  and  a  speedy  submission  of  the  revolted  Colo-, 
nies  must  have  taken  place.  During  this  campaign 
they  had  been  defeated  in  every  action,  in  every  skir. 
mish ;  their  forts  were  taken,  their  army  reduced  to 
almost  a  nonentity ;  their  money  so  depreciated  as  to 
be  scarce  passable  ;  their  army  (such  as  it  was)  without 
pay,  without  clothing,  without  salt,  without  rum/  with- 
out an  ally,  and  the  Congress  fled  from  Philadelphia 
into  the  interior  parts  of  the  country.  Yet  this  noble, 
this  glorious  opportunity  was  lost  by  the  foolish,  ill- 
projected  expedition  to  Rhode  Island.  A  cursed  fatal- 
ity, or  something  worse,  seemed  to  attend  the  pro- 
ceedings and  manoeuvres  of  our  Commanders-in-Chief 
during  the  whole  of  the  American  War.2 

After  the  conquest  of  Rhode  Island,  General  Clinton 
obtained  leave  from  General  Howe  and  went  to  Eng- 
land, his  avowed  intent,  to  call  Lord  George  Germain, 
the  American  Secretary,  to  an  account,  for  having  pub- 
lished a  mutilated  copy  of  the  General's  letter  to  him 

!  A  letter  from  a  foreigner,  dated  Philadelphia,  Jan.  7th,  1777,  says  "  What  will 
"  hasten  the  reduction  of  this  country  is  the  want  of  warlike  stores — they  want 
"everything,  linen,  woolens,  leather,  cordage,  salt,  rum,  sugar,  &c.  These  last 
"  articles  are  of  more  use  than  might  be  imagined,  so  much  do  the  Americans  in 
"general  detest  the  war.  Yet  it's  easy  to  see,  if  their  wants  are  increased  to  a  cer- 
"  tain  pitch,  they  will  prefer  the  English  yoke  to  a  liberty  which  deprives  them  of  the 
"  comforts  of  life." 

5  An  officer  in  the  rebel  army  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  Connecticut,  of  the  1st 
December,  1776,  after  giving  an  account  of  the  loss  of  the  forts  Washington  and 
Lee,  and  the  march  of  their  Army  through  Jersey,  says,  "  Howe  committed  a  great 
"  error  in  Generalship  by  not  sending  a  body  of  forces  by  way  of  Amboy.  By  this 
"  he  would  have  seized  all  our  stores  and  magazines  which  were  at  Brunswick,  and 
"intercepted  us  in  our  march  through  Jersey.  It  would  have  been  the  ruin  of  our 
"army."  General  Robertson  in  his  "Explanation"  before  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, made  the  same  observation,  his  words  are  these  :  "If  General  Howe  had 
"sent  a  large  detachment,  which  he  could  then  well  spare,  by  the  way  of  Amboy, 
"  into  Jersey,  the  rebel  army  must  have  been  cut  off.  Nothing  but  great  good 
"  luck  could  have  saved  them." 


132 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


giving  the  particulars  of  the  expedition  to  South  Caro- 
lina, the  attack  upon  Sullivan's  Island,  and  the  reason 
of  its  failure.  His  Lordship  had  timely  notice.  A  gen- 
tleman was  kept  in  waiting  at  Portsmouth  for  the  arri- 
val of  the  General  with  a  letter  to  be  delivered  the 
moment  he  landed  containing  the  most  fulsome  eulo- 
gies, panegyrics  and  applause,  begging  him  to  return 
instantly  to  America  as  the  cause  required  the  pre- 
sence of  so  able  a  man  and  so  experienced  a  military 
character.  But  Clinton  who  had  the  courage  of 
a  lion,  with  the  roughness  of  a  bear,  was  not  to  be 
coaxed ;  besides  he  knew  the  man.  He  knew  him  at 
Minden,  was  an  eye-witness  of  his  conduct  on  that 
glorious  day.  The  Secretary,  therefore,  found  it 
necessary  to  take  other  steps.  He  shifted  his  ground. 
He  promised  Clinton  the  order  of  the  Bath,  and  the 
thanks  of  both  houses  of  Parliament  for  his  valor,  his 
heroism,  and  conduct  in  the  conquest  of  Rhode  Island, 
(garrisoned,  as  before  mentioned,  with  loyalists,  quak- 
ers,  and  old  women).  Though  Clinton  was  not  to  be 
bullied  or  coaxed,  his  ambition  was  flattered.  He 
agreed  to  the  proposal,  made  friends  with  the  Secre- 
tary, received  the  thanks  of  Parliament,  and  the  order 
of  the  Bath.  This  done,  he  contentedly  returned  to 
America.  One  thing  in  this  business  is  particularly 
remarkable ;  when  Clinton  was  elected  a  knight  of  the 
Bath  the  order  was  full,  and  his  election  actually  con- 
stituted an  additional  knight.  So  hard  pushed  was 
the  American  Secretary  to  avoid  a  duel  which  Clinton 
came  3,000  miles  to  challenge  him  to,  and  which,  as  a 
man  of  honor,  he  could  not  have  well  refused. 

General  Carleton  having  in  the  summer  of  1776 
driven  the  rebel  army  out  of  Canada,  and  recovered 
the  province,  was  obliged  to  wait  at  St.  John's  at  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


133 


upper  end  of  Lake  Champlain,  until  he  could  rebuild 
the  fort  at  St.  John's,  and  that,  upon  the  neighboring 
Isle  of  La  Noix,  which  the  rebels  had  demolished  upon 
their  leaving-  Canada,  and  also  to  build  a  number  of 
armed  vessels,  (the  enemy  having  a  fleet  upon  the  Lake) 
before  he  proceeded  to  attack  Crown  Point  and  Ticon- 
deroga,  rebel  garrisons  at  the  bottom  of  the  Lake. 
This  was  a  work  of  time ;  it  was,  however,  cheer- 
fully undertaken,  and  carried  on  with  spirit,  industry, 
and  alacrity.  It  was  towards  the  end  of  September,  be- 
fore the  fleet  was  finished  and  ready  to  sail.1  The 
General  then  embarked  his  artillery,  stores,  &c,  and 
proceeded  down  the  lake  preceded  by  the  fleet.  The 
rebel  fleet  met  the  British  near  Isle  Valcour.  An  en- 
gagement took  place.  The  rebels  soon  fled  and  made 
the  best  of  their  way  down  the  lake.  The  English 
pursued.  The  rebels  were  overtaken  before  they 
reached  Crown  Point,  and  a  battle  commenced.  The 
rebels  were  totally  defeated.  Two  Galleys  were  taken, 
one  was  burnt,  two  only  escaped.  The  famous  General 
Arnold  (of  whom  enough  hereafter)  commanded  the 
rebel  fleet.  His  flag  was  on  board  the  Congress  gal- 
ley,  and  rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  English, 
he  ran  her  ashore  and  blew  her  up,  together  with  5 
gondolas,  showing  by  this  act  his  spirit,  his  resolution 

1  Gordon,  in  his  history  of  the  American  revolution  says,  that  General  Carle- 
ton  before  he  commenced  his  operations  upon  the  lake  shipped  off  the  Americans 
made  prisoners  in  Canada,  for  New  England,  and  supplied  them  with  everything 
proper  to  make  the  voyage  easy  and  comfortable.  The  other  prisoners  made  upon 
the  iake,  amounting  to  Soo,  he  also  returned  by  a  flag,  obliging  them  to  take  an 
oath  not  to  serve  during  the  war  unless  exchanged.  Many  of  these  being  almost 
naked,  Sir  Guy  clothed  out  of  compassion.  By  his  tenderness  and  humanity  he 
gained  the  affections  of  those  Americans  who  had  fallen  into  his  hands,  and  did 
more  towards  subduing  the  rest,  than  ever  could  have  been  effected  by  the  greatest 
cruelties.  Gates  often  said,  that  if  General  Howe  had  treated  his  prisoners  and 
the  inhabitants  of  New  Jersey  with  the  same  kindness,  it  would  have  been  all  up 
with  the  Americans. 


134 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


and'  intrepidity,  but  by  no  means  his  humanity  ;  as  a 
number  of  sick  and  wounded  seamen  and  soldiers  then 
on  board,  and  whom  they  had  not  time  to  remove,  were 
murdered  in  the  explosion.'  The  rebels  dismantled 
Crown  Point  upon  the  approach  of  the  English,  and 
collected  their  whole  force  at  Ticonderoga.  General 
Carleton  landed  at  Crown  Point.  It  was  now  some 
time  in  October,  and  finding  Ticonderoga  too  strong 
to  be  taken  without  a  regular  siege,  and  the  winter 
fast  approaching,  he  re-embarked  his  army,  returned  to 
Canada,  and  cantoned  his  troops  in  different  parts  of 
the  province.  Thus  ended  the  campaign  of  1776, 
with  the  recovery  of  all  Canada,  the  demolition  of 
the  rebel  fleet  upon  Lake  Champlain,  the  conquest  of 
Staten  Island,  Long  Island,  New  York  Island,  all  New 
Jersey  (Morristown  excepted),  a  great  part  of  the 
County  of  Westchester,  and  the  whole  of  Rhode  Is- 
land ;  besides  which,  the  rebel  grand  army,  whenever 
brought  to  action,  had  been  always  defeated  and  that 
army  reduced  from  10,000  to  about  4,000  men,  while 
the  British  Army  consisted  of  at  least  30,000  effectives; 
they  had  besides  two  regiments  of  horse,  the  rebels 
had  none.  Yet  for  want  of  prudence,  conduct,  military 
knowledge,  or  something  worse,  things  shortly  took  a 
different  turn,  (of  which  hereafter). 

So  far  did  Connecticut  look  upon  the  contest  with 
Great  Britain  as  over,  that  in  December,  1776,  the 
Great  and  General  Court  not  only  released  every  pris- 

1  Gordon,  in  speaking  of  the  last  action  between  Gates  and  Burgoyne,  says,  thai 
Arnold  was  military  mad,  he  appeared  in  the  heat  of  the  engagement  so  beside 
himself  as  scarce  to  know  what  he  did.  He  struck  several  of  his  officers  with  his 
iword  without  any  apparent  reason,  and  when  called  upon  the  next  day  and  satis- 
faction required,  he  declared  he  recollected  nothing  at  all  of  it,  and  was  sorry  if  it 
was  so.  Some  of  his  orders  were  exceedingly  rash  and  injudicious,  and  argued 
thoughtlessness  rather  than  courage.  Gordon  says  that  Lieutenant  Edward 
Brooks,  who  was  in  the  action,  was  his  informer. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  1 35 

oner  in  their  power  (except  Governor  Franklin,  who 
was  detained  and  most  inhumanly  treated,  and  that  at 
the  request  of  his  father,  the  arch  rebel,  Dr.  Franklin) 
but  actually  appointed  and  empowered  a  committee  of 
their  body  to  proceed  to  New  York,  to  make  submis- 
sion to  the  King's  Commissioners,  to  ask  a  restoration 
to  the  King's  peace,  and,  if  possible,  to  preserve  their 
charter  from  forfeiture,  their  estates  from  confiscation, 
and  their  persons  from  attainder.  But  the  unfortunate 
action  at  Trenton,  which  happened  shortly  after,  and 
the  consequent  transactions  in  New  Jersey,  put  an  end 
to  this  favourable  disposition  in  the  inhabitants  of 
Connecticut. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Upon  General  Howe's  entry  into  New  York  in  Sep- 
tember, 1776,  the  soldiers  broke  open  the  City  Hall, 
and  plundered  it  of  the  College  Library,  its  Mathe- 
matical and  Philosophical  apparatus  and  a  number  of 
valuable  pictures  which  had  been  removed  there  by 
way  of  safety  when  the  rebels  converted  the  College 
into  a  hospital.  They  also  plundered  it  of  all  the 
books  belonging  to  the  subscription  library,  as  also  of 
a  valuable  library  which  belonged  to  the  Corporation, 
the  whole  consisting  of  not  less  than  60,000  volumes. 
This  was  done  with  impunity,  and  the  books  publicly 
hawked  about  the  town  for  sale  by  private  soldiers, 
their  trulls,  and  doxeys.  I  saw  an  Annual  Register 
neatly  bound  and  lettered,  sold  for  a  dram,  Freeman's 
Reports  for  a  shilling,  and  Coke's  1st  Institutes,  or  what 
is  usually  called  Coke  upon  Littleton,  was  offered  to  me 
for  is.  6d.  I  saw  in  a  public  house  upon  Long  Island 
nearly  40  books  bound  and  lettered,  in  which  were 
affixed  the  arms  of  Joseph  Murray,  Esq.,1  under  pawn 

1  This  gentleman  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  came  to  New  York  young,  served 
his  time  to  the  law,  and  was  at  the  head  of  the  profession,  by  which  he  made  a 
large  fortune.  He  was  honest,  religious,  charitable,  and  lived  with  unbounded 
hospitality.   Was  a  strict  Episcopalian.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Cosby. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  1 37 

from  one  dram  to  three  drams  each.  To  do  justice 
even  to  rebels,  let  it  be  here  mentioned  that  though 
they  were  in  full  possession  of  New  York  for  nearly 
seven  months,  and  had  in  it  at  times  above  40,000 
men,  neither  of  these  libraries  were  ever  meddled 
with,  (the  telescope  which  General  Washington  took 
excepted).  Nay,  so  far  were  they  from  interfering 
with  the  law,  that  the  magistrates  continued  in  full 
possession  of  the  civil  powers,  and  the  courts  of  jus- 
tice were  open  in  the  usual  manner  until  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  In  April  term,  1776,  several 
rebel  soldiers  were  indicted  for  some  petty  larcenies, 
tried,  convicted,  and  punished  by  order  of  the  Court, 
without  any  interference  of  the  military  ;  their  officers 
attended  the  trials,  heard  the  evidence,  and  upon  their 
conviction  declared  that  ample  justice  was  done  them, 
and  thanked  the  Judge  for  his  candor  and  impartiality 
during  the  course  of  the  trials. 

In  December,  1776,  after  General  Howe  had  driven 
the  rebel  army  over  the  Delaware,  and  put  part  of  his 
troops  in  quarters  at  Princeton,  they,  among  other 
plunder,  robbed  Nassau  Hall  of  its  library,  its  mathe- 
matical and  philosophical  instruments,  and  other  ap- 
purtenances. Upon  the  sacking  of  the  town  of  New 
Haven  in  Connecticut  by  General  Tryon  in  June,  1779, 
Yale  College,  situate  at  that  place,  was  plundered  of  a 
library  consisting  of  many  thousand  books  which  had 
been  collecting  for  very  near  100  years,  with  many 
curious  and  valuable  manuscripts,  a  remarkably  fine 
orrery,  a  celestial,  and  a  terrestrial,  globe,  and  many 

who  was  Governor  of  New  York.  His  lady  and  the  late  Earl  of  Halifax  were  first 
cousins.  Governor  Cosby's  lady  was  sister  to  the  old  Earl.  He  died  in  1757, 
aged  64.  Was  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  and  by  his  will  devised  all  his  residuary 
estate  to  King's  College  ;  the  Governors  took  his  library  as  part  of  the  devise. 


138 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


other  things  of  consequence  ;  besides  a  selection  of 
well-chosen  books,  a  present  to  that  seminary  from 
the  late  Dean  Berkley,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Cloyne 
in  Ireland,  and  known  by  the  name  of  "  The  Dean's 
Library."  In  the  same  month,  upon  plundering  and 
burning  the  town  of  Norwalk,  in  the  same  Colony, 
under  the  orders  of  the  same  General,  a  most  elegant, 
large,  beautiful,  and  well-collected  library,  an  heir- 
loom belonging  to  the  Morrisania  family  in  the  County 
of  Westchester,1  which  had  for  safety  been  removed 
to  Norwalk,  was  pillaged,  carried  to  New  York,  and 
disposed  of  by  the  thieves,  the  robbers  and  the  plun- 
derers, in  the  same  manner  as  those  plundered  in  New 
York  had  been  before  disposed  of.    All  this  was  done 

1  The  ancestor  of  this  family  was  a  Colonel  Morris,  who,  in  the  civil  wars  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  the  ist  by  artifice  and  intrigue,  surprised  the  castle  of  Pomfret,  then 
held  by  the  King,  and  delivered  it  up  to  the  Parliament.  He  was  made  Governor 
and  Commander  of  it.  It  was  strongly  fortified,  well  supplied  with  artillery,  and 
all  kinds  of  military  stores,  the  garrison  with  respect  to  troops  complete.  Being 
of  a  disposition  rather  whimsical,  he  took  it  into  his  head  to  betray  his  employers, 
and  redelivered  the  garrison,  the  stores  and  artillery  into  the  hands  of  the  King. 
Upon  the  ruin  of  the  royal  cause  he  was  attainted,  and  his  estate  confiscated.  He 
privately  left  England  and  went  to  Barbadoes,  and  either  really  turned,  or  dis- 
guised himself  under  the  garb  of,  a  Quaker.  From  Barbadoes  he  went  to  New 
York,  after  its  Conquest  from  the  Dutch,  and  obtained  a  grant  of  a  large  tract  of 
land  in  the  County  of  Westchester  about  seven  miles  from  New  York,  lying  upon 
the  banks  of  the  East  River,  and  divided  from  York  Island  by  a  small  river  called 
Harlem  River,  which  he  called  by  the  name  of  Morrisania.  He  had  no  children. 
He  adopted  one,  a  nephew,  his  name  Lewis.  This  lad  was  young,  sprightly,  and 
wild.  His  Uncle  procured  him  a  preceptor,  one  Hugh  Copperthwait,  an  enthu- 
siastic Quaker  preacher.  The  pupil  taking  advantage  of  his  tutor's  enthusiasm, 
and  knowing  his  evening  walks,  got  into  a  high  tree  covered  with  leaves,  and  when 
the  Quaker  approached,  he  called  him  three  times  distinctly  by  his  name,  and  each 
time  told  him  he  was  required  to  go  and  preach  the  gospel  among  the  Indians. 
Hugh  looked  upon  it  as  a  call  from  Heaven,  and  was  actually  preparing  for  his 
journey  when  the  imposition  was  discovered.  The  uncle  being  extremely  vexed 
upon  this  occasion,  young  Lewis,  to  avoid  chastisement,  left  the  family  and  strolled 
as  far  as  Virginia,  where  he  turned  school-master.  He  soon  got  tired  of  his 
ichool,  gave  it  up,  and  went  to  the  island  of  Jamaica.  Here  he  commenced 
scrivener.  But  growing  weary  of  this  kind  of  life  he  returned  to  his  uncle,  who 
received  the  young  prodigal  with  joy.    His  uncle  upon  his  death  left  Lewis  hit 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  1 39 

with  impunity,  publicly,  and  openly.  No  punishment 
was  ever  inflicted  upon  the  plunderers.  No  attempts 
were  made  by  the  British  Commanders  to  obtain  res- 
titution of  the  stolen  goods,  nor  did  they  ever  dis- 
countenance such  unjustifiable  proceedings,  by  issuing 
orders  condemning  such  unmilitary  conduct,  and  for- 
bidding it  in  future.  In  short,  from  the  whole  conduct 
of  the  Army  during  the  course  of  the  war,  it  seemed 
as  if  the  suppression  of  a  dangerous  rebellion  was  but 
a  secondary  consideration.  The  war  in  fact,  was  not 
levied  at  rebellion,  but  at  the  treasury  of  Great  Britain  ; 
at  his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects  within  the  lines  ;  indis- 
criminately against  all  persons  wherever  the  army 
moved;  against  erudition,  religion,  and  literature  in  gen- 

whole  estate.  He  married  and  settled  at  Mori  isania  ;  he  represented  the  Borough 
of  Westchester  in  General  Assembly  for  many  years,  was  for  some  time  Speaker 
of  the  House  ;  he  was  also  Chief  Justice  of  the  province.  Upon  the  surrender  of 
the  powers  of  Government  to  the  Crown  by  the  proprietors  of  New  Jersey,  he 
was  made  Governor  of  that  colony.  He  died  there  at  a  very  advanced  age.  Me 
left  two  sons  Lewis  and  Robert  Hunter.  To  Lewis  he  gave  Morrisania.  To 
Robert  Hunter  his  large  real  estate  in  New  Jersey  called  Tinton.  Lewis  who 
represented  the  Borough  of  Westchester  for  several  years,  was  also  some  time 
Speaker  of  the  House,  was  afterwards  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  and  for 
many  years  before,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  Judge  of  the  Admiralty  for  the 
provinces  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Connecticut.  Robert  Hunter  was  Chief 
Justice  of  New  Jersey,  and  one  of  the  Council.  He  was  afterwards  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania.  Upon  the  appointment  of  a  new  Governor  he  returned  to  Jersey 
and  continued  Chief  Justice  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  died  a  bachelor. 
Lewis  left  three  sons  by  his  first  wife,  Lewis,  Staats  Long,  and  Richard.  By  his 
second  wife  an  only  son  named  Gouverneur.  Lewis  was  a  delegate  in  Congress, 
and  a  General  in  the  rebel  militia  during  the  American  war.  He  had  two  or  three 
sons  in  the  same  service.  Staats  Long  early  engaged  in  the  military  life,  was  at 
first  a  Lieutenant  in  one  of  the  independent  companies  at  New  York.  When 
Shirley's  regiment  was  raised  in  1754,  he  got  a  company,  and  was,  upon  that  gen- 
tleman's succeeding  to  the  Chief  Command  in  America,  made  one  of  his  aid-de- 
camps. Upon  Shirley's  recall  Captain  Morris  attended  him  to  England,  where  he 
married  the  late  Dutchess  Dowager  of  Gordon.  This  was  the  foundation  of  his 
fortune.  He  afterwards  went  to  India  as  commandant  of  a  Battalion  of  High- 
landers, raised  by  his  stepson,  the  present  Duke  of  Gordon.  He  is  now  a  Lieut .- 
General  in  the  British  service,  and  commands  the  61st  regiment.  He  is  good- 
natured,  honest,  brave,  and  generous,  and  a  loyal  subject.    Richard  was  bred  to 


140 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


eral.  Public  Libraries  were  robbed,  Colleges  ruined, 
and  Churches  of  all  denominations  burned  and  des- 
troyed ;  while  plunder,  robberies,  peculation,  whoring, 
gaming,  and  all  kinds  of  dissipation,  were  cherished, 
nursed,  encouraged,  and  openly  countenanced. 

Whether  from  an  apprehension  of  being  made  pris- 
oners, or  plundered,  or  for  what  other  reasons  are  to 
themselves  best  known ;  but  no  sooner  were  the  two 

the  law,  and  after  the  death  of  his  father  appointed  Judge  of  the  Admiralty 
Courts  in  the  provinces  aforesaid.  He  was  also  Clerk  of  the  Courts  of  nisi  prius 
and  general  jail  delivery.  He  was  warm  in  the  cause  of  rebellion,  and  is  now 
Chief  Justice  of  New  York.  Gouverneur  was  also  bred  to  the  law,  was  a  Com- 
mittee-man for  the  County  of  Westchester,  a  Member  of  the  New  York  provin- 
cial Convention,  and  afterwards  a  delegate  in  Congress.  He  is  a  witty,  genteel, 
polite,  sensible,  and  a  judicious  young  fellow,  and  has  more  knowledge  (though 
still  a  youth)  than  all  his  three  other  brothers  put  together.  I  have  some  reason 
to  believe  that  the  Morrises  of  the  delightful  situation  of  Persefield  in  Monmouth- 
shire are  of  the  same  family,  and  that  the  estate  there,  or  at  least  a  part  of  it, 
originally  belonged  to  the  ancestor  of  the  Morrisania  family  in  New  York.  What 
induces  me  to  believe  this,  is,  that  I  have  been  often  told  by  the  Morrises  in  New 
York,  that  the  confiscated  estate  of  their  ancestor  lay  in  Wales,  and  was  purchased 
by  one  of  the  family.  But  what  strikes  me  more  is  this  :  Mr.  Morris  of  Persefield 
has  the  ruins  of  an  Abbey  upon  his  estate  called  Tinton  Abbey,  which  is  upon  a 
particular  manor  (part  of  the  estate)  called  Tinton.  I  have  been  often  trJd  that 
the  manor  of  Tinton  in  New  Jersey,  was  called  after  a  manor  of  that  name  in 
Wales,  forfeited  by  the  attainder  of  the  Colonel  Morris  who  first  settled  in  New 
York.  This  family  are  so  remarkable  for  "  enlarging  the  truth  "  that  all  stories 
suspected  of  not  being  true  are  known  throughout  the  County  of  Westchester,  in 
the  City  of  New  York,  ?nd  on  the  westernmost  part  of  Long  Island,  by  the  name 
of  "  Morrisanias."  Lewis,  who  was  Chief  Justice  of  New  York  and  afterwards 
Governor  of  New  Jersey,  though  amazingly  sensible  was  extremely  whimsical. 
He  was  told  by  his  miller  one  day.  When  a  heavy  flood  was  coming  on,  that  the 
gates  should  be  opened  or  the  dam  would  go  away.  Instead  of  ordering  the  gates 
opened,  he  sat  himself  down  to  calculate  how  many  cubical  inches  of  water  the 
dam  would  sustain.  Before  the  calculation  was  complete,  the  dam  went  away. 
He  once  built  at  Tinton  in  New  Jersey  in  the  middle  of  a  forest,  a  sloop  about 
ten  miles  distant  from  any  water.  He  carried  one  day  a  number  of  gentlemen  to 
see  this  sloop,  a  sloop  of  his  own  construction,  built  according  to  his  own  fancy 
and  more  happy  method.  One  of  the  gentlemen  asked,  "  Pray  Colonel  when  this 
sloop  is  finished  how  are  you  to  get  it  into  the  water?"  "  My  God,"  says  the 
Colonel,  "I  never  thought  of  that,"  and  the  sloop  rotted  upon  the  stocks.  Lewis, 
who  was  Judge  of  the  Admiralty,  instead  of  a  hat,  used  to  wear  upon  his  head  a 
Loon's  skin,  a  large  American  sea  fowl,  with  all  its  feathers  on. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  141 

strong  rebel  forts  of  Washington  and  Lee  erected  upon 
each  bank  of  the  Hudson  as  a  security  for  that  River 
taken  ;  the  whole  Island  of  New  York  with  its  City  in 
possession  of  Britain,  and  Lord  Cornwallis  with  a  vic- 
torious army  making  large  strides  towards  the  total  con- 
quest of  New  Jersey;  than  William  Smith,  Esq.,  and 
his  brother  Tom,  instead  of  taking  the  opportunity  if 
they  were  really  loyal  and  had  an  inclination  as  others 
in  the  same  circumstances  did,  of  returning  to  the  City 
of  New  York  (there  was  no  impediment  in  the  way, 
the  river  was  open,  it  was  possessed  by  the  King's 
fleet  from  New  York  to  the  Highlands,  no  rebel  troops 
were  lower  down  than  Fort  Montgomery  in  that 
quarter ;  Lord  Cornwallis  was  hunting  them  out  of 
New  Jersey,  those  that  had  been  in  the  County  of 
Westchester  were  all  retired  either  into  New  England, 
or  above  the  Highlands  ;  the  finest  opportunity  there- 
fore now  presented  itself  to  the  Smiths  of  testifying 
their  loyalty,  if  any  they  had,  by  abandoning  the 
rebel  country,  and  joining  the  royal  standard  at 
New  York)  removed  from  their  country  seats  at 
Haverstraw,  went  nearly  100  miles  further  up  the 
river,  settled  themselves  within  the  Manor  of  Liv- 
ingston, the  proprietors  of  which  are  relations  by  mar- 
riage to  the  aforesaid  William  Smith,  his  particular 
friends,  and  connected  with  him  in  the  strongest  ties  of 
politics,  and  religion.  There  they  seated  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  those,  who  by  their  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  had  assumed  the  powers  of  Sover- 
eignty over  the  thirteen  revolted  Colonies,  had  de- 
clared themselves  independent  States,  had  declared  all 
political  connection  between  them  and  Great  Britain 
dissolved,  and,  in  imitation  of  the  power  and  infallibility 
claimed  by  the  Pope,  had  absolved  all  the  inhabitants 


142 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


within  those  Colonies  from  their  oaths  of  allegiance  to 
their  lawful  Sovereign  the  King  of  Great  Britain. 
Smith  knew  all  this.  Smith  had  it  in  his  power  to  go 
to  New  York.  It  was  his  duty  to  have  joined  the 
royal  army  as  soon  as  possible.  He  was  one  of  his 
Majesty's  Council.  He  was  besides  a  patent  officer 
under  the  Crown.  His  allegiance,  his  honour,  his  duty, 
his  oath,  and  his  loyalty  (if  any  he  had)  all  demanded 
his  return  to  New  York,  when  conquered  by,  and  in 
full  possession  of  the  Crown.  The  road  from  Haver- 
straw  to  New  York  was  plain,  the  river  was  open,  and 
in  the  actual  possession  of  the  King's  fleet.  Yet  this 
glorious  opportunity  was  neglected.  In  preference  to 
which,  he  chose  to  proceed  100  miles  further  up  the 
Hudson,  and  fix  himself  in  a  republican,  presbyterian 
county,  under  the  protection  of  their  High  Mightinesses 
the  Honourable  the  Continental  Congress. 

Smith  being  now  seated  in  the  Manor  of  Livingston,1 

1  The  original  patentee  of  this  Manor  was  born  in  Holland ;  his  parents  were 
Scotch,  his  father  a  presbyterian  parson.  He  came  to  New  York  in  the  :cign  of 
Charles  2d.  The  province  was  then  a  Territory  belonging  to  the  Duke  of  York, 
afterwards  James  2d.  He  was  advised  to  lay  out  what  money  he  had  in  land.  He 
liked  the  advice,  and  purchased  of  the  natives  10,000  acres  about  40  miles  below 
Albany,  bounded  westerly  by  the  Hudson,  easterly,  northerly,  and  southerly  by 
certain  heaps  of  stones  piled  together.  The  Patent  from  the  Duke's  Government 
contains  the  same  boundaries,  but  by  some  kind  of  means  the  heaps  of  stones  had 
got  so  far  to  the  East,  South  &  North  that  in  a  few  years  the  boundaries  contained 
100,000  acres  instead  of  10,000.  Yet  those  in  the  Indian  Deed  and  those  in  the 
Patent  are  exactly  the  same.  The  reserved  quit  rent  is  a  white  rose  payable  an- 
nually, on  the  10th  of  June,  the  old  pretender's  birthday. 

When  James  2d  abdicated  the  Crown,  and  the  revolution  took  place,  Mr.  Liv- 
ingston thought  it  prudent  (he  had  more  reasons  than  one)  to  take  out  a  new  grant 
or  confirmation  for  the  Manor,  which  he  accordingly  did,  and  as  the  enchantment 
still  continued,  the  stones  still  rolled  East,  North,  and  South,  and  though  the  Con- 
firmation contains  the  same  boundaries  as  the  original  patent,  yet  the  Manor  now 
contains  at  least  300,000  acres,  instead  of  the  100,000  in  the  first  patent,  and  the 
10,000  in  the  Indian  Deed,  which  10,000  was  all  the  Indians  really  sold,  or  that 
Mr.  Livingston  honestly  bought  and  paid  for.  He  settled  upon  this  land,  and  living 
to  a  good  old  age  saw  it  considerably  settled  and  improved  in  his  lifetime.  He 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  1 43 

0 

accounts  transmitted  from  that  part  of  the  Country, 
and  all  intelligence  brought  in  by  Loyalists  who  had 
either  made  their  escape  from,  or  been  banished  by, 
rebel  committees  and  conventions,  agreed  that  he  was 
warmly  attached  to  the  American  cause,  though  acting 
with  as  much  cunning,  art,  hypocrisy,  and  dissimulation 
as  possible.  That  he  privately  was  consulting  with, 
and  amongst  his  friends  and  relations,  the  Livingstons, 
and  secretly  advised  them,  in  all  their  measures.  Nay, 
so  far  pointedly  did  this  information  and  intelligence  go, 
that  we  were  assured  from  authentic  authority  brought 
from  the  rebel  country,  that  this  very  identical  gentle- 
man had,  at  the  request  of  the  provincial  Convention, 
actually  drawn  a  constitution  for  the  rebel  Government 
of  New  York,  or  had  altered,  revised,  and  amended,  or 
counselled,  advised,  and  consulted  with  a  committee 
of  theirs  upon  the  rough  draft,  and  assisted  in  its  com- 
pletion. 

In  the  spring  of  1 778  Daniel  Horsmanden,  Esq.,  who 
had  been  for  many  years  Chief  Justice  of  the  province 
died.  Accounts  were  received  from  England  that  the 
Parliament  had  passed  an  act  repealing  the  several  acts 
so  very  obnoxious  to  America  ;  another  declaring  the 

made  an  equal  division  of  it  by  his  will,  and  gave  the  Northern  part  to  his  eldest  son 
Philip,  and  the  Southern  to  his  other  son  Robert.  The  descendants  of  the  devisees 
hold  their  respective  shares  to  this  day.  The  whole  was  entailed  by  the  old  man's 
will.  It  is  now  completely  settled,  and  the  Lords  of  the  Manor  enjoy  incomes 
equal  if  not  superior  to  many  of  the  petty  Princes  in  Germany.  A  right  is  granted 
by  the  patent  of  holding  a  Court  Baron,  and  the  appointment  of  a  Steward  as 
Judge  of  such  Court.  This  privilege  has  never  been  exercised.  The  tenants  are 
also  exempt  from  doing  suit  or  service  in  any  other  Court.  The  Manor  has  also 
the  privilege  by  its  grant  of  sending  a  member  to  General  Assembly.  This  was  al- 
ways enjoyed,  and  one  of  the  family  ever  served  in  that  capacity  until  the  American 
Revolution,  when  this  privilege  was  taken  from  them,  and  the  County  ordered  to 
choose  a  certain  number  at  large  ;  by  which  act,  the  Manor  of  Rensselaerwyok,  the 
town  of  Schenectady,  the  Manor  of  Cortland,  and  the  Borough  of  Westchester  are 
deprived  of  similiai  privileges. 


144 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Colonies  for  ever  exempt  from  taxation  by  che  Legis- 
lature of  Great  Britain  ;  that  the  King  was  authorized 
by  a  third  to  appoint  Commissioners  to  proceed  to 
America,  and  settle  all  matters  in  dispute  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies  ;  that  the  Commission 
had  passed  the  seals  ;  the  Commissioners  appointed  ; 
that  they  were  immediately  to  embark  for  America  with 
full  powers  to  offer  such  terms  to  the  disaffected  as  was 
generally  thought  would  meet  with  the  desired  effect ; 
and  that  the  eve  of  a  firm  and  lasting  reconciliation  be- 
tween  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies  was  fast  ap- 
proaching. It  was  also  suggested  that  these  Commis- 
sioners were  vested  with  a  power  to  appoint  Governors, 
Lieut.-Governors,  Councillors,  Judges,  and  other  offi- 
cers, as  a  temporary  expedient,  until  such  appointments 
could  be  transmitted  to  England  and  his  majesty's  pleas- 
ure known.  Smith  now  thought  (as  did  his  rebel 
friends)  that  his  return  to  New  York  was  not  only  neces- 
sary, but  expedient  and  advisable,  as  well  on  his  own 
particular  account  as  on  theirs.  It  was  proper,  neces- 
sary, and  material  for  them  to  have  a  friend  at  head- 
quarters, who  could  promote  his  own  interest,  serve 
their  purposes,  and  from  time  to  time  give  them  such 
information  as  might  be  necessary  in  the  regulation  of 
their  future  conduct.  How  to  get  there  was  the  ques- 
tion ?  This  difficulty  was  soon  removed.  Reports 
were  industriously  spread  about  the  country,  trans- 
mitted to  New  York,  and  rapidly  circulated  within  the 
British  lines,  that  Smith  was  a  Loyalist,  disaffected  to 
the  American  cause,  a  spy  jipon  rebellion,  and  privately 
sent  intelligence  to  New  York.  These  reports  having 
been  propagated  and  spread  about  the  country  for  a 
proper  time,  Smith  was  apprehended,  carried  before  a 
Committee,  and  examined.    Here  he  insisted  that  they 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


145 


had  no  power  or  authority  over  him.  That  he  was  a 
British  subject,  that  they  were  an  illegal,  unconstitu- 
tional bod)-,  and  deserved  no  other  appellation  than 
that  of  a  mob.  Had  a  real  Loyalist  spoken  as  much, 
a  dungeon  would  have  been  his  fate,  irons  and  shackles 
his  portion,  and  bread  and  water  his  food.  But  every- 
thing was  now  understood.  It  is  a  common  saying 
that  there  are  wheels  within  wheels.  It  was  most  cer- 
tainly so  in  the  present  case.  However,  the  farce  was 
not  yet  ended.  The  Committee  pretended  to  be  at  a 
loss  what  to  do,  or  how  to  act.  He  was  therefore  sent 
to  the  provincial  assembly,  then  sitting  at  Kingston  in 
the  County  of  Ulster.  He  was  brought  before  them 
and  examined,  caressed,  soothed,  flattered,  and  threat- 
ened, but  all  to  no  purpose.  He  knew  what  he  was 
about,  and  so  did  they  ;  he  continued  inflexible,  ob- 
stinate, contumacious,  and  positive.  He  was  therefore 
ordered  to  be  confined,  as  a  state  prisoner  in  the 
Manor  of  Livingston.  This  Manor,  which  was  now 
made  Smith's  prison,  contains  at  least  300,000  acres  of 
land,  his  relations  and  friends  are  the  proprietors, 
the  whole  is  settled,  and  several  families  of  the  Living- 
stons, his  most  intimate  acquaintances,  live  within  its 
limits.  This  was  now  the  loyal  Smith's  prison.  Here 
was  his  confinement.  He  had  the  liberty  of  the  Manor 
at  large,  here  were  his  friends,  here  were  his  relations, 
and  this  was  the  only  place  where  he  would  choose  to 
be  (New  York  excepted).  The  farce,  however,  was 
not  even  to  end  here.  Smith  must  be  got  to  New 
York,  and  he  must  get  there  in  the  character  of  a 
Loyalist,  of  a  steady  persecuted  Loyalist,  who  had 
been  taken  up,  imprisojied,  abused,  and  at  last  trans- 
ported by  the  arbitrary  oppressive  hand  of  the  rebel 
power.  George  Clinton,  then  titular  Governor  of 
10 


146 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


New  York,  the  rebel  Senate,  the  Assembly,  Smith,  and 
the  Committee,  all  understood  each  other.  An  oath 
was  therefore  framed  in  order  to  tender  to  all  sus- 
picious persons,  with  notice  that  every  person  refusing 
to  take  such  oath  (when  legally  tendered)  should  be 
considered  as  inimical  to  the  State,  not  suffered  to  re- 
main therein,  but  banished  to  New  York,  as  an  enemy 
to  the  Congress,  to  the  "  liberties  of  the  people"  and  to 
the  "  rights  of  mankind."  This  oath,  according  to  the 
settled  plan,  was  tendered  to  Smith,  and  refused.  It 
was  also  tendered  to  Major  Colden  (eldest  son  of  the 
late  Governor  Colden)  a  noted  Loyalist,  and  prior  to 
the  usurpation  a  Major  in  the  Ulster  Militia,  and  a  Judge 
of  the  Superior  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  the  same 
County  under  his  Majesty,  and  of  course  refused. 
Samuel  Bayard,  Esq.,  Deputy  Secretary  of  the  province, 
who  had  been  long  a  prisoner  in  the  rebel  country,  and 
who,  to  his  honour,  never  abandoned  the  records,  of 
which  he  had  the  custody,  until  forcibly  taken  from  him, 
who  wanted  an  opportunity  of  getting  to  New  York, 
actually  made  interest  with  some  of  the  rebel  leaders 
to  have  the  oath  tendered  him,  that  by  refusing  to 
take  it  he  might  be  also  banished  to  New  York.  His 
interest,  it  seems,  being  small,  he  failed  in  his  applica- 
tion. In  the  meantime  Smith  and  Colden  were  ordered 
out  of  the  rebel  part  of  the  State  for  refusing  to  take 
the  aforesaid  oath,  and  sent  to  New  York.  This  was 
accordingly  done.  But  mark  the  difference.  They 
were  sent  down  in  the  same  sloop.  The  Major  was  suf- 
fered to  bring  with  him  only  the  clothes  upon  his  back, 
a  few  shirts  and  stockings,  a  bed  and  some  bedding,  with 
provisions  sufficient  only  for  the  passage.  On  the  con- 
trary, Smith  had  full  permission,  and  accordingly  brought 
away  with  him  his  wife  and  family,  all  his  household  fur- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  I  47 

0 

niture,  his  library,  his  servants,  his  chariot,  his  horses, 
and  as  much  provision  for  his  future  use  as  he  thought 
proper  to  purchase.  The  officer  (the  bearer  of  the 
flag)  had  also  orders  to  stop  in  his  way  down  at  Haver- 
straw  (Smith's  country  seat)  and  take  from  thence  all 
such  property  as  he  should  think  proper  to  remove, 
which  was  accordingly  done,  and  the  two  gentlemen 
safely  landed  at  New  York.  Before  I  take  leave  of 
this  celebrated  character,  this  profound  politician,  and 
sagacious  statesman,  I  shall  mention  a  few  anecdotes, 
which  are  so  well  attested  that  no  doubt  can  be  enter- 
tained of  their  authenticity.  Colonel  Worthington,  a 
gentleman  of  Springfield,  in  Massachusetts,  and  one  of 
the  Mandamus  Councillors  of  that  Colony,  was  obliged 
in  the  summer  of  1775  to  fly  from  the  persecution  of 
the  republicans  in  his  own  province  and  take  refuge  in 
New  York.  He  and  Smith  had  been  long  acquainted. 
The  latter  asked  him  to  dine.  The  Colonel  being  in 
company  with  a  friend  of  his  a  few  days  after,  asked, 
in  the  course  of  conversation,  what  Smith's  principles 
or  sentiments  were  with  respect  to  the  present  dis- 
turbances. The  gentleman  answered  "that  he  knew 
not  his  real  sentiments,  but  he  well  knew  he  was  greatly 
suspected  by  the  Loyalists  of  secretly  encouraging  Con- 
gressional measures."  The  Colonel  replied,  "  He  most 
"  certainly  does.  I  dined  with  him  a  few  days  ago,  and 
"  had  a  long  conversation  with  him,  and  find  him  a 
"  dangerous  man  to  converse  with.  He  is  artful,  sly,  and 
"  cunning,  holds  principles  diametrically  opposite  to  the 
"  British  Constitution,  and  is  an  enemy  to  the  Govern- 
"  ment  of  England  both  in  Church  and  State." 

An  honest  old  Dutchman  of  undoubted  veracity  who 
lived  in  the  County  of  Ulster,  and  who  applied  to 
George  Clinton,  the  then  titular  Governor  of  New 


148 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


York,  for  permission  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  friends  and  re- 
lations upon  Long  Island  (the  place  of  his  nativity),  has 
frequently,  publicly,  and  openly,  declared  to  his  friends 
and  acquaintances,  that  in  a  conversation  between  him 
and  Clinton  upon  the  application  aforesaid,  after  he  had 
given  the  required  permission,  Clinton  expressed  him- 
self thus:  "When  you  will  get  within  the  British  lines 
you  will  hear  us  greatly  abused,  ill  spoken  of,  our  oppo- 
sition to  tyranny  called  rebellion,  and  we  rebels  and 
traitors."  After  a  short  pause  he  added,  "  Well !  if  I 
"  am  a  rebel,  Billy  Smith  made  me  one.  I  have  been 
"  advised  by  him,  have  followed  his  counsel  in  whatever 
"  I  have  done,  and  if  I  am  a  rebel,  I  am  a  rebel  of  his 
"making." 

Major  Colden,  who  was  banished  by  the  rebel  pow- 
ers as  before  mentioned,  found  it  necessary  before 
leaving  the  country  to  wait  upon  Clinton  respecting 
his  private  affairs  and  his  estate,  which  he  was  to 
leave  behind  in  the  power  and  at  the  will  of  the 
rebel  Government.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation 
which  naturally  arose  upon  this  interview,  mention  was 
made  that  Smith  was  going  to  New  York.  Clinton 
expressed,  or  pretended  to  express,  a  good  deal  of  sur- 
prise, and  said,  "  You  astonish  me  !  Smith  going  to 
"  New  York  !  It  can't  be  !  You  must  certainly  be  mis- 
"  taken  !  "  But  the  fact  being  averred,  Clinton  replied, 
"  Well,  he  may  go,  but  he  will  not  be  suffered  to  land 
"  or  reside  within  the  British  lines,  his  sentiments,  his 
"  character,  and  principles  are  too  well  known  there  ; 
"  they  will  as  soon  trust  and  suffer  me  to  live  in  New 
"  York,  as  permit  ktm."  These  were  the  sentiments  of 
George  Clinton,  Esq.,  the  then  titular  Governor  of 
New  York,  who  had  received  his  education  under  the 
wing  and  patronage  of  Smith,  and  whose  political 


HISTORY  OV  NEW  YORK. 


I49 


principles  Clinton  as  well  knew  as  he  knew  his 
own. 

A  gentleman  of  character,  who  was  a  prisoner  in 
Connecticut  in  1779,  accidentally  fell  in  company  with 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Kettletas,  a  presbyterian  parson,  who 
had  left  Long  Island  upon  the  landing  of  the  King's 
troops  in  August,  1776,  and  retired  with  his  family  in- 
to that  colony.  The  parson,  after  inquiring  about  his 
friends,  his  relatives,  and  his  estate  within  the  British 
lines,  asked,  "  How  does  my  brother-in-law,  Billy 
"  Smith,  manage  among  you  in  New  York  ?  "  Being 
answered  that  he  was  in  high  favour,  much  caressed, 
and  generally  supposed  would  be  made  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Colony,  Kettletas  replied,  "  I  wonder  you  trust 
him !  A  man  that  can  act  with  so  much  duplicity  as 
he  has  done,  ought  to  be  trusted  by  neither  side." 
A  rank,  old,  presbyterian  republican,  as  deep  in  the 
rebellion  as  possible,  who  was  sitting  in  company  said, 
"  Do  you  really  think  so  ?  "  "  Yes,"  answered  Kettle- 
tas, "  I  not  only  think  so,  but  I  know  so.  I  have  been 
"  governed  by  his  advice,  and  by  his  advice  I  have  been 
"  ruined.  Had  it  not  been  for  him  I  should  never  have 
"  taken  the  part  I  have  done.  He  advised  me  in  every 
"  thing.  By  his  advice  I  have  lost  my  estate.  By 
"  his  advice  I  am  reduced  almost  to  beggary,  and  my 
"  poor  wife,  with  my  large  family  of  children,  in  want  of 
"  the  common  necessaries  of  life."  The  tears  started 
from  his  eyes  and  the  conversation  ended. 

Another  circumstance  must  be  now  mentioned,  which 
(if  duly  considered)  will  fully  show  in  what  kind  of 
light  the  Governor,  Senate,  and  Assembly,  of  the  re- 
bel State  of  New  York  considered  this  paragon  of 
Loyalty  after  his  banishment  from  amongst  them.1 

'  By  an  Act  of  the  New  York  Legislature  the  estate  of  every  person  banished 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


On  the  2 2d  of  October,  1779,  they  passed  an  Act  by 
which  a  number  of  his  Majesty's  Loyal  subjects,  living 
under  the  obedience  and  jurisdiction  of,  and  owing  their 
protection  to,  the  King  of  Great  Britain  as  their  liege 
Lord  and  Sovereign,  were  attainted  of  high  treason,  for 
(as  the  Act  expressed  it)  "  adhering  to  the  enemies  of 
"  the  State."  Their  estates  are  confiscated  to  the  use 
of  the  rebel  government.  And  it  is  also  therein  de- 
clared that  if  any  of  the  said  attainted  persons  should 
thereafter  be  taken,  or  found  within  the  State,  they 
should  be  subject  to,  and  suffer  the  pains  and  penalties 
of  death  without  the  benefit  of  Clergy.  By  this  act 
General  Clinton  (then  Commander-in-Chief  in  America), 
General  Tryon  (then  Governor  of  the  province  under 
the  Crown,  a  Major-General  in  his  Majesty's  service, 
and  Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the  provincials  raised 
in  America  in  the  royal  cause  during  the  rebellion),  and 
Lord  Dunmore 1  are  declared  traitors  ;  as  are  George 
Duncan  Ludlow,  and  Thomas  Jones,  Esq.,  two  of  the 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,2  and  every  member  of 

is  subject  to  the  payment  of  a  double  tax.  Smith's  estate  was  in  this  predica- 
ment. No  sooner  did  a  peace  take  place  between  Great  Britain  and  America 
than  this  Act  was  repealed  so  far  as  related  to  him,  and  his  brother  Joshua  Hett 
Smith,  who  betrayed  Maior  Andre. 

1  A  Scotch  Nobleman  of  great  connections.  He  had  been  Governor  of  New 
York,  and  when  the  rebellion  broke  out  was  Governor  of  Virginia.  He  was  a 
warm  Loyalist,  and  did  every  thingin  his  power  to  stop  the  stream  of  revolution  in 
Virginia.  His  efforts  had  little  effect.  The  popular  delusion  had  taken  place. 
When  the  British  army  arrived  in  the  province  of  New  York  in  1776,  his  Lord- 
ship joined  them  with  a  few  troops,  about  500  refugees,  and  about  as  many  blacks, 
who  had  in  consequence  of  his  proclamation  promising  Emancipation  left  their 
masters  and  joined  the  Earl's  fleet  of  pillagers.  It  was  entitled  to  no  other  name, 
as  it  sailed  only  from  one  harbour,  one  port,  or  one  creek  to  another,  robbed  the 
poor  defenceless  inhabitants,  irritated  the  people,  and  was  rather  an  injury  than  a 
service  to  Great  Britain. 

"At  this  time  Mr.  Ludlow  had  taken  no  part  in  the  controversies  whatever,  and 
Mr.  Jones  was  a  prisoner  upon  his  parole.  This  they  well  knew.  Yet  these  gen- 
tlemen were  attainted,  and  their  estates  confiscated,  while  Whitehead  Hicks,  Esq., 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  T  5 1 

his  Majesty's  Council  then  living-,  to  wit,  Oliver  De 
Lancey,  John  Watts,  Roger  Morris,  William  Axtell, 
Hugh  Wallace,  Henry  White,  and  John  Harris  Cruger 
(William  Smith  and  Charles  Ward  Apthorpe  excepted). 
Mr.  Apthorpe's  name  was  omitted  by  mistake  ;  but 
the  very  next  grand  jury,  in  virtue  of  a  clause  in  the 
Act,  took  special  care  to  prefer  an  indictment  against 
him  for  high  treason.  Smith  they  never  noticed.  Pray 
what  language  does  this  speak  ?  Had  they  looked 
upon  him  as  an  enemy,  would  he  not  have  been  at- 
tainted ?  Nay,  common  policy  required  that  his  friends 
should  have  taken  this  step  for  him,  it  would  have 
saved  appearances.  The  public  would  in  such  case 
(at  least)  have  looked  upon  him  as  loyal  in  the  esti- 
mation of  his  friends  and  numerous  train  of  relations, 
at  that  time  actually  engaged  in  rebellion.  Who  did 
"adhere"  to  the  enemies  of  the  State  more  than  William 
Smith  ?  That  is,  if  the  account  of  his  banishment,  his 
refusal  to  take  their  oath,  and  his  rather  choosing  to 
join  the  British  army  than  reside  among  the  rebels 
are  facts  ;  and  who  after  his  return  to  New  York  often 
sat,  and  acted,  at  the  Council  Board,  as  one  of  his 
Majesty's  Council.  Was  not  this  what  the  act  called 
"an  adherence"  to  the  enemies  of  the  State  ?  Was  not 
all  this  well  known  to  the  rebels  when  they  passed  the 
Act?  It  most  certainly  was.  But  at  the  same  time 
they  knew  that  Smith  was  their  friend,  and  if  included 
in  the  Act,  it  might  not  be  so  easy  afterwards  to  get  a 
reversal  of  it  as  to  him ;  his  friends  might  be  dead, 

the  other  Judge,  who  had,  at  the  request  of  Gcnl.  Tryon,  in  1777,  made  a  tour 
through  all  Long  Island  to  administer  special  oaths  of  allegiance  to  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  to  the  provincial  corps  then  stationed  at  Oyster  Bay,  Huntington,  and 
Seataucket,  which  the  rebels  well  knew,  was  not  attainted.  He  had  friends  in  the 
Assembly,  he  was  besides  a  presbyterian.  Such  was  the  partiality  of  the  rebel 
Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


out  of  power,  or  a  hundred  other  accidents  happen 
which  was  thought  improper  for  their  friend  to  run  the 
risk  of.  How  could  this  rebel  Legislature  with  any 
kind  of  face  attaint  Mrs.  Morris,  Mrs.  Robinson,  and 
Mrs.  Inglis  (the  wives  of  Col.  Roger  Morris,  Col. 
Beverly  Robinson,  and  the  revd.  Mr.  Inglis),  married 
women  under  the  immediate  power  and  control  of 
their  husbands,  for  "  adhering"  to  the  enemies  of  the 
State,  and  yet  this  gentleman,  who  if  acting  as  an 
officer  under  the  Crown  was  an  "  adherence"  no  man 
was  a  greater  "  adherer  "  than  himself?  They  went  still 
further,  as  if  determined  to  convince  the  world  of  their 
friendship  for  Smith,  and  of  his  great  use  to  them  in 
his  then  situation.  They,  as  before  mentioned,  at- 
tainted or  indicted  every  member  of  his  Majesty's 
Council  (himself  excepted),  and  confiscated  their 
estates,  among  whom  was  John  Watts,  Esq.,  who  left 
New  York  in  May,  1775,  above  14  months  prior  to  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  at  a  time  when 
Congress  were  acknowledging  and  declaring  them- 
selves, and  all  the  Inhabitants  within  the  now  United 
States,  to  be  the  Loyal  and  faithful  subjects  of  Great 
Britain.  Surely  his  Majesty's  subjects  had  a  right  of 
removing  from  one  part  of  his  Dominions  and  settling 
in  another.  Yet  this  the  New  York  Legislature  called 
an  "  adherence"  (with  respect  to  Mr.  Watts)  " to  the 
enemies  of  the  State,"  in  consequence  of  which  they 
attainted  his  person  and  confiscated  his  estate.1  But 

1  Henry  Cruger,  Esq.,  a  warm  opposer  of  rebellion,  left  New  York  with  Mr. 
Watts,  and  went  to  England  in  the  same  packet,  and  was  also  there  when  the  act 
passed.  Yet  he  was  not  considered  as  an  "adherer"  to  the  enemies  of  the  State, 
nor  was  his  person  attainted  or  his  estate  confiscated.  This  has  at  least  the  ap- 
pearance of  partiality.  A  good  reason  may  however  he  given  for  the  indulgence 
allowed  Mr.  Cruger,  lie  had  a  son  in  Parliament,  and  that  son  violent  in  the  oppo- 
sition to  the  American  war. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  1 53 

0 

Smith,  who  had  abused  and  insulted  them  (if  his  friends 
are  to  be  believed),  had  called  them  an  unconstitutional 
rabble,  a  mob  usurping  the  powers  of  government,  who 
had  chosen  to  return  to  New  York  and  join  the  royal 
standard,  rather  than  take  an  oath  by  them  offered, 
and  who  when  there  had  acted  as  one  of  his  Majesty's 
Council,  was  not  looked  upon  by  this  Assembly  as  an 
"  adherer"  nor  the  several  facts  before  mentioned  as 
overt  acts  of  treason.  His  name  was  therefore  never 
mentioned  in  the  Act,  nor  was  he  ever  indicted  under 
that  Act  as  a  traitor  to  the  State.  Facts  speak  for 
themselves.    These  are  facts,  and  stubborn  ones  too. 

The  rebel  powers  (no  doubt)  looked  upon  Smith  as 
their  real,  true,  and  steady  friend.  They  knew  the 
motives  which  induced  him  to  leave  them  and  go  to 
New  York.  They  knew  the  purposes  it  was  designed 
to  serve,  and  they  well  knew  that  the  whole  of  the 
proceedings  against  him  before  the  Committee  and  As- 
sembly previous  to  his  leaving  the  rebel  lines  were  so 
many  blinds  intended  to  deceive  the  Loyalists.  Had 
not  this  been  the  case,  I  fancy  his  large  real  and  per- 
sonal estate  within  the  rebel  Government  would 
scarcely  have  escaped  confiscation.  Yet  this  is  the 
man  whose  Loyalty,  patriotism,  and  political  principles 
were  thought  so  auspicious  and  favourable  to  the 
British  Constitution  and  so  friendly  to  Government  as 
to  induce  the  Ministry  in  1780  to  take  him  from  the 
Bar,  a  practising  attorney,  and  appoint  him  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  New  York  with  a  salary  of  ^500  sterling  per 
ann.,  at  a  time  when  no  law  but  Military  and  Police 
law  existed,  when  not  a  Court  of  Justice  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  Britain  was  open,  and  when  there  was 
no  more  occasion  for  a  Chief  Justice  than  there  was 
for  a  Bishop  or  a  Pope.    And  this  also  in  preference  to 


154 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


other  Judges  of  known  loyalty,  and  who  had  for  many 
years  faithfully  served  their  King  and  country  in  their 
judicial  capacities  with  honour  and  reputation  to  them- 
selves and  to  the  perfect  satisfaction  of  the  people. 

James  De  Lancey,  Esq.,  is  also  included  in  the  Act  of 
Attainder,  and  his  estate  thereby  confiscated,  though 
he  left  New  York  and  went  to  England  in  April,  1775, 
where  he  has  continued  ever  since.  He  was  one  of 
the  members  in  General  Assembly  for  the  City  of  New 
York,  is  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Lieutenant-Governor 
De  Lancey,  upon  whose  death  he  inherited  by  descent 
an  amazing  real  estate  within  the  very  suburbs  of  the 
City,  besides  large  tracts  of  land  in  almost  every 
county  in  the  province.  Considering  his  estate,  and 
the  part  he  took  in  the  Assembly  in  opposition  to 
Congress,  his  attainder  and  the  confiscation  of  his 
estate  are  easily  accounted  for.  He  served  in  the 
army  in  his  younger  days.  He  married  Margaret,  a 
daughter  of  William  Allen,  Esq.,  late  Chief  Justice  of, 
and  a  gentleman  of  the  first  character,  fortune,  and 
reputation  in,  Pennsylvania. 

The  ancestor  of  the  De  Lancey  family  in  New  York 
who  first  came  into  the  province  was  Etienne  (in  English 
Stephen)  De  Lancey,  a  protestant  refugee,  a  native  of 
Caen  in  Normandy.  He  quitted  France  upon  the 
repeal  of  the  Edict  of  Nantz,  and  went  to  Holland.  He 
subsequently  left  Holland  and  went  to  England,  and 
from  thence  came  to  New  York  in  1686.  He  was  yet 
a  young  man.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  married 
Anne,  a  daughter  of  Stephanus  Van  Cortlandt, '  by 
which  he  became  connected  with  a  family  then  the  most 
opulent  and  extensive  of  any  in  the  province.  He 
soon  became  an  eminent  merchant,  and  by  a  successful 
trade  amassed  a  very  considerable  fortune.    He  was 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  1 55 

0 

for  many  years  one  of  the  most  distinguished  members 
for  his  activity  in  the  General  Assembly.  He  died  in 
1 741,  at  a  very  advanced  age,  worth  at  least  ,£100,000 
(though  he  brought  not  more  than  .£300  sterling  with 
him  into  the  province),  gained  by  his  own  industry, 
and  that  with  credit,  honour,  and  reputation.  His 
character  was  never  impeached.  He  was  sober,  dili- 
gent, remarkable  for  his  hospitality,  industrious,  and 
extremely  religious.  He  had,  however,  an  aversion, 
if  not  a  real  hatred,  to  the  Roman  Catholics.  No 
wonder !  By  his  strict  adherence  to  the  protestant 
religion,  they  deprived  him  of  a  large  paternal  estate 
and  the  right  of  succession  to  a  Peerage,  to  which  he 
was  next  in  remainder  when  the  Edict  of  Nantz  was 
repealed,  and  he  of  course  obliged  to  abandon  his 
native  country.  He  left  four  sons,  James,  Stephen, 
Peter,  and  Oliver,  and  two  daughters,  Susannah  and 
Anne. 

Smith  in  his  History  of  New  York,  in  speaking  of 
James,  says,  "This  Gentleman  being  a  youth  of  fine 
parts  was  called  up  to  the  Council  Board  in  1729,  just 
after  his  return  from  the  University."  This  was  in 
Governor  Montgomerie's  time,  who  also  appointed  him 
one  of  the  puisne  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Upon 
Montgomerie's  death,  which  happened  soon  after, 
Col.  Cosby  succeeded  to  the  Government,  and  was 
upon  many  occasions  excessively  ill  treated  by  Lewis 
Morris,  Esq.,  then  Chief  Justice  of  the  province.  The 
Colonel,  being  a  man  of  spirit  and  resolution,  with 
great  connections,  bred  a  soldier,  and  tenacious  of  his 
honour,  displaced  Morris,  and  appointed  Mr.  De  Lan- 
cey  in  his  room.  In  1753  he  received  a  Commission 
appointing  him  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Colony, 
dated  in  1747,  and  kept  back  till  then  by  Gov.  Clinton. 


156 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Sir  Danvers  Osborne,  who  succeeded  Clinton,  dying 
three  days  after  his  arrival  in  his  Government,  Mr.  De 
Lancey  published  his  Commission  and  took  the  reins 
of  Government  in  his  own  hands,  and  continued  to 
hold  them  until  September,  1755,  when  Sir  Charles 
Hardy  arrived  and  published  his  Commission  as  Gov- 
ernor. Mr.  De  Lancey  now  resumed  his  seat  upon 
the  bench  as  Chief  Justice.  In  the  Spring-  of  1757, 
Sir  Charles,  being  previously  appointed  an  Admiral, 
had  the  command  of  a  fleet  destined  upon  an  expe- 
dition against  Cape  Breton.  When  he  sailed  from 
New  York,  the  Government  of  course  devolved  upon 
Mr.  De  Lancey  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  which  he  ex- 
ercised until  the  30th  of  July,  1760,  when  he  died  sud- 
denly at  the  age  of  57. 

Stephen  died  unmarried  shortly  after  his  father. 
Peter  married  Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Cadwalla- 
der  Colden  (then  of  the  Council  and  afterwards  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  of  the  province),  and  settled  in  the 
Borough  of  Westchester,  which  he  represented  for 
many  years  in  General  Assembly,  and  when  tired  of  the 
fatigue  he  resigned  his  seat.  His  interest  was  so 
great  that  he  got  his  second  son,  John,  elected  in  his 
stead,  though  quite  a  youth.  He  died  the  17th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1770. 

Oliver  was  for  many  years  Colonel  of  the  Militia  for 
the  City  and  County  of  New  York.  He  married  Phila, 
a  daughter  of  Mr.  Franks,  an  opulent  merchant  of 
Philadelphia.  In  1758  he  commanded  the  New  York 
provincials,  consisting  of  about  5000  men,  upon  'the 
expedition  against  Canada  under  General  Abercrom- 
bie,  and  was  at  the  attempt  made  by  that  General  to 
storm  Ticonderoga.  He  served  the  whole  of  that  cam- 
paign.    He  was  for  many  years  an  active  member  in 


HISTORY  OF  KEW  YORK. 


157 


the  General  Assembly.  He  served  for  the  City.  He 
was  afterwards,  by  his  Majesty's  royal  Mandamus, 
removed  to  the  Council  Board,  where  he  continued 
until  the  commencement  of  the  late  American  rebellion. 
He  joined  General  Howe  upon  his  arrival  at  Staten 
Island  in  June,  1776,  and  had  that  General  profited 
by  his  honest  advice,  the  American  war,  I  will  be 
bold  to  say,  would  have  ended  in  a  very  different 
manner  from  what  it  did.  At  this  time  he  raised  a 
Brigade  consisting-  of  three  Battalions  of  500  men 
each,  of  which  he  was  appointed  Brigadier.  Two  of 
the  Battalions  served  in  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas, 
from  the  time  the  British  Army  landed  in  Georgia 
until  the  final  evacuation  of  Charleston,  with  the 
whole  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  (by  order  of  the 
New  Ministry,  which  took  place  in  February,  1 782),  with 
honour,  credit,  reputation,  and  the  utmost  gallantry. 
One  of  these  Battalions  during  the  period  aforesaid 
was  commanded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stephen  De 
Lancey,  the  other  by  Col.  John  Harris  Cruger,  the 
former  the  eldest  son,  the  latter  the  son-in-law  of  the 
Brigadier-General.  The  third  Battalion  remained 
during  the  whole  war  within  the  British  lines  at  New 
York,  and  were  employed  solely  in  protecting  the 
wood-cutters  upon  Lloyds  Neck,  in  Queens  County,  on 
Long  Island.  It  was  a  material  piece  of  business,  and  to 
do  the  Battalion  justice,  was  well  conducted.  Prior  to 
the  evacuation  of  New  York,  which  took  place  in  Nov- 
ember, 1783,  the  Brigadier  went  to  England,  and  died 
at  Beverly,  in  Yorkshire,  the  27th  Oct.,  1785,  and  lies 
buried  in  the  Cathedral  Church  in  the  City  of  Beverly. 

Of  the  daughters,  Susannah,  the  eldest,  married  the 
late  Admiral  Sir  Peter  Warren,  by  whom  she  had  three 
daughters  ;  the  eldest  married  Lieut.-Gen.  Charles  Fitz- 


I58  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

roy,  first  Baron  Southampton ;  the  second,  Col.  Wil- 
liam Skinner  of  the  Army ;  and  the  youngest,  Willoughby 
Bertie,  fourth  Earl  of  Abingdon.  The  second  daugh- 
ter, Anne,  married  John  Watts,  Esq.,  an  eminent  Mer- 
chant of  New  York,  a  gentleman  of  family,  of  character 
and  reputation,  opulent,  and  of  a  disposition  remarkable 
for  the  most  unbounded  hospitality.  He  served  many 
years  as  a  representative  for  the  City  of  New  York, 
and  more  perhaps,  afterwards,  as  one  of  his  Majesty's 
Council.  He  was  obliged  to  leave  New  York  at  the 
very  commencement  of  the  rebellion  and  go  to  Eng- 
land for  safety.  Notwithstanding  which,  he  was,  as 
has  been  already  mentioned,  proscribed  by  the  rebel 
Legislature  of  New  York,  his  person  attainted,  and  his 
estate  confiscated. 


- 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


It  was  in  June,  1778,  when  the  banished,  the  loyal, 
and  the  patriotic  William  Smith,  Esq.,  after  an  absence 
of  more  than  three  years  among  his  friends  and  relations 
in  the  rebel  country,  once  more  set  his  foot  upon 
British  ground  by  being  landed  at  New  York.  About 
the  same  time  the  British  Commissioners  for  re- 
storing peace  in  America  arrived  in  New  York  from 
Philadelphia.  A  former  intimacy  which  had  subsisted 
between  Smith  and  Andrew  Elliot,  Esq.,  who  was, 
before  the  war,  Collector  of  the  Port  and  Receiver 
General  of  the  King's  Quit  rents  within  the  province 
oT  New  York,  and  at  this  time,  by  General  Howe's 
appointment,  Superintendent  of  the  Police,  and  of  all 
imports  and  exports  in  and  out  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  was  now  revived.  Their  religion  was  the 
same,  their  politics  nearly  the  same.  Smith  hired 
a  house  in  the  Bowery  lane,  and  by  that  means 
became  the  near  neighbour  of  Elliot,  to  whom  he  now 
paid  great  court,  and  by  dint  of  artifice,  hypocrisy, 
and  adulation,  wormed  himself  into  the  good  graces 
of  Elliot  more  than  ever,  which  was  no  difficult  matter 
for  a  man  of  art  to  do,  Elliot  being  a  good  natured, 
inoffensive  person,  with  a  narrow  capacity,  small  in- 


T6o  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

tellect,  and  little  disguise.  The  Commissioners  con- 
sisted of  the  Earl  of  Carlisle,  a  Scotch  Nobleman, 
Governor  Johnstone,  a  gentleman  of  the  same  nation, 
and  William  Eden,  Esq.,  an  Englishman,  who  was 
married  to  a  sister  of  Elliot.  By  this  means  an  inti- 
macy soon  took  place  between  the  Commissioners  and 
Elliot ;  and  through  his  interest  Smith  was  introduced 
to  them  as  a  most  loyal  subject,  who  had  suffered 
great  persecution  in  the  rebel  country,  was  banished 
for  his  loyalty,  and  was,  in  short,  more  capable  of  giving 
the  Commissioners  information  of  the  real  state  of  the 
rebels,  and  the  disposition  of  the  people  without  the 
British  lines,  than  any  man  in  the  province.  An  intimacy 
of  course  soon  took  place.  Smith  was  here,  there, 
and  everywhere  ;  in  all  companies,  at  all  times,  and 
upon  all  occasions,  with  one  or  another  of  the  Commis- 
sioners. The  time  was  precious.  It  was  not  to  be 
wasted.  Smith  made  the  most  of  it.  He  cajoled,  he 
flattered,  he  fawned,  he  lied,  and  buzzed  into  the  heads 
of  the  Commissioners  a  thousand  things  which  never 
existed  but  in  his  own  fertile  imagination.  He  soon 
became  the  favourite,  the  confidant,  the  bosom  friend 
of  Eden. 

The  Commissioners,  having  stayed  long  enough  in 
America  to  expend  many  thousands  of  the  public 
money  to  no  purpose ;  to  be  despised  by  the  Loyalists, 
laughed  at,  abused,  insulted,  and  ridiculed  by  Congress; 
published  some  useless  declarations,  issued  some  fool- 
ish, idle,  trifling  proclamations ;  attempted  to  bribe 
some  of  the  leading  members  of  Congress  without 
effect ;  and  being  denied  the  liberty  of  seeing  the 
country  and  conversing  with  the  American  patriots,1 

1  This  appellation  is  given  them  by  Governor  Johnstone  in  one  of  his  lcttero  to 

a  member  of  Congress. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


1 6 1 


which  was  as  submissively  asked  as  insultingly  re- 
fused, returned  to  England. 

In  pursuance  of  a  settled  plan  between  General 
Robertson,  Eden,  Elliot,  and  Smith,  the  General  ob- 
tained leave  of  absence  and  soon  followed  the  Com- 
missioners to  England,  where  becoming  a  voluntary 
witness  against  Sir  William  Howe  at  the  Bar  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  by  there  delivering  a  long 
idle  testimony,  filled  with  repugnancies,  contradictions, 
and  inconsistencies,  Lord  George  Germaine  took  him 
by  the  hand  and  became  his  friend  and  patron.  Rob- 
ertson now  insinuated  things  to  the  disadvantage, 
and  propagated  falsehoods  to  the  prejudice,  of  Gen- 
eral Tryon,  then  Governor  of  New  York.  He  suc- 
ceeded to  the  utmost  of  his  wishes.  Tryon  was  dis- 
placed, and  Robertson  appointed  his  successor.  The 
business  was  not  yet  complete.  The  Commission  of 
Lieutenant-Governor,  and  that  of  Chief  Justice,  were 
both  vacant.  Robertson  and  Eden  applied  to  have 
them  filled  up.  The  request  was  complied  with,  and, 
upon  their  recommendation,  Elliot  got  the  former 
and  Smith  the  latter.  Nor  did  the  Ministry  at  that 
time  ever  suspect  they  were  doing  an  unpopular  act. 
So  far  from  it,  they  were  made  to  believe  that  the  in- 
fluence of  these  gentlemen  was  so  very  great  that 
one-half  of  the  province  would  instantly  come  in, 
and  the  remainder  in  a  short  time  lay  down  their 
arms,  submit  to  his  Majesty's  Government  return 
to  the  blessings  of  peace,  and  to  the  enjoyment  of 
civil  law,  which  Robertson  was  to  re-establish  upon 
his  arrival  at  New  York.  This  the  Ministry  were 
made  to  believe.  This  they  undoubtedly  did  be- 
lieve. The  appointments  in  consequence  thereof  took 
place.  The  whole  proved  a  mere  deception.  The 
n 


l62 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Ministry  relied  upon  Robertson,  and  were  most 
horribly  imposed  upon. 

The  characters  of  these  gentlemen  shall  now  be 
exhibited  at  full  length,  that  the  public  may  for  them- 
selves judge  of  the  propriety  of  such  appointments 
in  such  a  province  as  New  York,  at  the  very  critical 
time  in  which  these  appointments  took  place. 

Robertson  was  born  in  Scotland.  He  served  in 
the  Army  first  as  a  private,  then  as  a  sergeant,  and  at 
Carthagena,  in  the  West  Indies,  in  1740,  he  obtained 
an  Ensigncy.  Being  a  true  Scot,  assiduous,  flattering, 
and  submissive,  he  rose  in  the  army  by  degrees.  He 
came  to  America  in  1756,  as  a  Major  in  one  of  the 
Battalions  of  the  Royal  Americans  then  raising  in  that 
country.  He  was  afterwards  for  many  years  Barrack 
Master  there.  This  department  was  so  well  managed 
that  in  a  few  years,  from  a  man  of  slender  fortune,  he 
became  possessed  of  a  very  large  estate.  He  had 
different  methods  of  accumulating  riches  ;  among  the 
rest,  as  Barrack  Master,  he  used  to  receive  Govern- 
ment half  Joes  to  discharge  the  necessary  bargains 
and  contracts  made  in  consequence  of  his  office.  The 
creditors  being  in  his  power,  were  obliged  to  take 
such  money  as  he  offered  them  ;  he  therefore  fell  upon 
a  method  of  clipping  the  half  Joes  and  palming  them 
(thus  disburdened  of  their  weight)  upon  his  creditors, 
and  applying  the  clippings  to  his  own  use.  This  fact 
was  so  well  known  in  New  York,  that  a  light  half  Joe 
at  length  became  proverbial,  and  went  by  the  name 
of  a  "  Robertson."  1    To  such  a  height  did  this  rnis- 

1  Chastellux  in  his  travels  through  America  says :  "  An  amazing  quantity  of 
"Spanish  and  Portugal  Gold  was  sent  from  England  to  America  during  the  war." 
"  These,"  adds  he,  "  as  well  as  English  Guineas  found  their  way,  about  the  middle 
"period  of  the  war,  in  great  abundance  into  the  American  part  of  the  continent, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


chief  at  length  arise,  and  the  light  half  Joes  became  so 
plenty,  that  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  obliged  to 
apply  a  remedy,  by  passing  a  resolve  that  no  half  Joe 
should  pass  within  the  City  of  New  York  for  more 
than  its  real  intrinsic  value.  This  put  an  effectual 
stop  to  the  fraudulent  practice.  Almost  every  person 
in  the  province  was  a  loser,  the  old  General  excepted, 
who  calmly  pocketed  the  ill-gotten  pelf  without  the 
least  remorse  or  strain  upon  his  conscience,  though 
gained  at  the  expense  of  the  poor  and  the  indigent, 
the  widow  and  the  orphan.  This  gentleman,  when  ap- 
pointed Governor  of  New  York,  was  so  far  from  hav- 
ing any  interest,  popularity,  or  influence  in  the  Colony, 
that  he  was  universally  despised  and  execrated  by  its 
inhabitants,  and  cursed  for  his  peculation  in  almost 
every  circle  within  the  British  lines.  After  his  arrival 
and  qualification  as  Governor,  he  so  often  broke  and 
forfeited  his  word,  his  honour,  and  his  promises,  that 
the  people  lost  all  confidence  in  him.  He  treated  the 
gentlemen  and  citizens  of  New  York  (a  few  favourites 
excepted)  with  all  the  haughtiness,  superciliousness, 
and  contempt  natural  to  the  pride  of  a  rich  and 
opulent  Scot.  The  poor  farmers  who  applied  for  re- 
dress against  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  Military  he  in- 
sulted and  abused.  That  such  an  appointment  should 
be  made  in  times  so  critical  as  those  at  that  period 
were,  was  most  extraordinary.  The  province  was 
then  overrun  with  faction,  sedition,  treason,  and  rebel- 
lion. That  such  a  man  should  be  thought  a  proper 
person  to  reclaim  the  rebel,  soothe  the  factious,  con- 

"  where  they  circulated  in  a  variety  of  mutilated  forms.  The  moidores  and  six 
"  and  thirtieths  had  all  holes  punched  in  them,  or  were  otherwise  diminished  at 
"  New  York  before  passing  the  lines.  These  were  called,"  says  he,  "  '  Robertsons,' 
in  the  rebel  country." 


164  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

ciliate  the  affections  of  his  Majesty's  deluded  subjects, 
and  to  favour  and  please  the  Loyalists,  was  still  more 
extraordinary.  He  was  at  the  time  near  eighty  years 
of  age,  sickly,  infirm,  and  paralytic ;  consequently  a 
most  improper  person  to  govern  a  province  at  a  time 
when  every  exertion  of  vigour,  of  activity,  and  spirit  was 
required,  wanted,  and  absolutely  necessary.  Besides 
his  other  infirmities,  he  was  in  an  actual  state  of 
dotage ;  at  least  if  running  after  little  misses,  if  wad- 
dling about  town  with  a  couple  of  young  tits  about 
twelve  years  of  age  under  each  arm,  if  kneeling  at  the 
feet,  and  kissing  the  hands  of  what  he  called  "  the  beau- 
tiful little  Goddesses ;  "  if  sighing,  languishing,  and  bend- 
ing at  the  shrine  of  such  misses,  and  lavishing  away 
the  City  funds  upon  every  well-dressed  little  female 
could  be  looked  upon  as  instances  of  dotage,  then 
General  Robertson  was  most  certainly  in  a  perfect  state 
of  dotage.  If  a  conduct  like  this  is  beneath  the  dignity, 
the  honour,  and  character  of  a  Governor,  a  General, 
and  an  old  soldier,  then  Robertson  upon  taking  pos- 
session of  his  Government  daily  acted  a  part  beneath 
his  dignity,  and  inconsistent  with  the  conduct  of  a 
man  of  sense.  He  was  the  ridicule,  the  laughing-stock 
of  the  citizens.  But  if  such  qualities  were  proper, 
necessary,  and  requisite  in  a  Governor  and  a  General 
in  America,  in  the  most  dangerous  and  perilous  times, 
then  the  Ministry  certainly  made  a  most  judicious 
choice  in  his  appointment.  But  if  such  qualities  were 
objections  rather  than  stimulatives  to  such  a  promotion, 
then  Robertson's  was  a  most  extraordinary  one  indeed, 
especially  as,  to  make  way  for  the  appointment,  Gen- 
eral Tryon  (who  had  served  his  sovereign  as  Governor 
of  the  province  for  many  years,  with  honour  to  himself, 
with  satisfaction  to  the  people,  and  to  the  approbation 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  1 65 

of  his  royal  Master)  was  displaced  without  a  single 
reason  or  a  cause  assigned.  A  gentleman  of  activity, 
whose  honesty,  honour,  sincerity,  and  probity  no  man 
in  the  province  ever  suspected,  whose  word  was  as 
sacred  and  as  binding  as  his  obligation.  He  was 
beloved,  esteemed,  and  almost  adored  by  the  people 
in  the  Colony.  While  Governor  he  heard  all  com- 
plaints with  the  utmost  patience.  His  ears  were  al- 
ways open,  as  well  to  the  poor  as  to  the  rich  ;  he  was 
easy  of  access  ;  he  refused  admittance  to  no  man  ;  he 
was  kind,  charitable,  humane,  and  benevolent ;  had 
ever  the  good  of  his  country  at  heart ;  despised,  ab- 
horred, and  abominated  all  kind  of  peculation  ;  he  never 
did  a  mean  act  while  Governor  of  the  Colony  ;  he 
was  universally  looked  upon  as  a  brave  soldier,  an 
honest  man,  and  a  good  Christian.  Yet  this  gentle- 
man, a  gentleman  of  more  estimation  among  the  in- 
habitants  than  perhaps  any  Governor  ever  sent  to 
rule  the  province,  was  superseded,  without  the  shadow 
of  a  reason,  to  make  way  for  an  appointment  the  most 
unpopular,  the  most  obnoxious,  and  the  most  disgust- 
ing of  any  one,  perhaps,  ever  made  in  the  Colony  of 
New  York. 

Elliot  was  also  a  Scotchman,  and  was  sent  from  that 
country  to  Philadelphia  while  a  youth,  and  served  a 
regular  apprenticeship  in  the  counting-house  of  a  mer- 
chant, is  a  gentleman  of  great  good  nature,  of  trifling 
abilities,  and  of  very  little  literary  knowledge.  His  re- 
ligion is  that  of  the  Scotch  presbyterians.  When  out  of 
his  time  he  married  a  Scottish  lady  in  Philadelphia  and 
entered  into  business  in  the  mercantile  line.  His  wife 
dying  not  long  after,  he  married  again.  His  second  wife 
had  a  large  and  independent  fortune  in  Pennsylvania. 
Being  thus  possessed  in  right  of  his  wife  to  an  ample 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


and  affluent  estate,  he  left  Philadelphia  and  returned  to 
Great  Britain,  where  (through  the  interest  of  his  brother, 
the  late  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot)  he  obtained  and  enjoyed  a 
place  of  honour  and  profit  in  the  household  of  the  late 
Princess  Dowager  of  Wales.  About  the  year  1773,  he 
was  appointed  Collector  of  the  Customs  for  the  Port  of 
New  York,  and  Receiver  General  of  his  Majesty's 
Quit  rents  within  the  province.  Upon  this  he  left 
England  with  his  family,  and  fixed  his  residence  in  the 
City  of  New  York.  From  this  period  until  the  evac- 
uation of  New  York  in  consequence  of  Mr.  Oswald's 
most  glorious  peace,  he  confined  himself  to  almost  an 
actual  residency  within  the  limits  of  the  city.  He  was 
scarcely  known  to  a  soul  at  the  distance  of  twenty 
miles  from  it.  His  acquaintance  principally  consisted 
of  a  little  circle  of  Scottish  friends ;  he  was  kind, 
friendly,  and  hospitable  to  his  countrymen  and  friends ; 
was  generous  to  the  poor;  was  a  gentleman  born; 
and  had  a  good  heart.  But  being  a  stranger,  and  con- 
fining himself  to  small  select  companies  of  intimates, 
his  influence  in  the  province  was  extremely  trifling,  his 
popularity  among  the  generality  of  the  inhabitants 
none  at  all,  consequently  a  most  improper  man  for  such 
an  appointment  at  a  time  when  the  affairs  of  the 
Colony  stood  in  so  critical  and  dangerous  a  situation. 
He  was  by  no  means  calculated  to  reclaim  the  disaf- 
fected, or  conciliate  the  affections  of  his  Majesty's 
deluded  subjects.1    Upon  the  rebel  Declaration  of  In- 

1  In  the  summer  of  1775  a  party  of  republicans,  at  the  head  of  which  was'lsaac 
Sears,  with  Alexander  McDougal  and  John  Smith,  Esq.,  called  upon  him  at  his 
country  seat  about  two  miles  out  of  town  and  demanded  the  key  of  the  Custom-house 
and  Receiver  General's  Office.  He  refused  to  deliver  them  himself,  but  told  Sears 
where  to  find  them.  They  were  accordingly  taken  away,  and  the  provincial  Con- 
vention immediately  possessed  themselves  of  all  the  records  and  papers  belonging 
to,  and  deposited  in  those  offices.     Whether  there  was  any  particular  design  or 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


167 


dependence  he  retired  with  his  family  and  effects  into 
New  Jersey.  Upon  the  reduction  of  New  York  by 
the  Royal  Army  he  returned,  and  in  the  spring-  of 
1777,  General  Howe  by  proclamation  appointed  him 
Superintendent  of  the  Police  within  the  British  lines, 
and  also  of  all  imports  and  exports  into  and  out  of 
the  port  of  New  York.  In  1779,  upon  the  recommen- 
dation and  interest  of  Robertson  and  Eden  as  before 
mentioned,  he  was  made  Lieutenant-Governor  of  New 
York,  a  Member  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  and  one  of 
the  Council  to  the  Commissioners  for  Restoring  Peace 
to  the  Colonies.1  All  of  which  commissions,  honours, 
and  places,  with  the  amazing  large  salaries  and  emolu- 
ments, profits  and  advantages  arising  therefrom,  he 
held  until  the  evacuation  of  New  York  took  place  in 
November,  17S3. 

Smith's  character,  with  the  particulars  of  his  birth, 
parentage,  and  education,  having  been  already,  and 
will  be  again  so  often  mentioned,  so  fully  explained, 
and  particularly  commented  upon,  that  it  is  needless  to 
give  it  again  at  large  in  this  place.  Let  me  only  add, 
that  it  remains  much  the  same  as  it  did  in  17 S3,  except 
only,  that  after  an  experience  of  30  years  he  has 
greatly  improved  in  all  that  art,  cunning,  chicanery, 

contrivance  in  this  transaction  I  know  not.  People  spoke  differently  of  it  at  the 
time.  I  have  mentioned  the  facts,  the  public  are  left  to  judge  for  themselves.  One 
thing  is  rather  remarkable.  John  Morin  Scott,  Esq.,  I  suppose  by  mere  accident, 
happened  to  pop  in  at  the  time,  and  by  his  advice  Mr.  Elliot  in  this  matter  was 
guided.  Scott  was  one  of  the  provincial  Congress  and  a  member  of  the  City 
Committee. 

'  This  was  a  New  Board  established  through  the  interest  of  Robertson.  He  was 
at  the  head  of  it,  Elliot  next,  and  Smith  3d.  It  consisted  of  12  members,  they 
had  nothing  to  do.  It  was  well  known  at  the  time  that  Congress  would  not  treat 
but  upon  certain  conditions  which  Great  Britain  was  then  determined  never  to 
grant.  Fighting  was  the  only  way  to  restore  peace.  The  Commission  continued 
in  force  for  thice  years,  and  each  Commissioner  received  2  guineas  a  day  besides 
rations  of  wood,  &c.    Thus  went  the  cash  of  poor  John  Bull. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


dissimulation,  hypocrisy,  and  adulation,  which  he  pos- 
sessed in  so  eminent  a  degree  while  a  youth  ;  and 
which  ever  was,  and  ever  will  be,  the  true  character 
istic  of  a  person  professing-  the  religion  of  a  New 
England  dissenter,  and  the  politics  of  an  English  re- 
publican. 

Let  us  now  leave  politics  for  a  while,  and  return  to 
the  Military  operations  in  America.  They  have  been 
already  traced  from  the  landing  of  the  King's  troops 
upon  Long  Island  in  August,  1776,  to  the  conquest  of 
New  Jersey  in  the  month  of  December  following,  and 
the  cantonment  of  a  large  party  of  the  royal  army  in 
that  Colony.  Washington,  who  was  flying  before 
General  Howe,  who  did  not  attempt  to  pass  the  Dela- 
ware, stopped  at  Philadelphia.  His  army  consisted 
of  about  4,000  men.  Getting  intelligence  that  Gene- 
ral Howe  had  returned  to  New  York,  that  a  body  of 
Hessians  were  quartered  at  Trenton  in  a  very  dis- 
orderly manner,  that  they  had  no  fortifications  erected, 
and  of  the  character  of  their  Commander  who  was 
extremely  fond  of  liquors  and  intoxicated  the  greatest 
part  of  his  time,  and  the  ill  terms  they  stood  upon  with 
the  inhabitants  in  consequence  of  their  indiscriminate 
plunder  and  brutish  behaviour,  he  ordered  what  con- 
tinental troops  could  be  spared  from  Virginia  and 
Maryland  to  join  him  at  Philadelphia,  and  formed  a 
plan  for  surprising  the  Hessian  troops  in  Trenton. 
Colonel  Rahll,  who  commanded  them,  had  some  infor- 
mation of  the  design.  He  had  it  in  different  ways,  from 
different  people,  but  he  gave  it  no  credit,  and  of  course 
took  no  steps  to  guard  against  it.  In  the  night  of  the 
1st  of  January,  1 777,  Washington  with  about  3,000  men, 
scarcely  disciplined,  passed  the  Delaware  some  miles 
above  Trenton,  and  marched  for  that  place;  upon  re- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


169 


cciving  this  news  Rahll  mustered  his  men,  amounting 
to  a  number  nearly  equal  to  Washington's,  well  dis- 
ciplined, and  flushed  with  the  conquests  of  the  last 
campaign,  and  marched  out  to  meet  him.  This  being 
the  depth  of  winter,  the  weather  was  intensely  cold. 
Washington  had  no  cannon,  Rahll  some  very  fine 
field-pieces.  The  two  parties  met  early  in  the  morn- 
ing in  a  heavy  snow  storm.  The  wind  was  in  the 
back  of  the  rebels,  in  consequence,  it  was  an  advan- 
tage to  them.  The  snow  blew  directly  in  the  face  of 
the  Hessians ;  they  were  besides  incumbered  with 
plunder  which  they  had  picked  up  in  the  march.  In  a 
few  minutes  after  the  action  ( commenced  Rahll  was 
mortally  wounded.  The  Hessians  became  panic  struck, 
hove  down  their  arms,  and  surrendered  themselves 
prisoners  of  war,  with  the  loss  of  their  colors,  their 
baggage,  and  cannon.  The  prisoners  were  sent  to 
Philadelphia,  and  treated  with  insult.  They  wyere 
paraded  about  the  City  as  a  spectacle  to  the  people. 
The  officers,  though  some  of  them  field  ones,  and  con- 
nected with  some  of  the  best  families  in  Germany,  were 
not  exempt  from  this  parade.  Officers  and  privates  all 
fared  alike.  This  was  rebel  generosity,  of  which  they 
made  such  a  brag  during  the  whole  of  the  war.  The 
colors  were  hung-  up  in  Carpenters  Hall.  The  field- 
pieces  being  brass,  were  an  acquisition  to  the  rebel  ar- 
my. Washington  after  his  victory  entered  Trenton  in 
triumph.  Here  he  exhibited  an  instance  of  virtue,  of 
prudence,  of  generosity,  and  of  policy.  He  possessed 
himself  of  all  the  Hessian  plunder,  to  a  very  large 
amount,  which  he  found  in  the  quarters  of  the  officers 
and  in  the  barracks  of  the  soldiers.  He  advertised 
for  all  persons  to  come  in  and  prove  their  property  in 
the  stolen  goods  ;  and  to  all  such  as  made  out  a  title, 


170 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  effects  were  delivered.  This  act  gained  him  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  It  gave  him  an  influence,  a 
popularity,  and  a  character  in  New  Jersey  of  which  he 
made  the  most  proper  use. 

After  the  defeat  of  Rahll,  and  the  capture  of  his 
party,  Washington  made  forced  marches,  and  in  a  day 
or  two,  after  a  few  skirmishes  on  the  road,  arrived,  and 
fixed  his  head  quarters,  at  Morristown.  In  conse- 
quence of  which,  the  British  General,  instead  of  fol- 
lowing the  rebel  army,  and  driving  them  out  of  New 
Jersey,  withdrew  his  own  troops  from  Mount  Holly, 
Maidenhead,  Princeton,  and  other  places,  where  they 
were  cantoned,  and  fixed  their  quarters  at  New  Bruns- 
wick and  Amboy ;  thus  giving  up,  and  abandoning, 
the  whole  province  to  the  rebels,  (the  two  last  men- 
tioned towns  excepted).  There  were  not  less  than 
5,000  troops  in  each  of  these  towns,  and  a  regiment 
lay  at  Woodbridge 1  to  keep  the  communication 
open.  Both  Amboy  and  Brunswick  lay  upon  the 
Raritan.  Everything  of  course  necessary  for  the  gar- 
rison could  be  transported  from  New  York  by  water. 
The  troops  in  these  towns  were  fairly  cooped  up  by 
the  rebels  during  the  remainder  of  the  winter.2  Their 
numbers  were  sufficient  to  have  driven  Washington 
out  of  Jersey  with  the  greatest  ease.  But  orders 
were  wanting.    Cornwallis  commanded  at  Brunswick, 

1  About  half  way  between  Brunswick  and  Amboy. 

•  Gordon  says,  by  the  time  that  the  rebels  got  to  Morristown,  they  were  so  ex- 
cessively fatigued  that  a  fresh  and  resolute  body  of  500  men  might  have  demol- 
ished the  whole.  Numbers  laid  down  in  the  woods  and  fell  asleep  without  regard- 
ing the  coldness  of  the  weather.  At  this  time  the  royal  army  in  New  Jersey  con- 
sisted of  at  least  10,000  men,  and  as  many  more  in  New  York.  And  this  fatigued, 
worn  out  army  of  Washington,  consisting  of  less  than  4,000  men,  at  the  time  when 
they  reached  Morristown,  was  the  only  army  that  Congress  then  had,  and  yet  no  at- 
tempts were  made  to  beat  up  their  quarters,  disperse  them,  and  put  an  end  to  the 
rebellion. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  I  7 1 

Vaughn  at  Amboy,  both  generals  of  spirit.  Nothing 
could  be  done  without  the  directions  of  the  Command- 
er-in-Chief, who  was  diverting  himself  in  New  York, 
in  feasting,  gunning,  banqueting,  and  in  the  arms  of 
Mrs.  Loring.  Not  a  stick  of  wood,  a  spear  of  grass, 
or  a  kernel  of  corn,  could  the  troops  in  New  Jersey 
procure  without  fighting  for  it,  unless  sent  from  New 
York.  Every  foraging  party  was  attacked  in  some 
way  or  another.  The  losses  upon  these  occasions 
were  nearly  equal,  they  could  be  called  nothing  more 
than  mere  skirmishes,  but  hundreds  of  them  happened 
in  the  course  of  the  winter.  The  British,  however, 
lost  men  who  were  not  easily  replaced.  The  rebel 
loss  was  soon  repaired  by  drafts  from  the  militia.  It 
was  of  further  service  to  the  rebels ;  it  taught  them 
the  art  of  war;  it  inured  them  to  hardships,  and  it 
emboldened  them  to  look  a  British  or  a  Hessian  sol- 
dier in  the  face,  whose  very  phiz  would  make  a  hun- 
dred of  them  run,  after  the  Battle  of  Brookland,  and 
prior  to  the  affair  of  Trenton. 

When  the  news  of  the  unlucky  affair  at  Trenton 
arrived  at  New  York,  Erasmus  Phillips,  Esq.,  Captain 
of  Grenadiers  in  the  45th  Regiment,  was  there.  He 
immediately  set  off  to  join  his  regiment  in  Jersey.  He 
was  attended  by  a  servant  only.  As  he  passed  through 
Princeton  he  was  observed  by  three  persons  who  were 
concealed  in  a  house  in  that  place.  The  house  stood 
upon  the  road.  The  Captain  was  to  pass  the  door. 
When  he  came  directly  opposite,  the  three  assassins 
fired,  and  lodged  three  bullets  in  his  body.  He  in- 
stantly fell  from  his  horse  dead.  The  servant  escaped. 
One  of  the  party  who  committed  the  murder,  his  nime 
shall  be  mentioned,  was  a  John  Livingston,  one  of  the 
sons  of  Robert  R.  Livingston,  late  one  of  the  Judges 


172 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  province  of  New  York. 
This  barbarian,  in  a  public  company  at  Middletown,  in 
Connecticut,  boasted  of  this  horrid  murder  as  an  act 
of  heroism,  a  noble  achievement ;  and  so  little  remorse 
had  he  for  this  cruel  act  in  which  he  had  taken  a  prin- 
cipal part,  that  he  declared,  "  That  Captain  Phillips 
"  made  one  of  the  handsomest  corpses  he  had  ever  be- 
"  held.  We  stripped  him,"  says  he,  "  of  all  his  clothes 
"  and  left  him  naked  in  the  street.  I  thought,"  added 
he,  "  that  I  should  have  been  obliged  to  have  cut  his 
"  head  off,  to  get  at  his  diamond  stock  buckle,  but  I 
"  effected  my  purpose  by  breaking  his  neck,  and  turn- 
"  ing  his  head  topsy  turvy."  This  he  concluded  with  a 
broad  laugh,  taking  off  his  own  stock  and  saying,  "  Be- 
"  hold  the  buckle,  it  was  worth  the  pains  of  breaking 
"  a  dead  man's  neck  for."  I  make  no  observations 
upon  this  anecdote,  but  leave  the  unprejudiced  part  of 
the  world  to  judge  for  themselves.  The  Americans 
ever  boasted  that  they  were  never  guilty  of  inhuman- 
ity during  the  war.  What  I  have  related  in  this  mat- 
ter, I  aver  as  facts,  can  be  proved  by  numbers ;  let  the 
public  judge  whether  a  more  barbarous,  cruel,  unchris- 
tianlike  act  was  ever  committed  among  civilized  nations. 
But  it  was  done  by  rebels.  It  was  an  act  of  rebellion, 
and  done  by  people  who  bragged  of  their  humanity. 
The  Captain  was  in  the  power  of  these  rebel  partisans. 
They  might  have  made  him  a  prisoner,  had  they  so 
pleased.  But  murder  was  their  aim,  his  blood  their 
desire.  The  Indian  that  conceals  himself  in  the  woods, 
kills  an  unarmed  man  unsuspicious  of  his  danger, 
takes  off  his  scalp,  robs  him  of  his  clothes,  and  makes 
his  escape,  acts  a  part  far  less  unworthy  of  his  char- 
acter than  the  part  acted  by  these  three  Christian  mur- 
derers. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


173 


It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  General  Lee 
was  surprised  by  Colonel  Harcourt  in  New  Jersey, 
carried  to  Trenton,  and  from  thence  sent  to  New  York. 
It  was  industriously  reported  throughout  the  revolted 
Colonies  from  one  end  to  the  other,  that  he  was  treat- 
ed with  the  utmost  severity,  received  the  most  cruel 
usage,  and  was  confined  in  a  common  prison.  This 
report,  scandalous,  false,  and  infamous  as  it  was,  met 
with  general  belief  in  the  rebel  States.  It  was  no  won- 
der.  The  British  General  took  no  pains  to  convince 
the  public  to  the  contrary,  though  several  British 
officers  (then  prisoners  among  the  rebels)  suffered 
severely  from  the  report.  General  Lee  was  confined 
in  the  Council  Chamber  in  the  City  Hall,  one  of  the 
genteelest  public  rooms  in  the  City,  square,  compact, 
tight,  and  warm.  A  sentry,  it  is  true,  stood  at  his  door. 
His  firewood  and  candles  were  provided  for  him.  He 
had  directions  to  order  a  dinner  every  day  from  a  pub- 
lic house,  sufficient  for  six  people,  with  what  liquor  he 
wanted,  and  of  what  kind  he  pleased.  He  had  the 
privilege  of  asking  any  five  friends  he  thought  proper, 
to  dine  with  him  each  day.  This  Avas  all  furnished  at 
the  expense  of  the.  nation.  Hull,  who  kept  the  City 
Arms  in  New  York,  waited  upon  him  by  General 
Howe's  orders,  with  a  bill  of  fare  every  morning,  and 
Lee  ordered  his  own  dinner,  and  his  own  liquors.  It 
was  cooked  at  Hull's,  and  always  upon  the  table  at  the 
time  appointed.  His  servant  had  free  access  to  him  at 
all  times.  Yet  by  way  of  retaliation  (as  it  was  pre- 
tended) Colonel  Campbell  (then  a  prisoner  in  the  Mas- 
sachusetts upon  parole)  was  taken  up,  lodged  in  a 
dungeon,  without  a  bed,  allowed  nothing  but  bread 
and  water,  denied  the  use  of  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  his 
servant  refused  admittance,  and  in  this  unhappy  situa- 


174 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


tion  did  he  continue  many  months,  while  Lee  was  wal- 
lowing in  luxury  at  the  expense  of  the  Crown.  Yet 
these  were  the  people,  who  upon  every  occasion 
boasted  of  their  lenity  and  humanity  to  British 
prisoners,  while  they  publicly  and  openly  taxed  the 
British  army  with  acts  of  barbarity  to  such  American 
prisoners  as  had  the  misfortune  to  fall  into  their  hands. 

Colonel  Campbell,  in  his  letter  to  General  Howe 
upon  this  occasion,  dated  Concord  jail,  14th  February, 
1777,  expresses  himself  thus:  "With  respect  to  your 
"  treatment  of  General  Lee,  I  can  scarcely  believe  it 
"  similar  to  mine.  I  am  lodged  in  a  dungeon  of 
"  twelve  by  thirteen  feet  square.  The  sides  black  with 
"  grease  and  litter  of  successive  criminals.  Two  doors, 
"  with  double  locks  and  bolts,  shut  me  from  the  yard, 
"  with  an  express  prohibition  to  enter  it  either  for 
"  health  or  the  necessary  calls  of  nature.  Two  small 
"  windows,  strongly  grated  with  iron,  introduce  a 
"  gloomy  light  to  the  apartment,  without  a  pane  of  glass 
"  in  either,  though  the  season  for  snow  and  frost  is 
"  actually  in  the  extreme.  In  the  corner  of  the  cell, 
"  boxed  up  within  a  partition,  stands  a  necessary  house, 
"  which  seems  not  to  have  been  emptied  since  its  first 
"  appropriation  to  this  use  for  malefactors,  a  loathsome 
"  black  hole,  with  a  pair  of  fixed  chairs  in  my  inner 
"  apartment,  from  which  a  felon  was  the  moment  be- 
"  fore  removed  to  make  room  for  me,  and  in  -which 
"  litter  and  excrement  still  remain.  The  attendance 
"  of  a  single  servant  is  denied  me,  and  every  visit  from 
"  a  friend  refused.  In  short,  was  a  fire  to  take  place 
"  in  my  chamber  in  the  jail,  which  is  all  wood  (the 
"  chimneys  excepted),  I  might  perish  in  the  flames  be- 
"  fore  the  jailor  could  go  through  the  ceremony  of  un- 
"  bolting  doors,  especially  as  his  house  is  at  some  dis- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


175 


"  tance  from  the  jail."  What  a  contrast  between  the 
usage  of  the  two  prisoners  !  Lee,  living  in  genteel 
apartments,  supplied  at  the  expense  of  the  nation  with 
all  the  luxuries  that  New  York  could  afford,  had  his 
friends  to  dine  with  him,  his  servant  to  attend  him,  a 
good  bed  to  sleep  upon,  into  which  he  tumbled  jovi- 
ally mellow  every  night  (for  to  do  him  justice  he  loved 
good  fellowship,  a  long  set,  a  good  dinner,  and  a  con- 
vivial glass,  when  he  could  enjoy  them  at  any  other 
expense  than  his  own).  How  different  was  the  usage 
received  by  Colonel  Campbell  as  described  in  his  let- 
ter before  mentioned.  And  yet  the  pious  Yankees 
had  the  assurance  to  give  out,  it  was  by  way  of  reta- 
liation for  Lee's  usage,  which  he  was  then  receiving 
in  New  York.  They  knew  better.  They  well  knew 
Lee's  generous  and  hospitable  treatment.  It  was  rank 
barbarity,  cursed  cruelty,  an  usage  that  the  most  sav- 
age nations  would  have  shuddered  at.  This  was  a 
transaction  performed  by  a  set  of  people  who  call 
themselves  the  holy,  elect,  and  chosen  ones  of  God, 
the  children  of  the  Lord.  These  very  people  were 
also,  at  this  very  time,  publishing  to  the  world  accounts 
of  their  great  humanity  to  British  prisoners,  and  the 
barbarity  of  the  British  to  theirs.  Yet  these  accounts 
(false  as  they  were)  gained  credit,  and  were  believed 
throughout  Europe,  because  they  were  publicly  and 
positively  asserted  as  facts,  and  to  the  shame  of  the 
British  Commanders  in  America,  were  never  contra- 
dicted, or  at  least  in  a  public,  authentic,  and  proper 
manner. 

Early  in  1777,  a  Captain  Dunbar  was  taken  up  at 
Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  for  enlisting  men  in  his  Ma- 
jesty's service;  his  commission  and  orders  from  Gen- 
eral Howe  were  in  his  pocket.    He  was  confined  in 


176 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


prison.  There  happened  to  be  no  existing  law  in  the 
Colony  which  made  such  an  offence  punishable  with 
•death.  A  law  was  therefore  made  on  purpose  ;  upon 
which  ex  post  facto  law  he  was  indicted  and  tried  for 
treason,  condemned,  and  ordered  for  execution.  No 
less  than  four  expresses,  at  four  different  times,  were 
sent  to  General  Howe  between  the  condemnation  and 
the  execution,  to  each  of  which  the  most  faithful  prom- 
ises were  made,  that  an  application  of  such  a  serious 
nature  should  be  made  to  the  Government  of  Connec- 
ticut as  should  insure  his  discharge.  (There  were 
about  400  rebel  officers  and  5,000  soldiers  at  this  time 
prisoners  within  the  British  lines  at  New  York.)  No 
application  was  ever  made,  and  while  the  General  was 
lolling  in  the  arms  of  his  mistress,  and  sporting  his 
cash  at  the  faro  bank,  the  poor  unhappy  Loyalist  was 
executed.  This  is  a  fact,  and  the  General  knows  it. 
His  word,  his  honour,  and  his  humanity,  were  all  sport- 
ed away  in  this  affair.  Dunbar  had  a  young  wife,  big 
with  child.  On  the  day  of  execution  the  High  Sheriff 
(by  orders  no  doubt)  compelled  her  to  ride  in  the  cart, 
and  attend  the  execution  of  her  husband.  This  over, 
she  left  Hartford,  and  went  to  Middletown,  about  six- 
teen miles  down  the  river,  where  a  number  of  Loyal- 
ists lived,  and  where  several  British  subjects  were  liv- 
ing upon  parole.  Her  case  being  stated,  a  subscrip- 
tion was  undertaken  for  her  comfort  and  relief.  No 
sooner  was  this  hospitable  act  known  to  the  Commit- 
tee at  Middletown,  than  they  sent  for  the  poor  woman, 
and  ordered  her  out  of  town,  declaring  at  the  same 
time  that  if  she  should  thereafter  be  found  in  that 
town,  she  should  be  sent  instantly  to  jail.1    The  un- 


1  The  Chairman  of  the  Committee  at  this  time  was  Titus  Hosmer,  Esq.,  a  lawyer 
of  note,  one  of  the  C;uncil  of  the  State,  a  rigid  prcsbytcrian,  a  zealous  republi- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


177 


happy  wretch  was  obliged  to  leave  the  town  in  conse- 
quence of  this  inhuman  order,  and  had  it  not  been  for 
the  hospitality  of  a  worthy  loyal  family,  who  kindly 
took  her  under  their  roof,  she  would  in  all  probability 
have  been  delivered  in  the  open  fields.  A  striking  in- 
stance this  of  American  lenity,  which  the  rebels  dur- 
ing the  war  proclaimed  to  the  world  with  so  much 
eclat. 

In  the  month  of  March,  1777,  Colonel  Bird,  with  a 
detachment  of  the  British  army,  went  up  the  Hudson, 
and  at  Peekskill,  in  the  County  of  Westchester,  de- 
stroyed all  the  rebel  magazines,  barracks,  and  store- 
houses erected  at  that  place,  with  an  amazing  quantity 
of  provisions,  military  stores,  clothing  and  accoutre- 
ments, of  almost  every  kind  ;  demolished  their  fortifi- 
cations, and  returned  to  New  York  without  the  loss  of 
a  man. 

This  month  was  remarkable  for  the  investiture  of 
General  Howe  with  the  order  of  the  Bath  ;  a  reward 
for  evacuating  Boston,  for  lying  indolent  upon  Staten 
Island  for  near  two  months,  for  suffering  the  whole 
rebel  army  to  escape  him  upon  Long  Island,  and  again 
at  the  White  Plains  ;  for  not  pjitting  an  end  to  rebellion 
in  1776,  when  so  often  in  his  power;  for  making  such 
injudicious  cantonments  of  his  troops  in  Jersey  as  he 
did,  and  for  suffering  10,000  veterans  under  expe- 
rienced generals,  to  be  cooped  up  in  Brunswick,  and 
Amboy,  for  nearly  six  months,  by  about  6,000  militia, 
under  the  command  of  an  inexperienced  general. 

In  April,  1777,  General  Tryon  with  2,000  men  went 
up  the  Sound,  landed  at  Compo,  near  Norwalk,  in 
Connecticut,  and  immediately  marched  for  Danbury, 

can,  an  1  a  flaming  rebel.    He  was  afterwards  a  delegate  in  Congress,  and  com- 
missioned by  them  as  Judge  of  the  Admiralty  for  the  four  New  England  Colonies. 
12 


i78 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


(distant  about  30  miles)  where  the  rebels  had  laid  in 
large  magazines  of  provisions,  forage,  clothes,  salt, 
rum,  sugar,  &c.  The  General  arrived  at  the  place  of 
destruction  without  the  least  interruption.  He  destroy- 
ed all  the  magazines,  and  burnt  all  the  store-houses. 
This  done  he  began  his  march  back.  The  completion 
of  the  business  required  some  time.  The  country  was 
alarmed.  The  militia  assembled  under  Arnold,  Sulli- 
van, Wooster,  and  Silliman.  Several  skirmishes  took 
place  between  the  parties  as  the  British  were  retreat- 
ing towards  their  ships  ;  but  Tryon,  with  some  little 
loss,  made  his  way  good,  arrived  at  Compo,  and  re- 
embarked  his  troops  without  opposition  (the  rebels 
looking  on  at  a  distance),  immediately  sailed,  and  ar- 
rived at  New  York  in  a  few  days.  In  these  skirmishes 
the  rebel  militia  suffered  considerably.  General 
Arnold  had  his  horse  shot  under  him,  and  while  a 
British  grenadier  was  almost  in  the  very  act  of  plung- 
ing a  bayonet  into  him,  he  drew  a  pistol,  shot  the 
grenadier  through  the  head,  and  made  his  escape. 
Four  rebel  Colonels,  three  Majors,  and  two  Captains 
of  the  militia  fell  in  these  different  skirmishes.  Gen- 
eral Wooster  was  mortally  wounded,  and  died  at  Dan- 
bury  a  few  days  after.  This  gentleman  was  a  native 
of  Connecticut,  had  his  education  at  Yale  College  in 
that  Colony.  He  afterwards  followed  the  seas,  and  for 
some  years  commanded  the  Connecticut  Guarda  Costa. 
In  1745,  he  raised  a  company,  and  served  in  Colonel 
Walcot's  regiment  of  Connecticut  men,  upon  the  expedi- 
tion against  Cape  Breton  under  General  Pepperell.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  course  of  the  siege,  which  was  long  and 
attended  with  many  difficulties,  he  was  remarked  for  his 
bravery,  his  courage,  and  his  intrepidity.  Upon  the 
reduction  of  the  place  two  new  regiments  were  raised 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


179 


and  established.  One  of  them  was  given  to  Governor 
Shirley  of  the  Massachusetts,  and  the  other  to  Gen- 
eral Pepperell,  who  was  also  created  a  Baronet  of  Great 
Britain.  In  Pepperell's,  Wooster  had  a  company. 
Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  at  the  treaty  of  Aix- 
la-Chapelle  in  1748,  the  regiments  were  both  reduced. 
He  now  retired  to  New  Haven  in  Connecticut,  and 
lived  upon  his  half-pay,  and  some  little  fortune  of  his 
own.  When  the  war  in  1755  broke  out,  Shirley's  and 
Pepperell's  regiments  were  put  into  commission  and 
ordered  to  be  completed.  In  the  latter  Wooster  had 
a  Captain's  commission.  He  soon  after  sold  his  com- 
pany, and  entered  into  the  provincial  service  as  Colonel 
of  one  of  the  Connecticut  regiments.  In  this  station 
he  served  till  the  conquest  of  Canada  in  1760.  He 
now  retired  to  New  Haven  and  entered  into  a  mercan- 
tile course  of  life.  When  the  rebellion  broke  out  he 
took  an  active  part  in  favour  of  America.  In  June,  1775, 
he  commanded  two  New  England  regiments  in  New 
York,  ordered  there  by  Congress  to  restrain  and  over- 
awe the  loyalists.  He  acted  with  prudence,  kept  his 
troops  in  order,  and  gave  little  offence.  In  the  July 
following,  he  was  ordered  to  the  east  end  of  Long 
Island,  to  prevent  foraging  parties  in  that  quarter  from 
Boston.  In  the  October  following  he  was  ordered 
into  Canada,  with  several  New  England  regiments,  to 
assist  Montgomery  in  the  conquest  of  that  Colony. 
He  continued  there  until  1776,  when  the  rebels  were 
compelled  to  abandon  that  province.  He  was  after- 
wards in  different  quarters,  upon  different  commands, 
until  the  month  of  April,  1777,  when  he  lost  his  life 
fighting  in  a  bad  cause  ;  a  cause  evidently  undertaken 
to  establish  independency  in  the  Colonies,  to  subvert 
the  Constitution,  and  to  dismember  the  Empire.  He 


i8o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


was  between  70  and  80  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  and  though  he  had  accustomed  himself  during 
the  greatest  part  of  his  life  to  swallow  daily  large 
potations  of  flip,1  he  was  a  healthy,  hearty,  strong, 
man  to  the  last.2 

In  the  spring  of  1777,  a  foraging  party  were  at 
Sag  Harbor,  at  the  east  end  of  Long  Island,  guarded 
by  a  company  of  De  Lancey's  provincials,  consisting 
of  about  70  men ;  the  transports  to  carry  the  forage  to 
New  York  being  small  vessels  employed  for  that  pur- 
pose, were  under  the  protection  of  an  armed  schooner 
of  12  guns  and  about  40  men.  Information  of  the 
situation  and  strength  of  this  party  being  given  to  the 
rebel  powers  in  Connecticut  by  some  of  the  disaffect- 
ed upon  Long  Island,  a  Colonel  Meigs  of  that  Colony, 
with  about  400  men,  embarked  in  a  number  of  whale- 
boats,  in  the  evening,  at  a  place  called  Guilford, 
crossed  the  Sound,  and  about  2  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing landed  at  a  small  distance  from  Sag  Harbor, 
marched  immediately  to  the  place,  and  made  the  whole 
party  prisoners  before  they  were  aware  of  their  dan- 
ger. He  destroyed  all  the  forage  that  was  collected, 
and  burnt  all  the  transports.  The  schooner  was  not 
attempted.  He  brought  off  the  detachment  with  the 
Commissaries,  and  returned  to  Guilford  by  12  o'clock 

1  A  mixture  of  New  England  rum,  pumpkin  beer,  and  brown  sugar.  In  winter 
this  liquor  is  made  warm  by  putting  a  red-hot  poker  into  it.  Every  public-house 
in  Connecticut  has  in  the  winter  season  one  of  these  pokers  (known  among  them 
by  the  name  of  loggerheads)  always  in  the  fire,  ready  upon  the  arrival  of  travel- 
lers or  the  arriving  in  of  company.  It  is  far  from  being  disagreeable  liquor,  and 
is  universally  drank  in  Connecticut. 

2  A  gentleman  who  was  at  Albany  in  1775,  when  Wooster  was  upon  his  march 
to  Canada,  was  asked  by  the  High  Sheriff  one  evening  whether  he  had  an  inclina- 
tion to  see  a  curiosity  ?  He  asked,  what  ?  The  Sheriff"  answered,  "I  am  just 
"come  from  the  jail,  and  there  is  General  Wooster,  my  turnkey,  and  the 
"butcher's  boy  in  the  tap-room  drinking  flip  together."  Such  company  one 
would  think  even  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  Yankee  General. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


181 


the  next  day.  This  is  what  the  British  during  the 
war  called  an  alert.  Meigs  did  wonders  as  to  expe- 
dition. The  whole  was  performed  in  less  than  [8 
hours,  though  the  distance  in  going  and  returning  was 
nearly  100  miles.  This  Meigs  was  a  native  of  Connec- 
ticut, of  a  reputable  family,  and  large  connections.  A 
few  years  before  the  war,  he  had  been  detected  in 
New  York  in  passing  counterfeit  paper  money  in  imi- 
tation of  the  lawful  money  of  that  colony,  knowing  the 
same  to  be  counterfeit.  This  crime,  by  the  laws  of 
New  York,  was  felony  without  the  benefit  of  clergy. 
For  this  he  was  apprehended,  imprisoned,  indicted, 
tried,  convicted,  sentenced  to  be  hanged,  and  a  day 
fixed  for  his  execution.  But  upon  a  joint  application 
from  the  Governor,  the  Council  and  General  Assembly 
of  Connecticut,  to  the  Governor  of  New  York  in  be- 
half of  the  prisoner,  he  was  by  the  latter,  with  the  ad- 
vice of  his  Majesty's  Council,  pardoned  and  discharged. 
When  the  disturbances  began  in  America  he  obtained 
a  commission  in  the  Connecticut  troops,  and  was  with 
the  army  before  Boston  in  1775.  When  Arnold  under- 
took to  march  from  thence  by  the  way  of  the  Kcnne- 
beck  across  the  country,  and  assist  Montgomery  in  the 
siege  of  Quebec,  Meigs  turned  out  as  a  volunteer, 
and  upon  this  occasion  obtained  a  majority.  When 
Montgomery  attempted  to  storm  the  garrison,  Meigs 
was  of  the  party.  Upon  the  fall  of  Montgomery  and 
the  defeat  of  his  party,  Meigs  was  among  a  number 
of  other  rebels  taken  prisoner.  The  prisoners  were 
detained  in  Quebec  during  the  winter  and  civilly  treat- 
ed. They  had  rations  equally  with  the  King's  troops. 
Such  of  the  privates  as  were  in  want  of  clothes  were 
by  the  humanity  of  General  Carleton  supplied  with 
every  necessary.    The  officers  had  the  liberty  of  the 


182 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


town  upon  parole.  The  common  men  were  confined  in 
comfortable  commodious  places.  The  officers  had  the 
liberty  of  visiting  the  men  whenever  they  pleased. 
While  thus  enjoying  all  the  comforts  that  prisoners 
could  wish  or  desire,  they  entered  into  a  conspiracy 
(of  which  Meigs  was  at  the  head)  to  seize  the  garri- 
son. The  night  and  hour  was  fixed  upon,  and  the 
rebels  forming  the  blockade  had  notice  of  it.  They 
were  to  attack  the  town  without,  and  while  the  gar- 
rison should,  upon  the  alarm,  repair  to  their  several 
places  of  duty,  Meigs  and  the  other  prisoners  were  to 
make  an  attack  within.  Of  this  conspiracy  the  Gov- 
ernment got  timely  notice.  The  officers  were  of  course 
taken  up,  and  with  the  men,  closely  confined  during 
the  winter.  In  July,  1776,  General  Carleton  sent  the 
whole  of  them  by  water  to  the  several  provinces  to 
which  they  respectively  belonged,  first  taking  their 
paroles  not  to  take  up  arms  against  Great  Britain  un- 
til exchanged.  Under  this  parole  was  Meigs  when  he 
performed  his  Sag  Harbor  expedition.  This  Congress 
knew,  yet,  so  far  from  disapproving  of  such  a  breach 
of  honour,  of  faith,  and  veracity,  they  not  only  voted 
him  the  thanks  of  their  body,  which  were  transmitted 
in  a  letter  signed  by  their  President,  but  presented 
him  with  a  silver-hilted  sword  of  considerable  value. 
Whether  General  Howe  ever  complained  to  Congress 
of  this  flagrant  violation  of  public  faith  I  know  not. 
But  this  I  know,  if  he  did,  he  got  no  satisfaction.  Con- 
gress approved  the  act  and  rewarded  the  man. 

In  July,  1777,  General  Parsons,  with  1,000  men  and 
several  pieces  of  cannon,  passed  from  Fairfield  in 
Connecticut  to  Long  Island,  and  laid  siege  to  a  small 
Fort  at  Brookhaven,  in  Suffolk  County,  garrisoned  by 
about  300  men  of  De  Lancey's  brigade,  under  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


183 


command  of  Richard  Hewlett,  Esq.,  of  Hempstead  in 
Queens  County,  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  3d  Bat- 
talion of  that  Brigade  ;  a  bold,  spirited,  resolute,  in- 
trepid man.  He  had  served  as  an  officer  in  the  New 
York  provincials  the  preceding  war,  with  honour, 
credit,  and  applause.  Parsons  took  possession  of 
some  high  ground  at  no  great  distance  from  the  fort, 
and  having  mounted  his  cannon,  he  sent  a  summons  to 
the  garrison  requiring  its  immediate  surrender,  in 
which  case  he  promised  honourable  terms,  but  in  case 
of  refusal  a  storm  should  be  the  consequence,  in  which 
if  attended  with  success,  no  quarter  was  to  be  expect- 
ed. To  this  summons  Hewlett  replied,  that  though 
his  garrison  was  not  large,  he  had  men  enough  to  man 
all  his  works  ;  that  he  had  provisions  and  stores  suffi- 
cient to  stand  a  longer  siege  than  the  enemy  could 
possibly  carry  on  by  regular  approaches,  with  any 
probability  of  success,  before  relief  could  be  had  ;  as 
to  the  threats  of  a  storm,  he  minded  them  not,  his  gar- 
rison consisted  of  loyal  subjects  who  were  determined 
to  spend  the  last  drop  of  their  blood  in  the  cause  of 
their  Sovereign  rather  than  submit  to  a  rebel  banditti 
commanded  by  a  shoemaker.  This  answer  irritated 
the  General.  He  began  his  cannonade.  It  was  as 
warmly  returned  by  the  fort.  The  cannonade  con- 
tinued about  1 2  hours  on  each  side,  when  the  rebel 
General,  after  sustaining  a  considerable  loss,  drew  off, 
embarked,  and  returned  to  Connecticut.  I  Iewlett's 
garrison  was  so  small,  and  the  rebels  so  numerous, 
that  a  pursuit  would  have  been  a  piece  of  madness. 
It  was  therefore  declined.  In  this  expedition  the 
rebels  lost  about  thirty  men,  the  garrison  one.  Gen- 
eral Parsons  some  years  before  the  war  pursued  the 
honorable  trade  of  a  shoemaker,  to  which  he  served  a 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


regular  apprenticeship.  He  afterwards  commenced  a 
pettyfogging  attorney,  and  practised  in  the  Courts  of 
the  Justices  of  the  Peace.  Upon  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  he  entered  into  the  service  of  the  States,  and 
was  very  soon  made  a  General  of  militia,  in  which 
station  he  acted  during  the  whole  of  the  rebellion.  He 
was  esteemed  by  the  rebels  as  a  bold,  resolute,  enter- 
prising soldier,  and  by  British  prisoners  as  a  man  of 
the  most  humane,  generous,  and  benevolent  disposi- 
tion, by  whom  they  were  always  treated  with  polite- 
ness, civility,  and  humanity.  I  saw  him  at  Hartford  in 
1780.  He  was  a  plain,  mean-looking  old  man,  had 
more  the  appearance  of  his  original  occupation  than 
that  of  a  soldier  ;  he  had  long  hair  which  hung  about 
his  ears,  a  brown  homespun  coat,  buckskin  breeches, 
a  red  laced  waistcoat,  blue  yarn  stockings,  a  pair  of 
shoes  that  I  fancy  were  made  by  himself,  and  an 
amazing,  long,  silver-hilted  sword. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


In  November,  1777,  a  parcel  of  rebels  in  the  dead  of 
night  passed  the  North  river  from  the  Jersey  shore, 
landed  at  Bloomingdale,  the  seat  of  General  De  Lan- 
cey,  about  seven  miles  from  the  city  of  New  York, 
surprised,  and  made  prisoners,  a  guard  at  the  landing 
place,  broke  into  the  house,  and  plundered  it,  abused 
and  insulted  the  General's  lady  in  a  most  infamous  man- 
ner, struck  Miss  Charlotte  De  Lancey,  a  young  lady  of 
about  sixteen,  several  times  with  a  musket,  set  fire  to 
the  house,  and  one  of  the  wretches  attempted  to  wrap 
up  Miss  Elizabeth  Floyd  (an  intimate  acquaintance  of 
Miss  DeLancey's,  about  the  same  age,  and  a  daughter 
of  Colonel  Richard  Floyd,  of  Suffolk  County,  upon 
Long  Island,  who  had  the  command  of  the  militia  of 
that  County  during  the  war  by  virtue  of  a  commission 
from  the  Crown,  in  consequence  of  which  he  has  been 
attainted,  his  estate  confiscated,  and  now  lives  in  Nova 
Scotia),1  in  a  sheet  all  in  flames,  and  as  she  ran 
down  the  stairs  to  avoid  the  fire  the  brute  threw  it 
after  her.    One  of  the  party  below,  of  more  humanity 

1  In  consequence  of  this  transaction  Miss  De  Lancey  was  rewarded  by  Govern- 
ment with  a  pension  of  ^200  per  annum.  Miss  Floyd  was  an  equal  sufferer.  Her 
father  served  the  whole  war  as  Commandant  of  two  Battalions  of  Militia,  without 


i86 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


than  the  rest,  advised  the  young  ladies  to  make  their 
escape.  Mrs.  De  Lancey  had  before  this  concealed 
herself  under  the  stoop,  where  she  continued  until  the 
rebels  left  the  house  and  recrossed  the  river.  Miss 
De  Lancey  and  Miss  Floyd  made  their  flight  through 
several  fields,  until  they  reached  a  swamp,  into  which 
they  entered,  and  there  continued  until  eight  o'clock 
the  next  morning,  up  to  their  knees  in  mud  and  water, 
without  either  shoes  or  stockings,  and  nothing  upon 
them  except  such  thin  clothes  as  ladies  use  to  sleep  in, 
when  they  were  discovered,  and  carried  to  the  house 
of  Charles  Ward  Apthorpe,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  who 
lived  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance of  General  De  Lancey.  The  lady  of  Colonel 
John  Harris  Cruger,  the  General's  eldest  daughter, 
who  was  also  in  the  house,  made  her  escape  in  the 
same  situation,  and  endeavoured  to  reach  a  British  en- 
campment about  two  miles  off,  in  order  to  alarm  the 
troops  ;  but  in  her  confusion,  fright,  and  terror,  and 
through  the  darkness  of  the  night,  she  missed  her  way. 
After  wandering  about  in  different  directions,  she  found 
herself  in  the  morning  near  a  farm  house,  at  least  seven 
miles  from  her  father's.  She  was  taken  in,  and  treated 
with  the  utmost  hospitality  by  the  family.1  This  was 
done  in  the  middle  of  the  night  in  the  month  of  No- 
vember, when  the  weather  is  very  cold  in  this  part  of 
America.    Miss  De  Lancey  took  with  her  in  her  flight, 

pay  or  even  rations.  General  De  Lancey  commanded  for  the  same  time,  a^Bri- 
gade  of  1,500  men,  was  Colonel  of  one  of  the  Battalions,  had  full  pay  as  such, 
quarters,  and  rations  of  every  kind,  at  the  expense  of  the  Crown  ;  his  wife  had  a 
pension  of  ^300  per  annum.  Miss  Floyd  was  again  robbed  at  her  Uncle's  house 
at  Fort  Neck  upon  Long  Island,  in  November,  1779,  of  everything  she  had.  Great 
Britain  gave  her  ^25  a  year,  a  striking  instance  this  of  "  impartiality  1" 

s  One  Nicholas  Staker,  a  German  butcher,  who  at  this  time  kept  the  Dove,  an 
Inn  about  7  miles  from  New  York,  upon  the  King^bridge  road. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


I87 


her  brother's1  child,  an  infant  in  the  arms,  and  held  it 
safely  in  her  lap  the  whole  time.  Miss  Floyd's  feet  and 
legs  were  so  torn  and  lacerated  by  the  briers,  bram- 
bles, and  hedges  that  she  passed,  as  to  render  her  un- 
able to  walk  for  three  weeks.  This  anecdote  should 
not  have  been  produced,  had  not  the  rebels  during 
the  whole  of  the  war  represented  the  British  as  the 
most  inhuman,  barbarous  set  of  butchers  that  the 
world  ever  produced,  and  themselves  as  the  most  hu- 
mane, kind,  and  generous  enemies  upon  the  globe.  I 
defy  them  to  produce  such  an  act  of  inhumanity  com- 
mitted by  the  British  during  all  the  war.  The  house 
was  totally  destroyed,  with  all  its  effects,  which  they 
could  not  carry  away.  The  unfortunate  murder  of 
the  unhappy  Miss  McCrea,  of  which  the  rebels  made 
such  heavy  complaints,  did  not,  in  point  of  barbarity, 
exceed  the  inhumanity  of  this  cruel  transaction. 

In  June,  1777,  General  Howe  took  the  field.  He 
collected  together  his  troops  and  entered  New  Jersey 
at  Amboy ;  leaving  a  small  garrison  there  he  marched 
to  New  Brunswick,  upon  the  main  road  to  Philadelphia, 
and  about  70  miles  from  that  city  ;  his  waggons,  horses, 
baggage,  forage,  artillery,  and  bridge  of  boats,  were  all 
with  him.  His  army  now  consisted  of  nearly  30,000 
Infantry  and  two  regiments  of  Light  Horse.  The 
rebel  army  consisted  of  about  10,000  men,  without  any 
cavalry  whatever.  They  were  intrenched  upon  some 
high  ground  at  a  place  called  Middlebrook,  about  12 
miles  from  Brunswick.  General  Howe  marched  with 
his  army,  and  took  his  station  in  front  of  the  rebel 
lines,  and  his  confidential  engineer,  Major  Montressor, 
was  sent  out  to  reconnoitre  them,  who  reported  that 

1  Lt.-Col.  Stephen  De  Lancey,  eldest  son  of  the  General,  after  the  war  Gov- 
ernor of  Tobago,  and  Chief  Justice  of  the  Bahamas. 


1 88 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


they  were  by  no  means  to  be  forced}  The  General 
then  sent  for  an  inhabitant  in  the  neighbourhood,  and 
inquired  of  him  the  situation  of  the  ground,  who  told 
the  General  that  he  could  conduct  him  round  the  hills 
with  great  safety,  and  bring  him  to  a  place  unfortified, 
where  he  might  easily  penetrate  into  the  rebel  encamp- 
ment, but  this  information  was  neglected.  The  Gen- 
eral, after  two  days'  stay,  struck  his  tents,  but  instead 
of  attacking  the  rebels  (as  they  themselves  expected, 
and  who  were  prepared  for  a  submission !  which  would 
have  terminated  the  war),  he  marched  back  to  Bruns- 
wick, which  he  abandoned  the  next  day,  leaving  the 
loyal  inhabitants  to  the  mercy  of  the  rebels,  and  pro- 
ceeded back  to  Amboy.  His  rear  was  all  the  way  in- 
sulted by  a  few  light  troops  of  the  rebel  army.  Wash- 
ington, with  th  main  body,  followed  slowly  on  at  the 
distance  of  a  few  miles  from  the  British  rear.  At  Am- 
boy the  British  army  encamped.  Washington  did  the 
same  at  the  distance  of  about  six  miles.  General 
Howe  divided  his  army  into  two  columns,  and  in  the 
night  left  Amboy  with  intent  of  surrounding  the  rebel 
army,  hemming  them  in,  and  making  them  all  prisoners, 

'  This  gentleman  swore,  in  his  examination  before  the  House  of  Commons,  the 
same  with  respect  to  the  rebel  lines  at  Brookland  upon  Long  Island. 

2  This  I  had  from  James  Parker,  Esq.,  then  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council  for 
that  province,  and  a  prisoner  at  that  time  in  the  rebel  camp.  He  further  added, 
"  that  had  the  British  Army,  as  they  had  the  command  of  all  the  low  country  about 
"  Middlebrook,  continued  there  for  ten  days,  the  rebels  must  have  surrendered  for 
"  want  of  provisions."  One  can  scarcely  suppose  the  British  General  ignorant  of 
this  circumstance,  as  deserters  were  daily  coming  in  to  him.  The  rebel  army  at 
this  time  consisted  but  of  7,271  men  (Gordon  469,  who  had  it  from  Washington's 
returns),  including  those  under  General  Sullivan,  (who  lay  at  a  small  distance  from 
him),  with  mat  trasses  and  1S0  cav  alry.  On  the  12th  of  June  Washington  wrote, 
"  A  Council  of  General  Officers  all  agreed  that  our  present  army  was  insufficient 
"  to  make  a  proper  resistance,  or  to  attack  Howe's  united  force,  or  to  make  an 
"  impression  upon  him,  should  he  leave  us  unmolested  and  march  through  the  flat 
"country  towards  the  Delaware." 


HISTORY  OF  NKW  YORK. 


189 


but  of  this  the  rebels  had  soon  intelligence  of  which 
they  availed  themselves,  and  marched  back  to  their 
former  encampment  upon  the  heights  of  Middlebrook. 
The  General  returned  to  Amboy,  and  passed  his  whole 
army  over  to  Staten  Island,  and  gave  orders  for  an  em- 
barkation on  board  a  number  of  men-of-war,  armed  ves- 
sels, and  transports,  under  the  command  of  his  brother 
Lord  Howe.  He  then  returned  to  New  York,  and 
after  spending  about  a  fortnight  in  dalliance  with  Mrs. 
Loring,  while  the  troops  were  lying  on  board  the 
transports  crowded  together  in  the  sultry  heat  of  sum- 
mer, he  went  on  board  his  brother's  ship,  and  orders 
were  given  for  sailing. 

The  following  letters,  will  show  what  opinion  the 
rebels  entertained  of  Sir  William  Howe's  abilities  as 
Commander  in  Chief  in  America.  After  he  had  aban- 
doned New  Jersey,  and  with  his  army  safe  upon 
Staten  Island,  Colonel  Hamilton,  one  of  Washing- 
ton's aids-de-camp,  in  a  letter  to  William  Livingston, 
Esq.,  the  then  titular  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  writes 
thus:  "The  Enemy  are  meditating  some  water  expe- 
"  dition,  where  they  are  going  is  not  known,  they  can 
"have  no  business  to  the  southward.  If  they  under- 
"  stand  their  own  interest  they  will  remain  where  they 
"are,  draw  their  whole  force  to  a  single  point,  and 
"  make  a  bold  effort  against  our  main  army.  If  they 
"  can  defeat  that,  there  is  no  knowing  what  will  follow. 
"  If  they  do  not,  all  they  can  do  will  be  in  vain."  Liv- 
ingston in  answer  says,  "  whether  the  enemy  are  going 
'■  to  the  southward  is  (in  my  opinion)  very  doubtful. 
"  Should  they  return  suddenly,  and  possess  themselves 
"of  the  North  River,  General  Burgoyne  will  have  very 
"  little  to  do."  These  letters  were  found  in  a  rebel  tent 
at  Brandywine  after  the  defeat  of  Washington  at  that 


190 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


place.  Major  Du  Portail,  a  French  gentleman  in  the 
American  service,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  of  his  in  France 
says,  "The  success  of  the  Americans  is  not  owing  to 
"their  strength  or  bravery,  but  to  the  astonishing 
"  conduct  of  the  British  forces,  to  the  lenteur  and 
"  timidite  of  the  British  General."  The  very  expres- 
sion in  Du  Portail's  letter.  He  was  bred  a  soldier, 
and  had  served  under  some  of  the  greatest  generals 
in  Europe.  This  letter  was  found  on  board  a  vessel 
bound  from  Philadelphia  to  France,  but  taken  and 
carried  into  Glasgow.  It  is  dated  in  1777.  Thus  did 
the  very  rebels  speak  of,  and  ridicule,  the  conduct  of 
General  Howe  during  his  command  in  America. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  1777,  the  fleet,  consisting  of 
at  least  400  sail,  with  30,000  veteran  troops  on  board, 
sailed  from  Sandy  Hook,1  and  after  a  passage  of  more 
than  four  weeks,  arrived  at  the  head  of  the  Elk,  the 
uppermost  part  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  On  the  25th 
of  August  the  army  was  landed  without  the  least  in- 
terruption or  molestation  whatever.  The  General  was 
now  further  from  Philadelphia,  (the  principal  object  of 

1  Upon  this  Washington  marched  his  army  towards  Philadelphia,  and  halted  at 
Corriel's  ferry,  Howell's  ferry,  and  Trenton.  He  wrote  from  Cornel's  ferry  on 
the  30th,  "  Howe's  (in  a  manner)  abandoning  Burgoyne  is  so  unaccountable  a  mat- 
"  ter,  until  I  am  fully  assured  it  is  so,  I  cannot  help  casting  my  eyes  continually 
"  behind  me."  Washington  was  greatly  perplexed  to  know  what  General  Howe 
intended.  On  the  31st  he  wrote,  "  that  the  Enemy's  fleet  arrived  at  the  Capes  of 
"  Delaware  yesterday."  From  Chester,  Aug.  1st,  "The  Enemy's  fleet  left  the 
"  Capes  yesterday,  and  steered  Eastward.  I  shall  return  with  the  utmost  expedi- 
"  tion  to  the  North  river  ;  a  sudden  stroke  is  certainly  intended  by  this  maneuvre. 
"Call  in  every  man  of  the  militia  to  strengthen  the  Highland  posts.  General 
"  Howe  has  been  practising  a  deep  feint  to  draw  our  whole  force  to  this  point. 
"  Countermand  your  division  and  proceed  with  all  expedition  to  Peekskill.  The 
"  conduct  of  the  enemy  is  difficult  and  distressing  to  be  understood." — 2d  Gordon, 
492.  Again,  vol.  3d,  76,  "  had  General  Howe,  instead  of  going  by  sea  to  Phila- 
"  delphia  sent  his  whole  force  up  the  Hudson  as  General  Washington  strongly  sus- 
"  pected  he  would  do,  the  Independency  of  the  United  States  must  have  tottered 
"  to  the  very  foundation,  if  not  have  been  completely  subverted." 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  expedition)  than  he  was  when  he  had  his  whole 
army  assembled  at  Brunswick,  in  New  Jersey,  the  pre- 
ceding June.  The  General  upon  landing-,  issued  a 
proclamation  promising  protection  to  the  persons  and 
property  of  all  such  persons  as  should  remain  peace- 
ably and  quietly  at  home  upon  their  own  plantations, 
and  not  take  up  arms  in  favour  of,  or  give  any  other 
assistance  to,  the  rebel  army.  So  little  attention  was 
paid  to  this  proclamation,  in  which  the  faith  of  the  na- 
tion was  pledged  to  the  peaceable  inhabitants  for  their 
safety  and  protection,  that  in  a  very  few  days  there- 
after, encouragement  was  given  by  the  General's  orders 
for  the  soldiers  to  bring  in  all  the  cattle  and  horses 
they  could  lay  their  hands  upon,  promising  to  pay  a 
guinea  a  head  for  each  horse,  a  dollar  for  horned  cat- 
tle, and  a  crown  for  a  fat  sheep,  in  consequence  of 
which,  an  indiscriminate  plunder  took  place  without 
distinction  of  whigs  or  tories,  and  not  only  of  cattle, 
horses,  and  sheep,  but  everything  else  that  fell  in  the 
way  of  the  plunderers.  After  the  General  had  re- 
cruited his  army  for  several  days,  he  began  his  march 
for  Philadelphia.  The  rebels  met  him  upon  the  road, 
and  a  general  action  took  place  at  the  Brandywine. 
The  rebel  army  was  totally  defeated,  completely  rout- 
ed, broken  in  every  part,  and  put  to  flight,  nor  did 
they  ever  rally  till  they  reached  Chester.  They  lost 
a  number  of  men,  with  large  quantities  of  stores  and 
baggage,  and  all  their  cannon.  According  to  custom 
no  pursuit  was  made.  The  General  halted  after  this 
action  for  a  day  or  two,  before  he  proceeded  on  for 
Philadelphia.  Washington,  having  collected  together 
his  broken  troops,  and  ordered  others  from  Philadelphia 
and  New  Jersey  to  join  him,  retired  as  the  British  ad- 
vanced.   The  Congress,  and  all  those  engaged  in  the 


192 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


cause  fled  from  the  city.  The  whole  province  was  in 
a  state  of  confusion,  disorder,  and  distraction.  On  the 
26th  of  September,  Sir  William  Howe  entered  the  de- 
fenceless City  of  Philadelphia,  in  great  military  triumph, 
at  the  head  of  his  army.  Washington  proceeded  to 
White  Marsh,  about  12  miles  from  the  city,  encamped 
and  entrenched. 

General  Howe  on  his  march  to  Philadelphia,  received 
intelligence  that  General  Wayne  lay  with  1,500  men, 
and  some  pieces  of  cannon,  in  a  wood  about  three 
miles  distant,  and  in  the  rear  of  the  left  wing  of  the 
British  army.  General  Grey  was  ordered  with  a  de- 
tachment to  surprise  this  corps,  which  he  did  effectu- 
ally. He  ordered  the  flints  out  of  his  men's  guns,  and 
made  his  attack  in  the  night  with  the  bayonets  only ; 
300  were  killed  upon  the  spot;  he  took  100  prisoners, 
the  greatest  part  of  their  arms,  and  a  number  of  waggons 
loaded  with  stores  and  baggage.  Wayne,  with  the 
remainder  of  his  corps,  saved  themselves  by  a  precipi- 
tate flight.  This  the  rebels  complained  of  as  an  act 
of  barbarity,  and  Grey  was  ever  after  known  among 
the  rebels  by  the  name  of  "  No  Flint  Grey." 

Sir  William  Howe  having  marched  from  the  head  of 
the  Elk,  the  Admiral  with  the  men-of-war  and  trans- 
ports sailed  down  the  Chesapeake,  put  to  sea,  sailed 
to,  entered,  and  proceeded  up  the  Delaware  within  a 
small  distance  from  Mud  Island,  which  lay  within  the 
river,  was  strongly  fortified,  and  well  manned.  Before 
the  men-of-war  and  transports  could  get  up  to  Phila- 
delphia it  was  necessary  to  reduce  this  island.  Steps 
were  taken  accordingly  on  the  Jersey  side  of  the  Del- 
aware. At  no  great  distance  from  the  Island  stood  an 
eminence  called  Red  Bank.  It  was  in  possession  of 
a  regiment  of  Highlanders.    The  necessity  of  fortify- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


193 


inor  this  bank  in  order  to  facilitate  the  reduction  of 

o 

Mud  Island  was  visible  to  the  whole  army.  It  was 
mentioned  to  the  General,  but  without  effect.  The 
Highlanders  were  ordered  up  to  Philadelphia,  and  the 
bank  abandoned.  No  sooner  was  this  done,  than  ;i 
large  party  of  rebels  from  New  Jersey  took  possession 
of  it,  and  in  a  few  days  cast  up  and  completed  such 
works  as  made  it  amazingly  strong.  Count  Donop, 
with  a  large  detachment  from  the  army,  was  ordered  to 
reduce  it.  He  attempted  a  storm,  but  without  success. 
The  enterprise  was  abandoned  after  the  loss  of  the 
Count,  several  officers,  and  at  least  800  men  either 
killed  or  wounded.  From  Red  Bank,  Mud  Island  was 
constantly  supplied  with  fresh  men,  which  from  its  own 
strength,  and  the  situation  of  the  river,  made  its  reduc- 
tion a  work  of  time.  The  General  therefore  sent  to 
New  York,  and  ordered  4,000  men  from  thence.  This 
happened  at  a  very  critical  time,  and  was  productive 
of  the  worst  of  consequences,  as  shall  be  hereafter 
fully  and  particularly  mentioned.  The  4,000  men  from 
New  York  were  landed,  upon  their  arrival,  on  the 
Jersey  shore,  and  being  joined  from  the  opposite  shore 
with  a  detachment  under  Lord  Cornwallis,  marched  to 
attack  the  bank ;  upon  their  approach  the  rebels 
evacuated  the  works,  leaving  their  cannon,  stores  and 
baggage  behind  them  and  retired  to  Mount  Holly. 
The  British  took  possession,  and  Mud  Island  soon 
after  surrendered  and  the  fleet  proceeded  to  Philadel- 
phia. We  lost  in  the  attack  on  Mud  Island,  the  Au- 
gusta of  60  guns,  and  the  Merlin  Sloop  of  16,  which 
were  burnt  with  all  their  stores  on  board,  besides  a 
great  number  of  men  killed  and  wounded,  exclusive  of 
those  in  Count  Donop's  unfortunate  attack  upon  Red 
Bank.  Had  this  bank  been  fortified,  and  not  aban- 
13 


194  '  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

cloned,  when  in  the  possession  of  the  British,  nothing 
of  this  would  have  happened,  neither  would  there  have 
been  an)-  necessity  of  drawing  the  4,000  men  from 
New  York. 

In  the  month  of  October  Washington's  army  having 
received  considerable  reinforcements,  and  the  British 
divided,  a  part  lying  at  Germantown,  and  a  part  at 
Philadelphia,  about  three  miles  distant  from  each  other, 
Washington  projected  a  scheme  to  surprise  that  part 
which  lay  at  Germantown,  and  if  successful  to  pursue 
the  fugitives  into  Philadelphia,  and  destroy  the  royal 
army  at  a  stroke.  Such  an  enterprise  required  secrecy, 
and  the  utmost  caution  was  taken  to  keep  it  so.  But 
the  whole  scheme  was  discovered  to  a  Loyalist,  and  a 
lad  was  despatched  with  the  information  to  Sir  William. 
He  was  an  intelligent  boy,  and  gave  the  General  a 
very  particular  account  as  to  the  number  of  men,  the 
cannon,  the  road  they  were  to  take,  the  night,  and 
time  of  night,  in  which  the  attack  would  be  made. 
Whether  the  General  discredited  the  information  or 
not,  is  uncertain.  But  true  it  is  (though  he  once  men- 
tioned it  en  passant  to  Sir  George  Osborne)  he  gave 
himself  so  little  concern  about  the  matter,  that  he  never 
thought  proper  to  let  the  commanding  officer  at  Ger- 
mantown know  that  he  was  in  possession  of  such  in- 
formation. The  intelligence,  however,  proved  true, 
and  at  the  precise  time  the  attack  was  made.  The 
surprise  was  complete,  the  British  were  thrown  into 
disorder,  fled  in  confusion,  and  were  rapidly  pursued 
by  the  rebel  troops.  Luckily  for  Great  Britain,  Colonel 
Musgrove,  with  seven  companies,  took  possession  of 
a  strong  stone  house  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Chew.  Un- 
luckily  for  the  rebels,  instead  of  pursuing  the  flying 
army,  they  stopped  and  attacked  the  house,  which 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK. 


195 


being  strong,  built  of  stone,  and  gallantly  defended 
though  attacked  with  cannon,  they  made  little  impres- 
sion upon  it.  This  gaYe  the  British  time  to  rally,  to 
recover  their  panic,  and  dispatch  an  express  to  Phila- 
delphia. Being  soon  after  joined  by  that  part  of  the 
army  which  lay  in  Philadelphia,  they  returned  to  the 
charge,  attacked  the  rebels  in  turn,  drove  them  out  of 
the  town,  and  put  them  to  flight.  The  enemy  saved 
all  their  cannon.  According  to  custom  no  pursuit  took 
place  to  any  effect.  The  rebels  had  in  this  action 
about  250  killed,  600  wounded  and  400  taken  prison- 
ers. Anion gf  the  former  was  a  General  Nash  with 
some  other  officers.  Among  the  latter  were  no  less 
than  54  officers.  The  loss  of  the  British  was  consid- 
erable, perhaps  nearly,  if  not  equally  great  with  that 
of  the  rebels  in  killed  and  wounded,  though  nothing 
like  it  as  to  the  number  of  prisoners.  The  misfortune 
of  the  rebels  proceeded  solely  from  their  stopping  to 
attack  Chew's  house.  Had  they  passed  the  house, 
pursued  their  success,  and  followed  the  broken  corps 
into  Philadelphia,  the  whole  army  would  probably 
have  been  destroyed  or  captured,  and  Sir  William  been 
a  prisoner  to  rebels  before  he  knew  there  was  an 
enemy  in  his  neighbourhood.  General  Howe,  upon 
the  first  alarm,  was  waked  out  of  a  sound  sleep,  hav- 
ing just  returned  from  the  faro  table,  not  having  been  in 
bed  above  an  hour.  However,  he  behaved  with  great 
presence  of  mind,  with  his  usual  intrepidity,  met  with 
his  usual  success,  and  pursued  according  to  custom. 

Washington  having  returned  to  his  intrenched 
camp  at  Whitemarsh,  after  the  action  at  Germantown 
in  the  beginning  of  December,  General  Howe  left 
Philadelphia  and  proceeded  to  that  place,  in  hopes  of 
bringing  the  enemy  to  battle,  as  they  had  then  lately  re- 


196 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


ceived  a  reinforcement  of  nearly  4,000  men,  or  if  pos- 
sible, to  attack  some  vulnerable  part  of  their  encamp- 
ment. He  viewed  the  front  of  the  enemy's  right, 
marched  to  the  centre  and  took  another  view,  from 
thence  to  the  left  and  had  a  peep  there.  Some  little 
skirmishing  happened  in  which  a  few  were  killed  on 
both  sides,  a  few  wounded,  and  a  few  taken  prisoners. 
Sir  William  found  the  rebel  encampment  (as  he  con- 
conceived)  invulnerable,  and  the  weather  being  ex- 
tremely cold,  he  marched  back  to  Philadelphia  and  put 
his  army  into  winter  quarters ;  and  with  this  latter 
manoeuvre  ended  the  campaign  of  1777  in  the  province 
of  Pennsylvania.  Shortly  after  which  Washington 
broke  up  his  camp  at  Whitemarsh  and  took  up  his 
winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  about  16  miles  from 
Philadelphia,  by  hutting  his  men,  and  strongly  fortify- 
ing them  by  entrenchments,  redoubts,  batteries,  and 
abatis.  His  army  at  this  time  consisted  of  about 
8,000  men,  all  infantry.1 

Monsieur  Du  Portail,  a  French  officer  in  the  Ameri- 
can service,  in  a  letter  to  the  Compte  De  St.  Germain, 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  war  department  in  France, 
dated  at  Whitemarsh,  12th  November,  1777,  says, 
"  To  make  short  of  the  matter,  it  is  not  the  good  con- 

1  The  situation  of  the  American  army  was  such,  that  for  want  of  shoes  and  stock- 
ings, and  the  hard  frozen  ground,  you  might  have  tracked  the  army  from  White- 
marsh to  Valley  Forge  by  the  blood  of  their  feet.  This  account,  Gordon  says,  lie 
had  from  General  Washington  himself,  when  at  his  table  June  3d,  17S4.  Gordon 
also  says,  that  Washington  in  a  letter  of  the  23d  December,  1777,  writes,  "that 
"  he  was  informed  by  the  Commissary  of  an  alarming  truth,  and  a  melancholy 
"one,  (to  wit)  that  he  had  not  a  single  hoof  of  any  kind  to  slaughter,  and  tiot 
"more  than  25  barrels  of  flour,"  and  then  adds  "nor  can  I  tell  when  to  expect 
"  any."  lie  further  says,  "  We  have  by  a  field  return  this  day  no  less  than  2,89s 
"men  in  camp  unfit  for  duty,  because  they  are  barefoot,  and  otherwise  nakel.'' 
On  the  16th  of  February,  1778,  Washington  writes  "  that  for  some  days  past  there 
"  had  been  little  less  than  a  famine  in  cam]) ;  this  is  the  second  time  in  the  present 
"  year  that  we  have  been  upon  the  verge  of  a  dissolution  for  want  of  provisions/ 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  1 97 

"  duct  of  the  Americans,  that  enabled  them  to  make  a 
"  campaign  sufficiently  fortunate,  it  is  the  fault  of  the 
"  English."  Again,  "  If  the  English  instead  of  making 
"  so  many  diversions  (which  have  been  all  too  much 
"  at  the  expense  of  the  principal  action)  had  opposed 
u  General  Washington  with  20,000  men,  I  do  not  well 
"  know  what  would  have  become  of  us."  In  speaking 
of  the  battle  at  Brandywine,  he  says,  "  If  the  English 
"  had  followed  their  advantage  that  day,  Washington's 
"  army  would  have  been  spoken  of  no  more  ;  since 
"that  time  also,  General  Howe  has  in  all  his  opera- 
"  tions  exhibited  such  slowness  and  timidity  as  to  strike 
"  me  with  astonishment.  An  active,  enterprising  Gen- 
"  eral,  with  30,000  men,  must  reduce  this  country." 
Sir  William  had  during  his  command  from  August, 
1776,  until  his  recall  in  1778,  never  less  than  40,000 
men,  yet  nothing  to  the  purpose  was  done.  Du  Por- 
tail  says  that  30,000  was  sufficient,  but  slowness  and 
delay  marked  all  Sir  William's  operations.  A  witty 
writer  in  an  English  paper  at  the  close  of  the  campaign 
in  Pennsylvania  in  1 777,  proposed  to  have  General 
Howe  raised  to  the  Peerage  for  his  eminent  services 
performed  in  America,  by  the  title  of,  Baron  Delay 
Warr. 

In  September,  1777,  General  Clinton,  then  comman- 
der at  New  York,  conceiving  it,  (as  he  expresses  it 
in  his  letter  to  General  Howe)  a  critical  time  for  both 
the  Northern  and  the  Southern  army  to  make  a  diver- 
sion in  favor  of  them  both,  projected  an  expedition 
into  New  Jersey.  The  army  was  landed  in  the  night, 
at  three  different  places,  and  formed  a  junction  accord- 
ing to  the  settled  plan,  somewhere  near  Colonel  Schuy- 
ler's upon  the  Passaic,  about  1  2  miles  from  the  Hud- 
son.   Two  of  the  detachments  made  large  circuitous 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


marches  before  they  joined  the  main  body  at  Schuy- 
ler's, and,  according  to  orders,  drove  in  all  the  cattle, 
hogs,  horses,  and  sheep  that  fell  in  their  way,  whether 
the  property  of  whigs  or  tories,  royalists  or  rebels,  and 
indiscriminately  robbed  the  inhabitants  of  whatever 
they  found  in  their  houses.  This  desultory  expedition 
took  up  about  three  days,  a  few  guns  were  fired,  but 
not  a  man  killed  or  wounded  on  either  side.  The  ex- 
pedition had  not  the  least  effect  as  to  the  operations 
either  to  the  southward  or  northward.  An  amazing 
drove  of  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep,  however,  were  brought 
into  the  British  lines  and  delivered  to  the  commissaries 
for  the  use  of  the  army  ;  and  though  this  was  plunder, 
and  the  army  of  course  (who  were  the  captors)  enti- 
tled to  have  the  produce  divided  among  them,  yet  not 
a  farthing  did  a  man  of  them  get,  though  the  nation 
was  charged  by,  and  the  cash  actually  paid  to,  the 
commissaries  at  the  rate  of  is.  6d.  sterling  for  every 
pound. 

In  the  spring  of  1777,  General  Burgoyne  arrived  in 
Canada,  with  orders  to  collect  all  the  troops  that  could 
be  spared  in  that  Colony,  to  proceed  down  Lake 
Champlain,  reduce  the  rebel  forts  in  his  route,  proceed 
to  Albany,  and  from  thence  to  New  York,  and  put 
himself  under  the  command  of  General  Howe.  Bur- 
goyne was  not  to  take  the  command  of  this  army  un- 
til it  had  passed  the  frontier  of  the  Colony.  General 
Carleton,  the  Governor,  being  a  senior  officer  to  Bur- 
goyne, of  course  must  command  as  long  as  the  army 
was  in  his  government.  The  army  when  collected 
consisted  of  about  S,ooo  regular  troops  (including 
Germans),  a  corps  of  about  400  artillery  men,  a  large 
body  of  Indians,  a  number  of  Canadian  volunteers, 
and  several  companies  of  provincials,  besides  a  body 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  1 99 

0 

of  sailors.  Every  exertion  was  used  to  get  the  army 
in  readiness  for  marching.  General  Carleton  (though 
he  thought  himself  ill  used  in  not  being  appointed  to 
the  command,  and  for  which  reason  he  shortly  after 
resigned  his  government,)  did  every  thing  within  his 
power  to  expedite  and  forward  the  march  of  the  army 
as  early  in  the  season  as  possible.  To  prepare  every 
thing,  however,  took  up  some  time.  In  June  all  was 
ready.  The  troops  embarked  at  St.  John's  with  an 
amazing  train  of  artillery,  their  baggage,  provisions, 
horses,  oxen,  waggons,  carts,  &c,  under  the  convoy 
of  a  fleet  of  men-of-war,  commanded  by  Commodore 
Lutwyche,  and  sailed  down  the  Champlain.  Before 
they  got  to  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  they  fell  in  with 
the  rebel  fleet,  and  took,  burnt,  or  sunk  the  greater 
part.  The  army  landed  at  Crown  Point,  which  the 
rebels  had  previously  abandoned.  Every  thing  was 
prepared  for  the  siege  of  Ticonderoga.  When  the 
works  were  nearly  invested,  the  enemy  deserted  them, 
leaving  all  their  baggage,  military  stores,  provisions, 
and  above  250  cannon  undestroyed  ;  the  evacuation 
was  soon  known,  and  the  British  took  possession. 
Burgoyne  instantly  commenced  a  pursuit,  overtook 
the  fugitives,  defeated  them  in  two  separate  actions  the 
two  following  days,  made  a  number  of  prisoners,  and 
killed  and  wounded  many  more.  Some  of  the  British 
also  got  to  Lake  George,  destroyed  the  boats  there, 
and  seized  upon  some  magazines  deposited  upon  some 
islands  in  that  lake.  Upon  the  two  defeats  before 
mentioned,  the  militia  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachu- 
setts, Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut,  which  formed  a 
large  part  of  the  army  at  Ticonderoga,  returned  to 
their  respective  States,  while  General  Sinclair,  who 
was  the  rebel  Commander-in-Chief,  with  the  Conti- 


200 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


nen'tals  in  detached  parties,  pushed  through  the  woods. 
Some  got  to  Albany,  some  to  Still  Water,  and  some 
to  Half  Moon.  Nothing  could  be  more  brilliant;  sue-, 
cess  attended  the  British  army  in  every  §hape,  in  every 
step  it  took,  in  all  its  manoeuvres.  But  we  have  nearly 
seen  the  last  of  it.  Had  General  Burgoyne,  after  the 
defeat  and  dispersion  of  the  rebels,  returned  to  Ticon- 
deroga,1 and  embarked  his  army  upon  Lake  George,  he 
might  have  passed  it  in  24  hours.  Fort  George  upon 
the  opposite  end  of  the  lake  was  nothing  more  than  a 
kind  of  stone  house,  where  the  rebels  deposited  their 
stores,  provisions,  and  forage,  until  it  could  be  trans- 
ported down  the  lake.  It  had  a  few  guns  mounted, 
and  was  garrisoned  by  about  150  men.  It  would  have 
been  abandoned,  or  surrendered,  upon  the  approach 
of  the  British  army.  It  would  never  have  stood  a 
siege,  it  could  have  been  reduced  in  three  hours. 
From  hence  to  Fort  Edward,  distant  about  14  miles, 
was  an  open,  plain,  good,  well-beaten  road.  This 
fort  must  have  submitted  upon  the  appearance  of  the 

1  Hear  what  the  Abbe  Robin  says  upon  this  subject  :  "After  the  total  disper- 
"  sion  of  the  rebel  army  that  had  evacuated  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  Bur- 
"goyne  without  loss  of  time  set  out  for  Skenesborough,  on  his  march  to  Fort  Ed- 
"  ward.  He  encountered  great  difficulties  and  embarrassments,  though  the  dis- 
"  tance  is  not  considerable.  The  country  is  wild,  desert,  incumbered  with  marshes, 
"  and  intersected  with  creeks.  The  enemy  increased  the  difficulties  by  huge  lines 
"  ol  abbatis.  It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  how  much  he  had  to  suffer  in  surmount- 
"  ing  these  difficulties.  lie  had  40  bridges  or  causeways  (one  of  them  a  mile  in 
"  length)  to  construct  in  his  march  towards  Fort  Edward.  He  might  have  avoid- 
"  ed  all  this,  had  he  returned  to  Ticonderoga  and  passed  Lake  George,  but  it 
"  seems  he  feared  a  retrograde  march  might  give  t lie  Americans  time  to  recover 
"their  fright,  and  slacken  the  ardor  of  his  own  troops."  Again  says  the  Abbe, 
"  The  great  fault  of  Burgoyne,  and  what  prepared  the  way  to  all  his  misfortunes, 
"  was  his  march  to  Fort  Edward  by  Skenesborough.  Had  he  returned  to  Ticon- 
"  deroga  and  proceeded  to  Fort  George,  he  would  doubtless  have  avoided  the 
"disasters  that  followed,  but  it  seems  he  feared  a  retrograde  march  would  damp 
'•  the  ardor  ol  his  troops  and  give  the  Americans  time  to  recover  from  their  sur- 
'•  prise  " 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  201 

army  before  it,  after  which  there  was  no  kind  of  ob- 
struction to  his  marching  directly  to  Albany,  there  was 
neither  army  or  fortification  in  the  way.  The  country, 
panic  struck  between  Fort  Edward  and  Albany,  was 
also  a  good  foraging  country  and  the  inhabitants  in 
general  well  affected.  Ticonderoefa  was  evacuated, 
and  the  rebels  totally  dispersed  early  in  July.  Had 
the  General  returned  and  pursued  the  route  before 
mentioned,  he  might  with  ease  have  been  in  posses- 
sion of  Albany  in  the  course  of  ten  days.  Instead  of 
which,  by  whose  fatal  advice  he  best  knows,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Skenesborough,  and  after  clearing  out  Wood 
Creek,  which  was  full  of  logs  and  dead  trees,  cutting 
a  road  through  almost  impenetrable  forests,  building 
bridges  over  creeks,  and  making  causeways  through 
swamps  and  morasses,  he  arrived  (with  an  army  debil- 
itated with  hard  labour,  his  provisions  expended,  his 
oxen  destroyed,  and  his  few  surviving  horses  fit  only 
for  the  food  of  crows,  wolves,  and  vultures),  after  a 
most  fatiguing  march  of  more  than  three  weeks,  (which 
might  have  been  performed  by  the  way  of  Lake 
George  in  four  days)  at  Fort  Edward  upon  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson.  Upon  this,  the  rebels  abandoned  the 
fort,  and  fled  to  Still-Water,  where  Congress  had 
(while  Burgoyne  was  engaged  in  clearing  out  the  Wood 
Creek,  making  roads,  building  bridges,  and  forming 
causeways,)  collected  together  a  very  respectable  army 
under  the  command  of  Generals  Gates,  Arnold,  and 
Lincoln,  and  where  they  now  lay  entrenched,  strongly 
fortified,  and  full)-  supplied  with  forage  and  provisions. 
The  General,  in  his  own  account  in  his  letter  to  the 
American  Secretary,  dated  30th  July,  says,  that  besides 
clearing  the  roads,  which  had  large  trees  felled  across 
them,  he  built  40  new  bridges,  besides  repairing  old 


202 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


ones.  That  one  of  the  new  ones  was  a  long  work 
over  a  morass  two  miles  in  extent.  He  goes  on  in  his 
letter  and  says,  "  I  was  not  unapprised  that  great  part 
"  of  these  difficulties  might  have  been  avoided  by  fall- 
"  ing  back  from  Skenesborough  to  Ticonderoga  by 
"  water,  in  order  to  take  the  more  commodious  route 
"by  Lake  George.  But  besides  wishing  to  avoid  the 
"  effect  which  a  retrograde  motion  often  has  to  arrest 
"the  panic  of  an  enemy,  I  conceived  that  the  natural 
"  consequence  would  be  a  resistance  of  delay  at  least 
"  at  Fort  George."  This  is  his  excuse  for  taking  the 
fatiguing,  toilsome,  harassing  route  he  did,  instead  of 
what  he  acknowledges  to  be  "  the  more  commodious 
*'  and  easy  one  by  way  of  Fort  George."  Had  he  fairly 
and  openly  told  the  truth,  he  would  have  declared  that 
the  route  he  pursued  was  by  the  advice  of  Colonel 
Skene,  the  proprietor  of  Skenesborough,  and  whose 
estate  there,  by  clearing  out  the  Wood  Creek,  and  mak- 
ing a  firm  substantial  road  from  thence  to  Fort  Ed- 
ward,  with  strong  bridges  over  all  the  creeks,  and 
causeways  through  the  swamps  and  morasses,  had 
Great  Britain  succeeded  in  the  contest,  would  have 
been  rendered  more  valuable  by  several  thousand 
pounds. 

The  General  in  his  letter  to  Lord  George  Germaine 
of  the  20th  of  October  from  Albany,  a  few  days  after 
the  Saratoga  Convention,  in  his  Journal  of  the  North- 
ern Expedition  thereby  transmitted,  mentions  an  at- 
tack made  by  the  rebels  upon  Diamond  Island,  where 
he  had  deposited  his  stores,  erected  works,  and  garri- 
soned it  with  two  companies  of  the  47th.  He  says, 
"  It  was  a  better  situation  for  the  security  of  the  stores 
"  than  Fort  George,  which  being  on  the  Continent  was 
"  not  tenable  against  artillery  and  numbers."    He  had 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK  203 

_ 

both,  and  yet  preferred  the  tedious,  difficult,  and  labo- 
rious march  by  the  Wood  Creek,  in  preference  to  the 
more  eligible  one  by  Fort  George,  which  he  acknowl- 
edges was  not  tenable  against  artillery  and  numbers. 
But  a  retrograde  march  it  seems  he  was  apprehensive 
might  dampen  the  ardor  of  his  troops,  and  give  spirits 
to  those  of  the  rebels  who  were  totally  dispersed,  and 
flying  in  every  direction  to  reach  their  respective 
homes.  Very  logical  reasoning  this,  indeed !  The 
General  had  not  been  long  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson,  before  he  found  himself  in  want  of  provisions, 
of  cattle,  oxen,  horses,  wagons,  and  carts.  This  was 
occasioned  by  the  tedious,  long,  and  fatiguing  march 
from  Skenesborough  to  Fort  Edward  ;  in  which  his 
provisions  had  been  expended,  his  carts  and  wagons 
in  a  great  measure  rendered  unfit  for  service,  and  his 
horses  and  oxen  reduced  to  the  same  situation.  Had 
he  taken  the  more  easy  and  commodious  route  by 
Fort  George,  all  these  difficulties  would  have  been 
avoided.  Nay,  he  might,  (long  before  he  reached 
the  Hudson  by  the  course  he  took)  have  been  without 
an  enemy  to  oppose  him,  in  full  possession  of  the  City 
of  Albany,1  and  the  opulent,  fruitful  county  of  Tryon, 

1  Gordon  says,  "  Had  the  British  commander  returned  immediately  to  Ticondero- 
"ga,  and  advanced  from  thence  in  the  most  expeditious  manner,  with  a  few  light 
"field-pieces,  instead  of  suffering  any  delay  by  dragging  along  with  him  a  heavy 
"  train  of  artillery,  he  might  have  been  at  Albany  in  a  very  short  lime."  This, 
adds  Gordon,  "  I  have  heard  General  ( iates  repeatedly  say."  Two  schooners,  and 
those  small  ones,  upon  the  lake  could  have  made  no  resistance  against  a  brigade 
of  gun-boat;..  Fort  George  was  well  adapted  to  keep  off  Indians  and  small  par- 
ties, but  not  to  stop  the  royal  army.  The  Americans,  instead  of  defending  the 
Fort,  or  opposing  the  landing  of  the  army,  would  undoubtedly  have  retreated  to 
General  Schuyler  at  Fort  Edward.  The  latter  found  himself  so  weak,  that  by  the 
1st  of  August  he  drew  back  from  Saratoga  to  Still  Water  (25  miles  north  of 
Albany)  from  whence  he  wrote  on  the  4th,  "  We  have  not  more  than  4,oco  Conti- 
"  nental  troops,  if  men  one-third  of  which  are  negroes,  boys,  and  men  too  aged 
"for  field,  or  indeed  any  other  service,  can  be  called  troops.    A  great  part  of  this 


204 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


with  the  greatest  part  of  those  of  Charlotte,  and  Al- 
bany. But  evil  stars  sometimes  rule,  and  obstinate, 
macaroni  Generals  sometimes  command.  Wron^ 
measures  had  been  taken,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  army  now  experienced  difficulties,  which  if  possible 
were  to  be  remedied.  The  rebels  had  a  magazine  at 
Bennington,  in  Vermont,  about  20  miles  distant  from 
the  General's  encampment.  In  this  deposit  was  lodged 
provisions  of  all  kinds,  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs,  corn 
of  all  kinds,  oxen,  and  horses  fit  for  the  use  of  car- 
riages, besides  a  large  number  of  wagons  and  carts. 
All  these  were  wanted  for  the  British  army.  How  to 
get  them  was  the  question.  This  was  soon  answered. 
The  magazine  was  guarded  only  by  New  England 
militia.  They,  as  it  were  said,  not  being  numerous, 
might  easily  be  surprised.  An  attempt  was  accord- 
ingly projected.  It  was  to  be  conducted  by  disciplined 
troops,  and  little  doubt  was  entertained  of  its  success. 
Lieut.-Colonel  Baum,  a  German  of  spirit,  was  pitched 
upon  for  this  service  ;  and  Lieut.-Colonel  Breyman 
was  to  take  post  in  such  a  situation  as  might  enable 
him  to  assist  Baum  in  case  of  necessity.  The  detach- 
ment under  Baum  consisted  of  800  men,  chiefly 
foreigners.  The  march  was  so  slow,  in  consequence 
of  bad  roads,  and  the  natural  heaviness  of  Germans, 
that  the  rebels  at  Bennington  had  soon  intelligence 
of  the  route  they  were  taking,  guessed  at  their  design, 
and  prepared  matters  accordingly.  Baum,  when  with- 
in 4  miles  of  Bennington,  received  information  that  the 

"  army  are  naked,  without  blankets,  ill  armed,  and  very  deficient  in  accoutrements. 
"  Too  many  of  our  officers  would  be  a  disgrace  to  the  most  contemptible  troops 
"  that  were  ever  collected,  and  have  so  little  sense  of  honour,  that  cashiering  of 
"  them  seems  no  punishment.  They  have  stood  by,  and  suffered  the  most  scanda- 
"  lous  depredations  to  be  committed  on  the  poor,  distressed,  ruined,  and  flying 
«'  inhabitants." 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  205 

_  * 

enemy  had  notice  of  his  design,  and  were  prepared  to 
receive  him.  Upon  this  Baum  halted,  took  possession 
of  some  strong  ground,  entrenched,  and  dispatched  an 
express  to  General  Burgoyne  with  an  account  of  his 
situation.  The  General  immediately  ordered  Brey- 
man  with  his  detachment  to  march  with  the  utmost 
expedition  to  the  assistance  of  Baum.  It  consisted  of 
about  700  men.  Colonel  Starke,  who  commanded  at 
Bennington,  got  intelligence  of  the  intended  junction, 
and  determined  to  prevent  it,  if  possible.  He  there- 
fore marched  out  of  Bennington  with  the  militia  (the 
number  uncertain),  and  resolutely  attacked  Baum  in 
his  entrenchments,  carried  them  after  a  gallant  defence, 
took  a  number  of  prisoners,  two  pieces  of  cannon,  and 
all  their  baggage.  This  happened  on  the  16th  of 
August.  W  hile  this  was  transacting  in  the  neighbour- 
hood  of  Bennington,  Colonel  Breyman  was  pushing 
through  bad  roads  and  heavy  rains,  with  foundered, 
crippled,  and  jaded,  horses,  in  order  to  join  Baum,  who 
was  unluckily  defeated  before  Breyman  arrived  very 
near  him.  Of  this  Breyman  had  not  the  least  intelli- 
gence, and  fell  in  with  the  victors  before  he  knew  an 
enemy  was  near  him.  He  fought,  however,  with 
spirit,  but  was  obliged  to  retreat.  Luckily  it  was  near 
evening  when  Breyman  joined  Baum's  routed  detach- 
ment, which  the  rebels  were  in  pursuit  of,  and  the  ap- 
proaching night  greatly  contributed  to  the  escape  of 
Breyman  and  his  party.  However,  the  two  detach- 
ments did  not  lose,  in  killed  and  prisoners,  less  than 
600  men.    Colonel  Baum  was  anions  the  former.  This 

o 

was  a  great  loss,  considering  the  situation  of  General 
Burgoyne's  army  at  the  time.  The  design  totally 
failed.  It  was  a  great  disappointment  to  the  British 
army,  and  the  Americans  were  wonderfully  elated  with 


206 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  victory.  It  of  course  had  different  effects  upon 
the  two  armies.  A  kind  of  despondency  took  place  in 
one,  a  universal  exultation  in  the  other.  The  British 
had  failed  in  their  attempt,  they  got  no  cattle,  no  pro- 
visions, no  corn,  no  wagons,  no  horses,  nor  any  carts, 
but  instead  of  that,  they  lost  their  own  horses,  their 
baggage,  their  wagons,  two  pieces  of  cannon,  and  600 
men.  Burgoyne  was  now  in  a  situation  more  desper- 
ate than  ever,  yet  neither  his  own  spirits,  those  of  his 
officers,  nor  those  of  his  men,  seem  to  have  failed  them 
in  the  least. 

On  the  19th  of  September,  a  general  engagement 
took  place  between  the  two  armies.  It  was  a  sharp, 
well-contested  battle.  The  rebels  at  last  gave  way, 
and  left  the  British  masters  of  the  field.  The  loss  on 
each  side  was  nearly  equal.  Many  brave  officers  fell. 
As  the  action  closed  with  the  day,  no  pursuit  was 
made,  nor  were  the  victors,  however  so  inclined,  in  a 
situation  proper  to  undertake  one.  The  field  of  bat- 
tle remained  in  possession  of  the  royal  army,  but 
honour  excepted,  nothing  else  was  gained.  The  rebels 
retreated  to  their  entrenchments,  which  they  had  left 
in  the  morning  to  fight  the  British  in  the  open  field, 
and  prepared  to  defend  themselves  in  case  Burgoyne 
pursued  his  victory.  This  he  was  not  in  a  situation  to 
do.  Things  now  grew  worse  and  worse.  The  rebel 
army  was  constantly  increasing  by  drafts  from  the  mi- 
litia. On  the  contrary,  the  royal  army  was  constantly 
mouldering  away,  without  scarce  a  possibility  of  its 
being-  recruited. 

On  the  7th  of  October  another  action  took  place. 
It  was  equally  well  fought  with  the  former,  but  more 
unfortunate  for  the  British.  After  a  very  severe  con- 
test they  were  obliged  to  give  ground.    The  numbers 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  20J 

_  0 

were  very  disproportionate  ;  the  rebels  had  16,000  men, 
Burgoyne  not  more  than  5,000.  The  British  retired 
to  their  lines.  The  enemy  pursued  with  vigour,  attack- 
ed the  lines,  under  the  command  of  Arnold  and  Lin 
coin,  and  were  about  penetrating  them,  when  the  two 
rebel  Generals  were  wounded,  and  carried  out  of  the 
field.  This  put  an  end  to  the  action.  A  redoubt  com- 
manded by  Germans  upon  the  left  of  the  British  lines 
was  taken,  and  though  some  attempts  were  made  to 
retake  it,  they  failed  of  success.  By  this  the  army 
was  much  exposed.  W  hat  number  of  the  enemy  fell 
is  uncertain.  The  loss  on  the  part  of  the  British  was 
great.  General  Frazer  was  mortally  wounded.  Col- 
onel Breyman  killed.  Sir  James  Clarke  was  mortally 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner.  Major  Williams  of  the 
artillery,  and  Major  Ackland  of  the  Grenadiers  were 
both  prisoners,  the  latter  wounded.  Upon  the  whole, 
the  lists  of  killed  and  wounded  (the  Germans  not  in- 
cluded) were  long  and  melancholy.  In  short,  it  was  a 
bloody  day. 

In  the  evening  of  the  9th,  General  Burgoyne  left 
his  entrenchments,  marched  for,  and  arrived  at  Sara- 
toga, without  the  loss  of  a  man,  though  the  army 
marched  within  musket  shot  of  the  enemy,  and  were 
encumbered  with  all  their  baggage. 

The  loss  of  the  rebels  in  this  battle  is  uncertain. 
They  lost  no  officers  of  note.  Arnold  and  Lincoln, 
indeed  were  wounded.  General  Burgoyne,  upon  his 
arrival  at  Saratoga,  found  himself  in  a  wretched  situa- 
tion,  a  large  part  of  the  enemy  in  his  rear,  parties  upon 
each  flank,  and  a  party  between  him  and  Lake  George, 
each  party  as  large  as  his  whole  army.  No  possi- 
bility of  a  retreat  left,  he  offered  the  enemy  battle. 
This  they  refused,  they  had  a  surer  game  to  play 


208 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


In  this  forlorn  condition  the  General  called  a  council 
of  war,  consisting  of  all  the  generals,  field  officers, 
and  officers  commanding  corps.  The  situation  of  the 
army  in  all  its  particular  circumstances  being  fully  con- 
sidered, it  was  agreed  to  open  a  treaty  with  General 
Gates,  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  rebel  arm)-. 
After  a  good  deal  of  altercation  and  explanation  on 
both  sides,  on  the  17th  of  October  the  famous  conven- 
tion of  Saratoga  (which  has  occasioned  so  much  po- 
litical discussion  through  all  Europe)  was  concluded, 
agreed  upon,  and  signed  by  the  respective  Generals 
of  the  two  armies,  and  thus  ended  the  northern  expe- 
dition, to  the  dishonour  of  Great  Britain,  and  of  which 
such  sanguine  hopes  were  entertained  by  the  British 
nation. 

It  seems  Burgoyne's  orders  were  to  penetrate 
through  the  country  from  Canada  to  New  York,  and 
put  himself  under  the  command  of  General  Howe. 
It  seems  also  that  General  Howe  at  the  same  time 
had  orders  to  leave  New  York  and  proceed  to  the 
southward.  This  being  the  fact,  how  was  General 
Burgoyne  to  put  himself  under  the  command  of  Sir 
William  Howe  at  New  York  ?  Howe  was  pushing  to 
the  southward.  Burgoyne  was  following.  They  set 
off  nearly  at  the  same  time,  the  distance  between  them 
at  least  300  miles.  How  were  they  to  form  a  junction  ? 
or  how  was  Burgoyne,  according  to  his  orders,  to  put 
himself  under  the  command  of  General  Howe  at  New 
York  ?  Had  General  Howe  been  ordered  up  the 
Hudson,  and  a  junction  there  formed  between  the  two 
armies,  rebellion  must  have  expired,  or  if  it  really  was 
the  intention  of  the  ministry  to  put  Burgoyne's  army 
under  the  command  of  Howe,  why  was  it  not  sent  to 
New  York  by  water,  instead  of  being  ordered  about 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  2O9 

0 

400  miles  through  woods,  swamps,  and  marshes  to 
accomplish  the  design  ? 

Monsieur  Du  Portail,  in  speaking  of  this  expedition, 
says  :  "  It  was  an  enormous  fault  in  the  British  Gov- 
"  ernment  to  require  General  Burgoyne  to  traverse  a 
"  country  more  than  200  leagues,  replete  with  difficul- 
"  ties,  almost  a  desert,  and  of  consequence  very  use- 
"  less  to  take  ;  and  that,  only  to  join  Generals  Howe 
"  and  Clinton  in  the  middle  of  the  country.  This  pro- 
"  ject  might  appear  very  magnificent  to  the  Cabinet 
"  of  London,  but  to  those  who  knew  the  country  it 
"  was  highly  defective." 

In  the  action  of  the  9th  of  October,  General  Fra- 
zer  was  mortally  wounded,  and  died  early  the  next 
morning.  His  particular  and  last  desire,  was  to  be 
buried  in  the  great  redoubt  nearest  to  the  enemy's  en- 
campment, attended  by  his  domestics,  without  any 
parade  whatever.  The  procession  was  partly  in  sight 
of  both  armies  ;  and  to  the  boasted  humanity  of  Amer- 
icans, let  it  be  mentioned  that  their  army  kept  up,  and 
continued,  an  incessant  cannonade  upon  the  solemn 
procession  until  the  corpse  was  interred,  and  the  at- 
tendants returned  to  the  late  General's  quarters.  The 
parson,  Mr.  Brudenell,  of  the  artillery,  performed  the 
sacred  office  without  altering  a  muscle  in  his  face,  or 
betraying  the  least  fear,  though  frequently  covered 
with  dirt  occasioned  by  the  balls  that  fell  about  him, 
from  the  cannonade  of  the  Americans,  when  in  the 
execution  of  his  holy  function  as  a  minister  of  God.1 
Had  an  act  like  this  been  committed  by  Britons,  it 
would  have  been  trumpeted  to  the  world  as  an  act  of 

•  Gordon,  in  his  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  gives  the  very  same  account 
as  to  the  funeral  of  General  Krazer  and  cannonade  of  the  American  army  upon 
the  procession. 

14 


7  IO 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  most  savage  barbarity,  and  contrary  to  the  laws 
and  customs  of  all  civilized  nations,  but  being  per- 
formed by  Americans,  who  boasted  of  fighting  the 
battles  of  the  Lord,  and  contending  for  the  rights  of 
mankind,  it  was  a  righteous  act,  and  thought  nothing 
of.  Let  rebels  after  this,  let  Americans  after  this,  and 
let  Gates,  Arnold,  Lincoln,  and  other  principal  officers 
of  that  army,  after  this,  never  boast  of  humanity,  of 
virtue,  or  generosity. 

It  is  something  worthy  of  remark,  that  General  Bur- 
goyne  in  his  letter  to  Lord  George  Germaine  upon  the 
taking  of  Ticonderoga,  upon  the  defeat  of  the  rebels 
in  two  actions  near  Skenesborough,  or  in  that,  written 
upon  his  first  reaching  the  Hudson,  never  even  once 
intimates  the  most  distant  expectation  of  a  co-operat- 
ing army.  Nay,  in  his  first  letter  from  Ticonderoga, 
he  says,  "  The  fortress  is  to  be  garrisoned  by  troops 
"  from  Canada,  and  the  army  under  me  will  be  com- 
"  plete  for  further  operations."  The  first  syllable  from 
him  about  a  co-operating  army  is  after  the  defeat  of 
Baum,  at  Bennington,  in  the  month  of  August.  In  his 
letter  to  Sir  William  Howe,  upon  the  taking  of  Ticon- 
deroga, he  never  mentions  the  expectation  of  a  co- 
operating army.  Had  he  expected  such  an  army,  it  is 
very  unaccountable  he  should  not  have  even  hinted  it 
in  his  letter  to  General  Howe.  It  was  from  that  quar- 
ter such  an  army  was  to  be  looked  for,  and  no  other. 

It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  the  Convention 
at  Saratoga  was  signed  the  17th  October,  1777.  By 
this  Convention  it  was  agreed,  among  other  things, 
that  the  British  arm)-,  after  marching  out  of  their  camp 
with  the  honours  of  war,  and  depositing  their  arms, 
were  to  be  conducted  by  the  shortest  route  to  Boston, 
from  whence  they  were  to  be  allowed  a  free  embarka- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  211 

_  0 

tion  and  passage  to  Europe,  on  condition  of  not  serv- 
ing in  America  during  the  war.  All  private  property 
was  to  be  saved,  and  all  public  to  be  delivered  up  upon 
honour.  The  articles  were  transmitted  to  Congress 
by  Gates,  and  by  a  resolution  of  theirs  approved  of, 
and  solemnly  ratified.  The  army  proceeded  accord- 
ing to  the  articles  to  Boston,  where  they  were  to  em- 
bark for  England,  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  of 
transports  could  be  spared  and  victualed  for  that  ser- 
vice. Several  of  the  articles  stipulated  by  the  conven- 
tion (as  to  the  accommodation  of  the  troops  before 
embarkation,  the  quarters  of  the  officers,  and  provi- 
sions supplied  them)  were  violated  in  a  most  shameful 
manner.  General  Burgoyne  repeatedly  complained  of 
this,  to  the  Governor  and  civil  magistrates  of  the  town 
of  Boston,  to  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Conti- 
nental troops  in  that  quarter,  but  to  little  purpose. 
Tired  out  at  length,  with  evasions,  quibbles,  and  equiv- 
ocations, he  wrote  a  spirited  letter  to  Congress,  com- 
plaining in  terms  of  some  severity  of  the  breach  of 
several  material  articles  in  the  convention.  The 
answer  was  evasive.  It,  however,  promised  an  in- 
quiry, and  a  redress  if  found  true.  It  was  the  middle 
of  December  before  the  transports  were  ready.  Bos- 
ton was  fixed  upon  as  the  place  of  embarkation.  The 
navigation  in  the  bay  of  Boston  in  winter  is  rather 
dangerous.  General  Howe  conceived  it  of  little  con- 
sequence whether  the  troops  embarked  at  Boston  or 
Rhode  Island.  The  latter,  in  point  of  safety,  was  the 
most  eligible.  General  Howe,  therefore,  desired  Bur- 
goyne to  write  to  Congress,  and  request  permission  to 
embark  at  Rhode  Island.  Upon  a  supposition  that  no 
kind  of  objection  would  be  made  to  the  request,  the 
transports  were  sent  to  Rhode  Island.    In  answer  to 


212 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


General  Burgoyne's  letter,  Congress  acquainted  him, 
that  as  he  had  in  a  former  letter  charged  the  Ameri- 
cans with  having  broken  and  violated  the  convention, 
he  no  doubt  looked  upon  it  as  not  binding  on  his  part. 
That  the  number  of  transports  provided  were  not  suffi- 
cient for  the  transportation  of,  nor  the  British  General 
able  to  spare  provisions  for  so  large  a  body  of  men,  for 
so  long  a  voyage.  From  these  premises  they  formed  a 
conclusion  that  the  British  Generals  considered  the  con- 
vention as  broken  by  the  Americans,  and  consequent- 
ly not  binding  upon  them.  That  under  pretence  of 
embarking  the  troops  for  England,  the  real  design  was 
to  convey  them  within  the  British  lines,  and  make  use 
of  them  in  America  during*-  the  war.  Taking-  the  mat- 
ter  up  (as  they  pretended)  in  this  point  of  view,  they 
entered  into  a  resolution  "that  the  troops  should  not 
"  embark  for  the  present."  This  matter  was  by  the 
British  Generals  so  fully  explained,  as  compelled  Con- 
gress to  shift  its  ground.  Pretence  was  now  set  up 
and  insisted  upon,  that  the  articles  of  the  convention 
had  been  broken  by  the  British,  and  were  therefore  not 
binding  upon  the  Americans.  To  prove  this,  they  in- 
sisted that  all  property  belonging  to  the  public,  was  by 
the  articles  to  be  faithfully  delivered  up  to  the  victors. 
That  the  soldiers  had,  in  violation  thereof,  detained 
and  not  delivered  up  their  belts  and  cartouch  boxes. 
An  elucidation  of  this  matter  took  up  some  time. 
General  Burgoyne  proved  that  the  belts  and  cartouch 
boxes  belonging  to  the  several  regiments  in  the  Brit- 
ish service  were  supplied  and  provided  by  their  respec- 
tive Colonels,  were  the  property  of  such  Colonels,  and 
consequently  private  property,  which  was  saved  to  the 
owners  by  the  conventional  articles.  When  pressed 
upon  this  point,  Congress  gave  way.    But  then,  Con- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  21,} 

gress  died  hard.  The  Convention  troops  were  not  to 
leave  America.  This  Congress  was  determined  upon. 
Should  they  cross  the  Atlantic,  an  equal  number  might 
be  sent  to  America.  Burgoyne's  army,  by  the  conven- 
tion, might  serve  in  any  part  of  the  world  (America 
excepted),  consequently  a  like  number,  not  under  the 
same  tie,  might  be  sent  to  America.  This  was,  at  all 
events,  a?it  fas,  aut  ncfas,  to  be  avoided.  Congress, 
therefore,  passed  a  resolve,  (from  which  they  averred 
they  never  would  recede)  "  That  the  embarkation  of 
"  General  Burgoyne  and  his  army  should  be  suspend- 
"  ed  until  a  distinct  and  explicit  ratification  of  the  Sar- 
"  atoga  Convention  should  be  properly  notified  by  the 
"  Court  of  Great  Britain  to  Congress."  This  was  a 
work  of  time,  and  this  was  all  Congress  wanted.  A 
ratification  was,  however,  at  length  obtained.  His  Ma- 
jesty being  informed  of  the  situation  of  the  conven- 
tion troops,  the  severity  with  which  the  Americans 
treated  them,  the  badness  of  the  provisions  allowed 
them,  and  the  insults  they  were  daily  receiving  from 
the  saints  of  New  England,  instantly  sent  orders  to 
the  Commander-in-Chief  in  America,  to  signify  to  Con- 
gress his  absolute,  irrevocable  ratification  of  the  Sara- 
toga Convention.  This  was  immediately  communi- 
cated by  General  Clinton  to  Congress,  with  a  desire 
that  the  articles  now  might  be  carried  into  due  and 
full  execution.  But  the  troops  were  not  to  get  away 
yet.  Other  pretexts,  other  evasions,  and  other  ob- 
jections, therefore,  became  necessary,  and  I  believe 
(to  the  astonishment  of  all  civilized  nations)  a  more 
villainous  or  hypocritical  one  was  never  made.  Upon 
receipt  of  the  Commander-in-Chief's  letter,  they  re- 
solved, "that there  appeared  no  evidence  to  them  that 
"  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British  army  had  any 


214 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  orders  from  his  King  for  the  ratification  of  the  Con 
"  vention,  that  the  whole  might  be,  for  what  they  knew, 
"  a  forgery,  and  unless  a  responsible  witness  was  pro- 
"  duced  to  swear  he  saw  the  King  sign  the  orders  au- 
"  thorizing  the  said  Commander-in-Chief  in  his  name 
"to  ratify  the  Convention,  they  would  not  believe  a 
"word  that  he  advanced."  This  was  too  insulting  to 
be  borne  ;  yet  did  a  British  Commander-in-Chief,  at  the 
head  of  30,000  as  good  and  brave  troops  as  ever  were 
led  to  battle,  put  up  with  this  insulting  usage  to  his 
king,  to  the  British  nation,  and  to  himself.  In  the 
end,  Congress  ordered  the  convention  troops  from 
Boston  to  the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  to  which  they 
were  conducted  under  a  Yankee  guard  (of  all  guards 
the  most  degrading),  the  distance  about  700  miles. 
Here  barracks  were  provided  for  them  in  the  woods  ; 
they  were  formed  of  logs  piled  together,  and  covered 
with  bark  ;  there  were  no  floors  to  the  rooms,  and  the 
stumps  of  the  trees  were  still  standing  in  every  apart- 
ment. They  had  no  market  to  resort  to  for  provisions, 
they  were  obliged  to  accept  of  such  as  Congress  (in 
their  great  bounty)  allowed  them.  Congress  also  now 
(notwithstanding  the  convention)  declared  them  pris- 
oners of  war.  In  this  situation  they  remained  till  the 
end  of  the  war,  upon  the  termination  of  which,  their 
imprisonment  of  course  ceased,  and  they  returned  to 
their  own  country  after  a  detention  of  nearly  five  years 
by  Congress,  in  manifest  violation  of  a  sacred  conven- 
tion made  by  one  of  their  Generals,  and  solemnly  rati- 
fied by  themselves.  So  much  for  the  honour,  the  Vir- 
tue, the  justice,  and  the  humanity  of  Congress. 

At  the  same  time  that  General  Burgoyne  set  out 
from  Canada  upon  his  expedition  to  the  southward, 
Colonel  St.  Leger,  and  Sir  John  Johnson,  were  sent 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  215 

with  a  few  regular  troops,  some  provincial  corps,  a  com- 
pany of  Canadians,  a  large  body  of  Indians,  and  a  small 
train  of  artillery,  up  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  to  pass 
the  Ontario,  to  hind  at  Oswego,  to  go  up  the  Ononda- 
ga River,  pass  the  Oneida  lake,  and  lay  siege  to  a  fort 
situated  upon  the  carrying  place,  called  Fort  Stanwix. 

This  fort  taken,  they  were  to  proceed  down  the 
country,  and  join  General  Burgoyne  at  Albany.  The 
lort  was  commanded  by  a  Colonel  Gansevoort,  a 
Dutchman  from  Albany,  who  had  served  the  preced- 
ing war  in  the  provincials,  and  was  at  the  taking  of  the 
Havannah.  The  next  in  command  was  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Willet,  from  Mew  York,  a  bold,  enterprising 
young  fellow,  of  a  good  family,  but  which  by  misfor- 
tunes (the  branch  to  which  he  belonged)  had  been  for 
many  years  reduced.  He  served  in  the  former  war  as 
a  volunteer  in  the  provincial  service.  He  was  then 
quite  a  lad  ;  his  bravery  was  upon  many  occasions  ap- 
plauded. He  was  a  great  enthusiast,  and  had  pro- 
fessed, and  pursued  with  great  zeal,  at  different  times, 
every  kind  of  Christian  religion  in  the  world,  (the  Ro- 
man Catholic  excepted),  but  as  that  is  now  the  political 
religion  of  the  States,  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  hear 
of  his  conversion  to  that ;  and  instead  of  heading  a 
mob,  as  in  former  days,  on  the  5th  of  November,  and 
burning  in  effigy  the  Pope,  the  Devil,  and  the  Preten- 
der, to  be  carrying  a  cross,  and  kneeling  at  the  appear- 
ance of  the  host. 1  He  served  several  years  in  New 
York  as  a  petty  constable,  was  never  worth  a  farthing, 
but  ever  poor  and  indigent.  When  the  troubles 
began,  he  thought,  as  many  others  did,  that  by  oppos- 
ing Great  Britain,  and  taking  an  active  part  on  the 
side  of  rebellion,  something  might  be  gotten,  at  all 

1  lie  is  now  the  High  Sheriff  of  the  City  and  County  of  New  York. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


events,  nothing-  could  be  lost.  He  accordingly  became 
a  principal  leader  in  all  mobs  in  New  York  prior  to 
the  actual  commencement  of  the  rebellion. 

To  this  fort  St.  Leger  laid  siege,  the  latter  end  of 
July,  1777.  The  garrison  was  strong,  though  not 
overstocked  with  men.  The  besiegers  were  far  more 
numerous,  but  unfortunately  their  battering  cannon 
were  too  small  to  make  much  impression  upon  the 
fort,  but  they  blockaded  it  so  closely  on  every  side,  as 
to  prevent  their  receiving  any  supplies  or  reinforce- 
ments. The  county  of  Tryon  was  the  nearest  county 
to  the  eastward  of  the  fort.  The  Loyalists  in  this 
county,  who  at  the  beginning  of  the  troubles  were  nu- 
merous, had  through  the  oppression  of  the  rebels,  and 
the  persecution  of  committees,  been  obliged  to  leave 
their  estates,  abandon  their  property,  and  take  refuge 
in  Canada.1  Others  were  confined  as  prisoners  in  the 
New  England  Colonies,  and  the  High  Sheriff  was  in 
close  custody  in  the  Albany  jail.  The  inhabitants  who 
remained  were  chiefly  in  the  interests  of  Congress  (the 
county  is  large,  and  before  the  war  broke  out  was  well 
peopled),  and  were  formed  into  a  militia  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  General  Hercheimer,  a  grandson  of  one  of  the 
palatines,  who  were  sent  over  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Anne,  had  lands  given  them,  and  formed  a  settlement 
upon  the  Mohawk  River,  which  they  called,  and  which  is 
still  known,  by  the  name  of  the  German  Flats  ;  and  is  one 
of  the  principal  villages  in  the  county  of  Tryon.  Her- 
kimer got  intelligence  of  the  situation  of  the  garrison 
and  determined  to  raise  the  siege  if  possible;  if  not,' at 
least  to  throw  in  reinforcements,  with  large  supplies  ot 
every  kind  of  provisions  and  stores.    To  effect  this,  he 

1  Among  these  were  Sir  John  Johnson,  Colonel  Guy  Johnson,  Colonel  Claus, 
Colonel  Butler,  Walter  Butler,  Esq.,  Mr.  Deas,  Joseph  Chew,  Esq.,  &c,  &c. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  21  7 

collected  a  body  of  about  1,000  militia,  in  which  every 
person  of  note  in  the  county,  who  were  in  the  interest 
of  Congress,  served  either  as  officers  or  volunteers. 
When  everything  was  in  readiness,  Hercheimer  march- 
ed for  the  relief  of  the  fort,  having  under  his  escort  about 
400  wagons  loaded  with  stores,  and  provisions,  of  every 
kind.  St.  Leger  had  soon  information  of  these  pro- 
ceedings ;  Sir  John  Johnson  proposed  meeting  them  in 
the  woods,  lying  in  ambush  and  taking  them  by  sur- 
prise. This  being  agreed  to  by  St.  Leger,  Sir  John 
proceeded  with  a  part  of  his  own  corps,  a  few  Canadi- 
ans, and  the  Indians,  the  distance  of  a  few  miles,  and 
wai<^d  the  coming  of  the  enemy.  Spies  were  sent 
out,  who  soon  returned  with  an  account  of  their 
approach,  their  distance,  and  their  route.  An  ambush 
was  laid,  and  so  artfully  concealed,  that  the  first  intima- 
tion the  rebels  had  of  an  enemy  being  at  hand,  was  a 
heavy  fire  in  their  rear,  in  their  front,  and  upon  both 
flanks.  Numbers  fell.  A  battle  ensued  in  the  Indian 
method  of  n\rhtincr.  The  rebels  behaved  with  resolu- 
tion,  but  were  totally  defeated.  Several  of  the  Indians 
were  killed,  and  among  them  some  of  their  sachems. 
The  other  part  of  the  detachment  suffered  little.  In  the 
action,  General  Hercheimer  and  almost  every  leading 
man  in  the  rebel  interest  in  the  county  of  Tryon,  were 
killed.  Not  a  man  got  into  the  fort,  and  the  wagons, 
provisions,  and  stores  were  all  either  taken  or  destroy- 
ed. After  this  signal  victory,  St.  Leger  summoned  the 
garrison  to  surrender,  offered  honourable  terms,  and 
full  protection  against  the  depredations  and  insults 
of  the  savages.  Gansevort  listened  to  the  terms  with 
seeming  pleasure.  The  case  seemed  desperate,  the 
relieving  army  was  destroyed,  provisions  and  stores 
grew  scarce ;  however,  through  the  means  of  Willett, 


218 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  treaty  was  broken  off,  and  the  siege  recommenced. 
The  Indians  grew  tired  of  its  length,  clamoured  at  the 
death  of  their  sachems,  and  insisted  upon  going  home. 
They  were  with  some  difficulty  prevailed  upon  to  stay  ; 
but  the  army  getting  intelligence  that  General  Arnold 
was  making  a  rapid  march  with  4,000  men  for  the  re- 
lief of  the  fort,  it  was  thought  proper  to  raise  the  siege ; 
and  St.  Leger  returned  to  Canada  with  his  little  army, 
his  stores,  cannon,  and  provisions,  without  the  least 
molestation  whatever.  With  the  raising  of  this  siege, 
and  the  convention  at  Saratoga,  ended  the  northern 
campaign  for  1777,  with  very  little  credit  to  its  princi- 
pal promoter,1  or  the  sole  director  of  it,2  and  to  the 
eternal  disgrace  of  the  British  nation.  Had  St. 
Leger's  army  consisted  of  a  larger  number  of  men,  or 
had  his  battering  cannon,  even  with  the  army  he  had, 
been  of  sufficient  calibre,  the  fort  could  not  have  stood 
the  siege  of  a  week.  After  which,  the  army  might 
have  passed  down  the  country,  no  obstruction  was  in 
the  way,  numbers  would  have  joined  upon  the  march, 
and  Gates  been  put  between  two  fires.  Had  this  been 
done,  the  scandalous  convention  at  Saratoga  would  in 
all  human  probability  never  have  happened,  and  the 
British  arms  thereby  so  infamously  disgraced.  Her- 
cheimer,  who  commanded  the  rebels  and  was  slain  in 
the  action,  had  a  brother  a  captain  with  Sir  John  John- 
son, by  whose  hand  perhaps  the  General  fell.  "What 
dire  effects  from  civil  discord  flow." 

In  October,  1777,  General  Clinton,  who  then  com- 
manded at  New  York,  sailed  up  the  Hudson  with 
about  3,000  troops,  and  a  train  of  artillery,  convoyed 
by  Sir  James  Wallace  with  a  number  of  men-of-war. 
He  attacked,  and  took,  all  the  rebel  forts  in  the  High- 

1  Lord  George  Genuine.  '  General  Burgoyne. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  219 

0 

lands,  to  wit,  Montgomery,  Clinton,  and  Constitution. 
The  men-of-war  took,  destroyed,  or  drove  ashore,  all 
the  rebel  shipping  in  the  river.  Sir  James  took  up  the 
chevaux-de-frise  below  Polopel's  Island,  and  went 
with  a  number  of  troops  under  General  Vaughn  within 
20  miles  of  Albany.  Kingston,  a  large  rebel  village 
upon  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson,  was  burnt,  and 
a  number  of  rebel  houses  on  the  east  side  of  the  river. 
At  this  time  the  Saratoga  convention  was  not  entered 
into.  The  intent  of  this  expedition  was  evidently  to 
relieve  Burgoyne.  Unluckily,  at  this  very  time  General 
Clinton  received  orders  from  General  Howe  to  send 
him  4,000  men  to  Philadelphia,  for  the  attack  on  Red 
Bank.  He  was  obliged  to  obey.  The  men  were  sent, 
the  river  abandoned,  the  forts  demolished,  and  the 
stores,  artillery,  and  provisions  sent  to  New  York. 1 
General  Tryon,  with  a  detachment  of  the  army,  burnt 
the  Continental  village,  upon  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
in  which  was  deposited  stores  and  provisions  of  an 
amazing  quantity,  for  the  use  of  the  three  forts  in  the 

1  General  Putnam,  who  had  the  command  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  wrote  to 
Gates  upon  this  occasion  thus:  "  I  cannot  flatter  you  or  myself  with  the  hopes  of 
"preventing  the  enemy's  advancing,  therefore  prepare  for  the  worst."  He  then 
goes  on  and  says  :  "  The  militia  of  Connecticut  came  in  yesterday,  and  the  day  be- 
"  fore,  in  great  numbers,  but  am  sorry  to  say  they  already  begin  to  run  away.  The 
"  enemy  can  lake  a  fair  wind,  and  with  their  flat  bottomed  boats,  which  have  all 
"sails,  go  to  Albany  or  Half  Moon  with  great  expedition,  and  I  believe  without 
"  any  opposition."  Half  Moon  is  16  miles  below  where  Gates  was  encamped.  A 
junction  between  Clinton  and  Burgoyne  must  inevitably  have  taken  effect,  and 
Gates'  army  captured  or  dispersed,  had  it  not  been  for  General  Howe's  order  to 
Clinton  at  this  very  critical  time,  to  send  4,000  men  to  Philadelphia.  The  Hud- 
son secured,  the  communication  between  the  eastern  and  the  southern  colonies 
cut  off,  and  the  rebellion  would  have  been  at  an  end.  The  Rev.  Doctor  Cooper,  in 
his  history  of  the  American  War,  says  :  "  Had  General  Vaughn  instead  of  amusing 
"  himself  in  burning  Esopus  and  gentlemen's  seats  along  the  river,  he  might  with  a 
"  flood  tide  have  reached  Albany  in  4  hours,  as  there  was  no  force  to  hinder  him. 
"  Had  he  proceeded  thither  and  burnt  the  stores,  Gates,  as  he  afterwards  declared 
"  himself,  must  have  broken  up  his  encampment  and  retreated  into  New  England, 
"  Burgoyne  and  his  army  would  then  have  been  safe." 


220 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Highlands.  The  village  was  about  four  miles  from 
the  river.  No  sooner  were  the  forts  in  the  Highlands 
destroyed,  and  General  Clinton  returned  to  New  York, 
than  the  rebels  again  took  possession  of  them,  rebuilt 
the  forts,  made  them  stronger  than  ever,  and  held 
them,  with  the  possession  of  the  river  above,  until  the 
end  of  the  war.  All  this  was  undoubtedly  occasioned  by 
General  Howe's  neglecting  to  fortify  Red  Bank  when 
in  his  possession.  By  this  neglect,  we  lost  Count  Donop 
and  800  of  his  party.  By  this,  we  lost  two  men-of-war, 
and  a  number  of  men,  in  the  attack  upon  Mud  Island. 
By  this,  we  lost  the  three  forts  in  the  Highlands,  and 
the  complete  possession  of  the  Hudson,  than  which 
nothing  could  contribute  more  towards  putting  an  end  to 
the  rebellion.  And  this  same  piece  of  neglect,  with  the 
consequences  attending  it,  in  a  great  measure  contribut- 
ed to  the  loss  of  General  Burgoyne  and  his  arm)-.  Had 
the  4,000  troops  not  been  taken  from  the  side  of  New 
York,  a  junction  might  have  been  formed  between  the 
two  armies,  which  would  of  course  have  saved  the  loss  of 
the  northern  army  and  prevented  the  disgrace  which  the 
nation  suffered  in  the  unhappy  convention  of  Saratoga. 

When  the  forts  in  the  Highlands  were  taken,  the 
rebels  had  several  armed  ships  which  the)-  made  use 
of  as  prisons,  for  the  confinement  of  Loyalists.  These 
ships,  finding  it  impossible  to  escape,  were  run  into 
shoal  water  and  set  on  fire.  There  were  at  this  time 
about  150  Loyalists  on  board,  and  confined  below 
decks  in  irons.  The  rebel  crews  got  on  shore,  but  they 
never  released  the  poor  prisoners,  who  all  perished  in 
the  flames.  This  is  an  instance  of  that  rebel  humanity 
of  which  they  made  such  a  boast  during  the  war,  while 
they  were  perpetually  taxing  the  British  with  carrying 
it  on  with  a  barbarity  peculiar  to  savages  only. 


CHAPTER  X. 


I  shall  now  quit  the  military  operations  for  a  while, 
and  in  order  further  to  illustrate  the  character,  the 
conduct,  and  behaviour  of  the  republican  cabal  in  New 
York,  (of  which  William  Smith  the  younger,  William 
Livingston,  and  John  Morin  Scott  were  the  principal 
leaders),  it  will  be  necessary  to  take  a  review  of  the 
several  changes,  deaths,  and  appointments,  which  took 
place  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  that  province,  from  time 
to  time,  from  the  year  1760,  to  the  commencement  of 
the  American  War,  with  sketches  of  the  characters, 
and  anecdotes,  of  the  principal  actors  ;  from  which 
a  proper  judgment  may  be  formed  of  the  views  and 
designs,  by  which  the  republican  faction  in  that  city 
were  ever  actuated. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  1760,  Lieutenant-Governor  De 
Lancey  died,  and  having  been  Chief  Justice  of  the 
province  for  more  than  20  years,  that  place  became 
vacant.  Upon  Mr.  De  Lancey's  death,  Cadwallader 
Colden,  Esq.,  as  President  of  his  Majesty's  Council, 
succeeded  to  the  administration  of  the  "■overnment. 

O 

When  Mr.  De  Lancey  died,  and  his  seat  upon  the 
bench  became  vacant,  the  puisne  Judges  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  were,  John  Chambers,  Daniel  Horsman 


222 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


dcri,  and  David  Jones,  gentlemen  of  unblemished  char- 
acters, undoubted  abilities,  and  affluent  fortunes.  Mr. 
Chambers  had  been  regularly  bred  to  the  law  in  the 
province,  in  all  the  courts  of  which  he  had  practised 
for  a  long  course  of  years,  with  universal  applause,  and 
the  fairest  reputation,  as  an  honest,  upright  man.  He 
was  at  this  time  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  his  reli- 
gion was  that  of  the  Church  of  England,  of  which  he 
was  not  only  a  zealous  professor,  but  an  ornament,  and 
an  honour,  to  the  religion  he  professed.  Mr.  Horsman- 
den  had  his  education  in  England,  where  he  was 
called  to  the  bar.  He  afterwards  went  to,  and  practised 
in,  Virginia,  from  thence  he  went  to  New  York,  and 
practised  there  for  several  years.  He  was  afterwards 
made  Recorder  of  that  city,  and  one  of  the  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court.  He  was  a  man  of  abilities,  a 
churchman,  equally  religious,  and  of  as  good  a  charac- 
ter, as  his  brother  Judge,  Chambers.  Mr.  Jones  was  a 
native  of  the  province,  born  upon  Long  Island,  and 
had  as  good  an  education  as  the  country  in  his  youth 
would  admit  of.  Having  a  large  real  estate  in  Queens 
County,  he  was  while  young  commissioned  a  Judge  of 
the  Inferior  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  that  county. 
He  was  shortly  after  elected  one  of  their  representa- 
tives. He  served  in  that  station  for  22  years,  the  14 
last  of  which,  he  was  Speaker  of  the  House.  In  1758 
he  was  honored  with  a  seat  on  the  Bench  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  He  ever  bore  the  character  of  an  hon- 
est, modest,  sensible  man  ;  his  religion  was  that  of  the 
English  Church ;  and  his  reputation  stood  fair  and'un- 
blemished  in  the  estimation  of  mankind. 

Thus  stood  the  Bench  when  Mr.  De  Lancey  died. 
The  Chief  Justiceship  of  the  province  was  a  high  and 
honourable  station.    The  salary  was  large,  and  the  per- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  2  23 

quisites  great.  No  wonder  several  candidates  ap- 
peared. Mr.  Colden  being  President  of  the  Council 
and  head  of  the  Government,  all  applications  were 
made  to  him.  Mr.  Chambers  modestly  hinted  his  ex- 
pectations, founded  upon  a  kind  of  right,  as  being 
next  in  succession.  Horsmanden,  though  younger  in 
commission  than  Chambers,  made  a  dead  push  for  the 
seat.  Two  other  candidates  applied,  to  wit,  Robert 
Hunter  Morris,  Esq.,  of  New  Jersey,  and  W  illiam 
Smith,  Esq.,  then  a  practising  attorney  at  the  Bar  of 
the  Supreme  Court.  Mr.  Morris  was  a  man  of  abili- 
ties, deeply  read  in  the  law,  was  well  connected  in 
New  Yurk  as  well  as  New  Jersey,  sustained  a  good 
character,  had  no  religion,  and  was  a  strong  republi- 
can. He  had  served  for  many  years  as  Chief  Justice 
of  New  Jersey,  with  the  esteem  and  approbation  of  the 
inhabitants,  by  whom  he  was  in  general  beloved.  He 
afterward  served  for  some  years  as  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor of  Pennsylvania,  under  the  appointment  of  the 
proprietors,  with  the  approbation  of  his  Majesty ;  but 
having  been  removed  from  his  government,  was  at  this 
time  acting  as  Chief  Justice  of  New  Jersey.  Smith 
was  one  of  the  Council  for  New  York,  a  practising 
attorney,  a  fluent  speaker,  not  very  deeply  read  in  the 
law.  His  reputation  and  character  as  a  lawyer,  after  a 
practice  of  more  than  thirty  years,  were  but  slight,  in- 
different, and  very  freely  spoken  of;  his  principles 
were  republican,  and  his  religion  presbyterian.  These 
were  the  four  gentlemen  who  applied  for  the  chief 
seat  upon  the  Bench. 

Mr.  Colden  was  a  politician  ;  he  was  aiming  himself 
at  the  government,  and  was  determined  to  give  the 
Ministry  no  offence  by  the  appointment  of  a  Chief 
Justice  without  their  consent.    In  answer  to  the  appli- 


224 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


cation  from  Mr.  Chambers,  he  told  him  fairly,  "  that  he 
''should  not  appoint  till  he  heard  from  England."  To 
that  of  Mr.  Horsmanden,  "that  as  he  was  a  junior  to  Mr- 
k*  Chambers,  he  could  by  no  means  think  of  promot- 
ing him  over  the  head  of  his  senior."  To  Mr. 
Morris's,  "  that  as  he  lived  in  a  different  province,  of 
"  which  he  was  the  Chief  Justice,  it  would  be  inconsist- 
"  ent  and  ill-judged,  to  take  him  from  thence,  and  make 
"him  Chief  Justice  of  New  York,  in  preference  to  the 
"Judges  then  upon  the  Bench  in  that  province."  And 
as  to  Smith's,  "that  he  could  never  entertain  the  least 
"  thought  of  casting  such  a  slur,  or  throwing  such  an  in- 
"  dignity,  upon  the  three  Judges  then  upon  the  Bench, 
"  who  were  all  gentlemen  of  abilities,  of  character,  and 
"  fortune,  and  had  long  served  in  their  judicial  capacities 
"  with  the  approbation  of  the  public,  as  to  take  a  prac- 
"  tising  attorney  from  the  Bar  of  that  Bench  of  which 
"  they  were  the  Judges,  and  put  him  over  their  heads  by 
"promoting  him  to  the  seat  of  Chief  Justice." 

This  rejection  of  Smith's  application  by  Colden 
never  was  forgiven  by  the  republicans  in  New  York 
during  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  and  hence  originat- 
ed all  that  abuse,  scandal,  infamy,  billingsgate,  and 
blackguard  stuff,  that  was  shortly  afterwards  so  liber- 
ally bestowed  in  pamphlets,  newspapers,  and  handbills 
upon  that  venerable  old  gentleman,  his  family,  and 
other  near  connections  in  New  York,  by  the  republican 
faction  under  the  guidance  and  direction  of  the  Smiths, 
the  elder,  and  younger,  W  illiam  Livingston,  John  Mo- 
rin  Scott,  Thomas  Smith,  Peter  Van  Brugh  Livingston, 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  John  Vanderspeigle,  Alexander 
McDougal,  and  some  others  of  the  same  stamp.  Mr. 
Colden,  however,  noth withstanding  all  the  clamor, 
scurrility,  abuse,  and  interest,  of  the  republican  faction, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  22$ 

succeeded  Mr.  De  Lancey  as  Lieutenant-GoYernor. 
General  Moncton  was  appointed  Captain-General  and 
Commander-in-Chief.  Major  Gates  (afterwards  a 
General  in  the  rebel  service)  was  his  Secretary,  his 
Aid-de-Camp,  his  Brigade- Major,  his  every  thing;  a 
man  of  mean  capacity,  trifling  intellect,  little  under- 
standing, and  no  learning.  Yet,  astonishing  as  it  is, 
he  had  an  amazing  influence  over  the  General,  who  in 
many  things,  (though  a  sensible  man  himself)  was 
wholly  governed  by  his  opinion.  This  gentleman  was 
a  proper  object  for  the  republican  cabal.  He  was 
coaxed,  caroused,  flattered,  and  entertained.  The 
principal  agents  were  Smith  the  younger,  William 
Livingston,  and  Scott.  Through  his  means  they 
wormed  themselves  into  the  good  graces  of  the  Gen- 
eral, and  at  length  prevailed  upon  him  to  commit  an  act 
for  which  he  never  forgave  Gates  or  his  advisers. 
The  General  was  bound  upon  an  expedition  against 
Martinico,  and  before  his  departure,  through  the  ad- 
vice of  Gates,  (instigated  by  Smith,  Jun.,  William  Liv- 
ingston and  Scott)  he  insisted  upon  Mr.  Colden's 
giving  him  a  bond  in  a  large  penalty,  with  sufficient 
securities,  conditioned  (upon  the  Governor's  return)  to 
account  upon  oath  for  all  the  perquisites  and  emolu- 
ments of  government.  Degrading  as  it  was,  Colden 
submitted.  The  Governor  had  a  power  of  superced- 
ing the  Lieutenant-Governor.  The  bond  was  ex- 
ecuted. The  Governor  sailed,  landed  at  Martinico, 
took  the  island,  and  returned  to  New  York  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months.  Upon  his  return  he  sent  for 
Mr.  Colden,  apologized  for  his  former  conduct,  deliv- 
ered him  up  the  bond,  took  his  word  as  to  the  emolu- 
ments of  government,  and  a  constant  friendship  ever 
after  subsisted  between  them. 
IS 


226 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Mr.  Colden  not  having  appointed  a  Chief  Justice  in 
the  room  of  Mr.  De  Lancey,  the  Ministry  at  the  same 
time  that  they  appointed  General  Moncton  to  be  Gov- 
ernor, and  Mr.  Colden  Lieutenant-Governor,  also  ap- 
pointed Benjamin  Pratt,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  the 
Massachusetts  bar,  to  be  Chief  Justice  of  New  York. 
Mr.  Pratt  arrived  in  New  York  early  in  1761,  when 
his  letters  patent  passed  the  seals  in  consequence  of 
his  Majesty's  royal  mandamus  for  that  purpose,  was 
himself  qualified  according  to  law,  and  in  January  Term 
took  his  seat  upon  the  Bench,  none  of  the  other 
Judges  being  present.  This  gentleman  was  a  person 
of  great  note,  and  of  high  estimation  in  his  native  pro- 
vince as  a  lawyer,  his  abilities  were  considerable,  his 
memory  amazingly  strong  and  retentive.  He  had. 
however,  a  method  of  speaking  extremely  disagreeable 
in  New  York.  His  manners,  his  address,  his  eloquence, 
and  action,  were  calculated  perhaps  for  making  a  fig- 
ure, and  shining,  in  the  courts  at  Boston,  but  were  by 
no  means  calculated  for  the  meridian  of  the  province 
of  which  he  was  now  Chief  Justice.  He  was  a  perfect 
stranger  to  the  municipal  laws  of  the  Colony,  not 
deeply  read  in  the  laws  of  England,  and  as  to  the 
practice  of  the  Courts  at  New  York,  a  mere  novice. 
It  has  been  already  mentioned,  that  Mr.  Pratt  took  his 
seat  as  Chief  Justice  of  New  York  in  January  Term, 
1 76 1.  He  was  alone,  the  other  Judges  being  all  ab- 
sent. The  reason  was  this.  On  the  30th  of  October. 
1760,  George  the  2nd  died,  upon  which  contingency  I 
am  told,  the  Judges'  commissions  became  void,  and 
their  power  afterwards,  continued  only  in  consequence 
of  an  Act  of  Parliament,  and  the  new  King's  proclama- 
lion,  authorising  all  officers  of  Government  to  proceed 
in  the  execution  of  their  offices  for  six  months  after  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  22  7 

demise  of  the  Crown,  or  until  the  issuing  of  new  com- 
missions, or  the  appointment  of  other  officers.  The 
Judges,  when  the  King  died,  all  held  their  commis- 
sions "  during1  £ood  behaviour."  These  commissions 
upon  the  King's  death  becoming  void,  and  executable 
only  by  virtue  of  the  Act  of  Parliament,  and  the  new 
King's  proclamation  as  aforesaid,  Mr.  Colden  offered 
to  renew  ;  but  refused  to  renew  them  upon  an)-  other 
terms  than  "  during  pleasure,"  agreeably  to  his  in- 
structions, which  he  was  determined  at  all  events  to 
make  the  governing  rule  of  his  conduct.  Upon  these 
terms  the  Judges  refused  the  acceptance  of  new  com- 
missions. Matters  were  now  in  an  odd  situation. 
There  were,  in  short,  courts,  and  yet  no  courts.  Judges, 
and,  as  it  were,  no  Judges.  The  courts  were  kept 
open,  common  rules  were  entered.  Some  trifling 
cases  were  tried,  but  as  to  the  trial  of  criminals,  or 
civil  causes  of  any  consequence,  the  Judges  refused, 
giving  as  a  reason  the  perplexed,  uncertain,  and  un- 
determined state  in  which  their  commissions  stood. 
Thus  circumstanced  was  the  Supreme  Court  at  New 
York  when  Mr.  Pratt  arrived,  who  had  accepted  of 
his  commission  "during  pleasure."  He  was  qualified, 
and  had  taken  his  seat  upon  the  Bench  as  has  been 
before  mentioned.  Mr.  Chambers,  conceiving  himself 
badly  treated,  upon  Mr.  Pratt's  appointment  resigned 
his  commission.  Mr.  Pratt  being  left  upon  the  Bench 
the  whole  of  January  Term  by  himself,  and  being  un- 
acquainted with  the  practice  of  the  courts,  and  the  laws 
of  the  colony,  found  himself  so  perplexed  and  bewil- 
dered, that  as  soon  as  the  term  ended,  he  applied  to 
Mr.  Colden  and  begged  that  the  Bench  might  be  filled 
up.  Mr.  Colden  sent  to  the  two  remaining  Judges, 
and  desired  to  know  whether  they  would  accept  of 


2  28  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

their  commissions  upon  the  terms  he  had  already 
offered  them  or  not  ?  This  had  the  desired  effect. 
They  consulted  their  friends,  and  were  advised  to  ac- 
cept of  their  commissions  upon  the  terms  proposed. 
They  did  so,  gave  up  the  dispute,  and  took  their  seats 
upon  the  Bench.  Thus  the  Crown,  through  the  per- 
severance of  Mr.  Colden,  carried  its  point. 

The  Judges,  who  had  for  many  years  before  held 
their  commissions  "  during  good  behaviour,"  and  were 
of  course  independent  of  the  crown,  were  now  pre- 
vailed upon  to  accept  them  "  during  pleasure,"  and  to 
become  mere  dependants.  Mr.  Pratt,  in  consequence 
of  having  accepted  of  his  commission  "  during  pleas- 
ure," and  thereby  set  the  precedent,  met  with  a  good 
deal  of  ill-will,  was  insulted,  abused,  and  lampooned 
through  the  artful  insinuations,  and  cunning,  sly,  dark 
designs  of  the  republican  faction,  of  which  the  two 
Smiths,  senior  and  junior.  William  Livingston.  John 
Morin  Scott,  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Peter  Van  Brugh 
Livingston,  Philip  Livingston,  and  Thomas  Smith,  were 
the  principal  leaders.  Mr.  Pratt  was  opposed  in  every 
judicial  act  he  did,  plagued,  and  harassed,  by  the 
Smiths,  William  Livingston,  and  Scott,  the  then  lead- 
ing gentlemen  at  the  bar.  He  was,  in  short,  through 
the  means  of  the  faction,  neglected  in  a  great  measure 
by  the  whole  town,  Mr.  Colden's  family  and  connec- 
tions, and  those  of  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Auchmuty,1 
only  excepted. 

The  General  Assembly  being  at  this  period  govern- 

1  The  Reverend  Mr.  Samuel  Auchmuty,  at  that  time  Rector  of  Trinity  Church, 
a  native  of  Boston,  a  gentleman  of  a  most  unblemished  character,  amiable  dispo- 
sition, and  strict  loyalty,  who  suffered  most  severely  from  the  power  of  the  rebels 
prior  to  the  reduction  of  New  York  by  the  King's  troops,  and  at  last  died  of  a 
broken  heart,  brought  on  by  the  wickedness  and  depravity  of  the  times.  Mr. 
Pratt  was  married  to  this  gentleman's  sister. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  229 

ed  by  the  republican  faction,  (of  which  Philip  Living- 
ston, Robert  R.  Livingston,  Henry  Livingston,  and  P. 
R.  Livingston  were  the  leaders  within  doors,  and  the 
two  Smiths,  William  Livingston  and  Scott  the  princi- 
pal advisers  without),  warmly  took  up  the  affair  of 
the  Judges'  commissions,  and  passed  some  resolves 
containing  cruel  reflections  upon  the  conduct  of  the 
Chief  Justice  for  accepting  his  commission  during  pleas- 
ure ;  and  very  severe  and  similar  ones  against  the  Lieut.- 
Governor  and  his  advisers,  for  not  granting  the  com- 
missions during  good  behaviour,  whom  they  declared 
enemies  to  the  Colony,  to  the  Government,  and  the 
Constitution,  and  threatened  to  grant  no  salaries  either 
to  him,  or  the  Judges,  unless  commissions  were  granted 
in  that  form.    The  Lieut.-Governor,  piqued  at  these 
resolves  and  threats,  well  knowing  from  whence  the 
storm  arose,  and  suspecting  the  design  was  only  to 
render  him  unpopular  and  odious  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people,  and  that  the  house  was  actuated  by  a  spirit  of 
party,  and  not  the  love  of  their  country,  boldly  took 
the  resolution  of  putting  their  boasted  patriotism  to 
the  test.    He  therefore  sent  them  a  message  by  his 
Secretary,  acquainting  them,  that  convinced  of  the  ne- 
cessity and  propriety  of  the  Judges  being  totally  inde- 
pendent, he  had  come  to  a  resolution  of  granting  them 
their  commissions  during  good  behaviour,  and  thereby 
making  them  independent  of  the  Crown,  upon  this 
express  condition,  however,  that  the  Assembly  should 
settle  upon  them  definite,   permanent  salaries,  pay- 
able without  any  interference  or  control  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  determinable  only  upon  the  determination  of 
their  respective  commissions.    What  a  glorious  offer  ! 
What  a  noble  opportunity  was  here  of  having  the 
Judges,  to  every  sense  and  purpose,  as  absolutely  in- 


230 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


dependent  as  it  was  possible  to  make  them.  Yet  this 
offer,  so  reasonable  in  itself,  and  so  advantageous  and 
beneficial  to  the  Colony,  was  rejected  by  the  Assembly. 
All  further  proceedings  in  this  business  (which  had 
been  conducted  with  so  much  violence  and  rancour) 
were  now  instantly  dropped.  The  Assembly  wished 
to  have  the  Judges  independent  of  the  Crown,  but 
were  determined  to  have  them  dependent  upon  them- 
selves, if  possible.  This  scheme  failing,  they  were 
glad  to  let  the  controversy,  the  clamour,  cease.  Mr. 
Colden  had  outwitted  them.  His  conduct  was  in  ^en- 
eral  approved  of.  Great  pains  were  now  taken  to 
have  all  things  quieted.  The  bustle  in  a  short  time 
subsided,  and  in  a  few  weeks  nothing  more  was  heard 
of  the  matter. 

All  this  trouble  between  Mr.  Colden  and  the  Assem- 
bly relative  to  the  Judges'  commissions,  happened  while 
General  Moncton  was  absent  upon  his  expedition 
against  Martinico. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1762,  Mr.  Pratt  went  to  Bos- 
ton upon  a  visit  to  his  relations,  was  taken  ill  soon 
after  his  arrival,  and  died  in  a  few  days,  upon  which 
Mr.  Moncton  completed  the  bench.  He  appointed 
Mr.  Horsmanden  Chief  Justice.  To  Mr.  Jones  he 
gave  the  next  commission,  to  William  Smith,  the  elder, 
the  third,  and  to  Robert  R.  Livingston  the  fourth. 
This  seems  to  have  been  a  piece  of  policy.  The  two 
former  Judges  were  promoted,  and  the  two  new  ones 
appointed  out  of  the  republican  party.  Nor  did  Smith, 
nor  Livingston,  ever  make  an  objection  to  receive 
their  commissions  "  during  pleasure,"  though  they 
had  made  such  a  work  about  it  a  few  months  before. 

An  anecdote  which  shows  the  assurance  of  the  re- 
publican cabal  in  New  York,  must  be  now  mentioned. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  23  I 

Prior  to  filling  up  the  bench,  an  attempt  was  made 
by  the  party  (of  which  Smith  junior,  William  Living- 
ston, Scott,  and  Thomas  Smith  publicly  appeared  as 
the  leaders)  to  prevail  upon  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil to  appoint  the  elder  Smith  the  second  Judge,  in  pref- 
erence to  Mr.  Jones,  though  Mr.  Smith  had  never 
been  upon  the  bench,  and  Mr.  Jones  had  served  with 
reputation  for  many  years.  Jones  was  a  churchman, 
and  a  friend  to  the  established  constitution.  Smith 
was  a  republican,  a  presbyterian,  and  a  professed 
enemy  to  all  earthly,  kingly,  government.  Horse- 
manden  was  very  old,  and  might  soon  die.  Should 
Smith,  therefore,  and  the  faction  succeed  in  this  favour- 
ite scheme,  and  Horsmanden's  death  happen.  Smith 
would,  in  all  probability,  be  preferred  to  the  head  of 
the  bench,  than  which  nothing  could  be  more  grateful, 
flattering  to,  or  more  devoutly  to  be  wished  for  by, 
the  republicans.  Smith  preferred  his  petition,  asking 
the  appointment.  The  Governor  laid  it  before  the 
Council.  It  was  rejected  with  disdain.  Mr.  Jones 
was  appointed  the  second  Judge,  and  Smith,  to  the 
great  mortification  of  himself  and  friends,  was  obliged 
to  accept  of  the  third. 

In  November,  1769,  Smith  the  elder  died,  and  the  va- 
cant seat  was  filled  up  by  the  appointment  of  George 
Duncan  Ludlow,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, the  eldest  son  of  an  opulent  merchant,  with  large 
family  connections,  of  great  abilities,  and  deeply  read 
in  the  law.  When  this  gentleman  first  left  college  he 
entered  into  trade,  intending  to  pursue  a  mercantile 
course  of  life,  but  being  rather  unfortunate  in  business, 
he  prudently  broke  up  his  store,  disposed  of  his  mer- 
chandise, and  purchased  a  genteel  farm  in  Queens 
county,  upon  Long  Island,  and  retired  to  the  pleasures 


232 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


of  a  country  life.  Here  he  first  attempted  the  law,  and 
by  dint  of  hard  study,  constant  application,  retentive 
memory,  and  a  most  brilliant  genius,  he  in  a  short 
time  made  an  amazing-  proficiency  in  that  intricate 
science.  Living  in  the  country,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Mr.  Colden,  an  intimacy  took  place,  and  Mr.  Col- 
den,  when  Smith  died  (having  the  administration  in 
his  hands),  recommended  him  to  the  Council  as  a  pro- 
per person  to  fill  the  vacant  seat.  The  Council  ap- 
proved, and  he  was  commissioned  accordingly.  He  is 
a  descendant  in  a  direct  line  from  the  great  General 
Ludlow,  who  served  the  parliament  with  such  distin- 
guished zeal  in  the  great  English  rebellion  in  the  days 
of  the  unfortunate  Charles  the  First,  and  though  he 
possesses  all  the  virtues  of  his  ancestor,  he  inherited 
neither  his  enthusiasm,  his  republican  principles,  nor 
his  presbyterian  religion  ;  he  is  a  warm  episcopalian, 
and  a  steady  loyalist. 

In  September,  1773,  Mr.  Justice  Jones  being  grown 
old,  sickly,  and  infirm,  resigned  his  seat,  and  General 
Try  on,  then  Governor  of  New  York,  with  the  advice 
of  his  majesty's  Council,  appointed  his  only  son, 
Thomas  Jones,  Esq.,  to  the  seat  vacant  by  his  father's 
resignation.  This  gentleman  was  liberally  educated, 
served  a  regular  apprenticeship  to  one  of  the  most 
eminent  council  in  New  York,  was  called  to  the  bar, 
and  practised  in  all  the  courts  of  record  within  the 
province  for  a  number  of  years,  with  honor,  a  fair  char- 
acter, and  unblemished  reputation.  So  early  as  1757, 
he  was  by  Sir  Charles  Hardy,  the  Governor  of  the 
Colony,  made  Clerk  of  the  Inferior  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  for  Queens  County.  In  1769  he  was  appointed 
Recorder  of  the  City  of  New  York,  which  office  he 
exceuted  to  the  universal  satisfaction  of  the  citizens, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  233 

until  September,  1773,  when  he  was  (as  already  men- 
tioned) promoted  to  a  seat  upon  the  bench  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  His  loyalty  is  well  known,  his  integrity 
undoubted,  and  his  religion  that  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. For  his  steady  adherence  to  the  cause  of  his 
sovereign,  his  fixed  opposition  to  rebellion,  and  the 
measures  pursued  prior  to  its  actual  commencement, 
he  became  extremely  obnoxious  to  the  rebel  powers. 
In  consequence  of  which,  he  was  three  times  a  prisoner, 
treated  by  the  rebels  with  the  utmost  severity,  indig- 
nity, and  contempt,  suffered  a  captivity  of  nearly  a  year 
in  Connecticut,  was  at  different  times  robbed,  plun- 
dered, and  pillaged,  and  at  last  attainted  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  New  York  of  high  treason,  and  his  estate 
cenfiscated  to  the  use  of  the  State. 

In  December,  1775,  Mr.  Justice  Livingston  died,1  and 
in  the  spring  following,  Whitehead  Hicks,  Esq.,  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacant  seat.  But  the  unhappy 
troubles  increasing,  and  independency  being  shortly 
after  declared,  he  never  took  his  seat  upon  the  bench, 
and  in  the  month  of  October,  17S0,  died.  He  was 
regularly  bred  to  the  law,  was  a  man  of  honour,  integ- 
rity, and  reputation,  had  the  character  of  a  fair  prac- 
titioner, and  possessed  a  good  share  of  sense.  He 
served  many  years  as  mayor  of  the  city,  with  the  ap- 
probation, and  to  the  satisfaction  of,  the  people  in  gen- 
eral. He  was  of  a  gay,  open  disposition,  cheerful 
and  steady  in  his  friendship,  was  universally  beloved, 
and  died  as  universally  lamented.  He  was  a  bon 
vivant,  loved  company,  and  was  a  jovial  fellow. 

1  Ho  early  engaged  in  and  encouraged  the  rebellion,  was  one  of  the  principal 
"  Associators,"  swore  allegiance  to  the  Congress,  and  damned  the  King,  the  Par- 
liament, and  Ministry.  He  was  excessively  timid,  and  when  he  found  Greati 
Britain  in  earnest,  he  put  an  end  to  his  life  by  the  use  of  a  halter. 


234 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Thus  stood  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  province  of 
New  York  when  the  rebellion  broke  out,  and  indepen- 
dency was  declared  by  Congress.  The  bench  was 
complete. 

In  the  spring  of  1778,  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Horsman- 
den  died,  leaving  Ludlow,  Jones  and  Hicks,  the  three 
puisne  Judges,  all  alive  and  in  full  health.  In  a  very 
short  time  afterwards,  William  Smith,  Esq.,  who  had 
resided  among,  and  under  the  protection  of,  rebels 
from  April,  1776,  came  into  New  York  in  the  manner 
before-mentioned,  professing  unbounded  loyalty  to  his 
sovereign,  and  utter  detestation  of,  and  horror  at,  the 
rebellion  then  subsisting.  In  the  month  of  June, 
thereafter,  the  American  Commissioners  arrived  at 
New  York  from  Philadelphia.  In  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Eden  (as  has  been  already  mentioned)  a  scheme 
was  now  laid,  to  oust  General  Tryon  from  his  Govern- 
ment, and  to  substitute  General  Robertson  in  his  place, 
to  get  Mr.  Elliott  (the  brother-in-law  of  Eden)  ap- 
pointed Lieutenant-Governor  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Col- 
den  (who  had  been  dead  some  years),  and  Smith 
Chief  Justice,  in  the  room  of  Horsmanden,  and  in  pref- 
erence to  Ludlow,  who  was,  as  the  eldest  puisne  Judge, 
in  justice  and  equity,  entitled  to  the  succession.  In 
pursuance  of  this  plan,  as  before  related,  Robertson 
obtained  leave  of  absence  and  sailed  for  England  a 
short  time  after  the  Commissioners,  where,  by  Eden's 
assistance,  and  by  propagating  a  thousand  falsehoods, 
giving  wrong  informations,  and  turning  out  a  voluntary 
witness  against  Sir  William  Howe,  in  order  to  please 
Lord  George  Germaine,  he  succeeded  to  the  utmost 
wishes  of  himself  and  friends.  Tryon  was  displaced 
without  a  reason,  and  Robertson  appointed  his  suc- 
cessor.   Elliot  was  made  Lieutenant-Governor,  and 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  235 

the  virtuous,  the  loyal,  and  worthy,  Mr.  Smith  was 
taken  from  the  bar,  a  practising  attorney,  and  pro- 
moted to  the  Chief-Justiceship  of  the  province  in  pref- 
erence to  Ludlow,  whose  right  in  justice  and  equity  it 
undoubtedly  was,  and  in  whose  favour  common  policy, 
as  well  as  common  sense,  dictated  the  appointment 
should  have  been  made. 


CHAPTER  XL 


I  shall,  for  the  present,  leave  political  matters,  and 
proceed  to  the  further  operations  of  the  American  war. 

Early  in  the  spring-  of  1778,  some  successful  preda- 
tory expeditions  were  undertaken  by  the  British  from 
Philadelphia  into  New  Jersey,  and  upon  the  Delaware 
a  party  of  the  enemy  were  surprised,  who  suffered 
considerably  in  men.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  in 
these  expeditions,  and  some  of  the  like  kind  from 
Rhode  Island  the  same  spring,  was  exceedingly  great, 
both  with  respect  to  public  and  private  property, 
ships,  boats,  houses,  places  of  worship,  stores  of  all 
sorts,  and  of  whatever  nature,  whether  public  or  pri- 
vate. In  a  word,  everything  useful  to  man  that  was 
liable  to  the  action  of  fire,  was  in  many  places  con- 
sumed. These  kind  of  expeditions  were  of  no  service 
to  the  general  cause.  They  answered  the  purpose  of 
plunderers,  robbers,  and  marauders.  They  answered 
no  other  purpose.  To  put  an  end  to  the  rebellion",  the 
only  object  should  have  been  the  destruction  of  the 
army  under  Washington.  This  might  have  been 
easily  accomplished,  yet  was  never  attempted.  Wash- 
ington's winter  quarters  were  at  Valley  Eorge,  upon 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  2  7,7 

the  Schuylkill,  with  about  8,ooo  men,1  General  Howe's 
at  Philadelphia,  with  about  20,ooo,2  the  distance,  six- 
teen miles.  In  these  two  places  both  the  armies 
lay  quietly  and  peaceably  during  the  winter  of  1777, 
and  until  the  spring  of  1778;  and  to  the  surprise 
of  everybody,  General  Howe  never  attempted  to  beat 
up  the  rebel  quarters. 

In  the  spring  of  this  year,  1778,  Joseph  Galloway, 
Esq.,  who  had  been  appointed  by  General  Howe  Super- 
intendent of  the  Police  at,  and  of  exports  and  imports 
in  and  out  of,  Philadelphia,  and  had  also  the  command 
of  a  troop  of  Light  Horse,  raised  at  his  own  expense, 
received  intelligence  that  on  such  a  day  the  Governor, 
Lieutenant-Governor,  the  Council,  Judges,  Assembly- 
men, and  Council  of  Safety,  of  the  province  of  New 
Jersey,  were  to  meet  at  Trenton  ;  that  there  were  no 
troops  in  Trenton,  that  they  were  under  no  apprehen 
sion  of  danger,  would  have  no  guard,  and  might  be 
easily  surprised.  Galloway  weighed  the  information 
well,  and  minutely  inquired  into  every  particular  and 
circumstance  about  this  matter.  This  he  was  enabled 
to  do  with  great  ease,  through  the  means  of  his  friends 

1  By  Washington's  own  account,  half  starved,  half  clothed,  numbers  without 
shoes  or  stockings,  living  in  the  dead  of  winter  in  huts,  and  some  of  them  desert- 
ing every  day.  This  must  have  been  well  known  to  General  Howe,  as  Valley 
Forge  is  but  16  miles  from  Philadelphia,  and  many  of  the  deserters  came  into  that 
city.  Vide  Gordon's  History  of  the  American  Revolution.  In  the  middle  of 
December,  1777,  a  part  of  Washington's  army  was  without  bread,  and  for  the 
rest  he  had  not,  either  on  the  spot  or  within  reach,  a  supply  sufficient  for  four 
days.  Both  officers  and  men  were  almost  perishing  through  want,  for  a  fortnight, 
owing  to  the  absolute  emptiness  of  t he  American  magazines  in  every  place,  and 
the  total  want  of  money  and  credit  to  replenish  them.  The  General  was  obliged 
to  call  upon  the  State  of  Jersey,  express  his  situation,  and  in  plain  terms  declare 
that  he  and  his  army  were  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  either  disbanding,  or  cater- 
ing for  themselves,  unless  the  inhabitants  would  afford  them  aid. 

*  In  good  health,  in  good  quarters,  well  fed,  well  clothed,  well  paid  and  flushed 
with  the  victories  of  the  last  campaign. 


238 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


in  the  County  of  Rucks,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were 
in  general  loyal.  Bucks  County  joined  the  Delaware, 
and  Trenton  lay  upon  the  opposite  shore.  The  river 
is  narrow,  and  in  several  places  a  few  miles  above 
Trenton  is  fordable.  Having  well  considered  the 
scheme,  and  convinced  of  its  practicability,  as  well  as 
utility,  he  laid  his  plan,  his  information,  and  every  par- 
ticular, before  General  Howe,  who  gave  it  his  hearty 
approbation,  and  desired  Galloway  to  get  every  thing 
ready  for  carrying  it  into  execution.  But,  behold  ! 
To  the  great  surprise  of  the  projector,  the  day  pre- 
ceding the  night  on  which  the  attempt  was  to  have 
been  made,  (and  every  precaution  had  been  taken  to 
insure  its  success)  the  General  sent  for  Mr.  Galloway, 
and  told  him  the  expedition  must  be  laid  aside.  Gallo- 
way inquired  the  reason.  The  General  told  him  a 
cartel  was  soon  to  be  settled  for  the  exchange  of 
prisoners,  that  it  was,  therefore,  needless  to  make  the 
attempt,  as  in  case  of  its  success  the  prisoners  would 
all  be  entitled  to  their  exchange  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days.  This  was  a  mighty  odd  kind  of  a  reason.  At 
this  very  time  Governor  Penn,  of  Pennsylvania,  with 
a  number  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia, 
were  prisoners  upon  the  frontiers  of  the  Colony. 
Governor  Franklin  of  New  Jersey  was  in  actual  cus- 
tody, shut  up  in  a  nasty,  dirty  jail  in  New  England, 
and  a  number  of  the  principal  gentlemen  of  New  York, 
consisting  of  Judges,  of  members  of  his  majesty's 
Council,  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  physicians, 
merchants,  and  respectable,  substantial  farmers,  were 
prisoners  to  the  rebel  Chief,  and  then  under  the  orders, 
and  in  custody,  of  the  Governor  of  Connecticut  upon 
their  respecf've  paroles.  Had  Galloway's  plan  suc- 
ceeded (as  it  was  scarcely  possible,  so  judiciously  was 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  239 

it  laid,  to  have  failed),  all  these  gentlemen  might 
have  been  immediately  exchanged.  Instead  of  which, 
no  cartel  ever  took  place,  and  numbers  of  the  gentle- 
men above  alluded  to  were  detained  prisoners  during 
the  whole  war.  By  this  means  his  majesty  lost  the 
services  of  a  number  of  his  faithful,  loyal  subjects,  who, 
had  they  been  exchanged,  the  most  of  them  would 
have  ventured  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  defence  of 
his  just  rights,  and  in  the  suppression  of  an  unnatural 
rebellion.  I  say  the  most  of  them,  because  there 
were  several  quakers  in  the  number  whose  principles 
forbid  their  engaging  in  war,  or  in  carrying  of  arms. 
This  was  the  General  sent  by  Great  Britain  to  quiet 
an  American  rebellion  ! 

Early  in  May,  1778,  Sir  William  Howe  was  super- 
seded in  his  command,  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  ap- 
pointed in  his  place,  with  orders  to  evacuate  Philadel- 
phia, and  remove  the  army,  stores,  &c,  to  New  York. 
The  officers  of  the  Court  of  Police,  and  the  magistrates 
of  that  city,  took  the  alarm.  What  were  they  to  do  in 
case  the  war  was  to  be  given  up,  and  the  fleet  and  army 
withdrawn  from  America  ?  They  had  little  favor  to  ex- 
pect from  Congress.  In  this  dilemma  they  had  a  con- 
sultation among  themselves  and  agreed  to  wait  upon 
Sir  William  Howe,  who  still  had  the  command,  and 
desire  him  candidly  to  let  them  know,  whether  the  war 
was  to  be  relinquished  or  not.  He  gave  them  no 
positive  answer,  but  frankly  offered  them  his  advice, 
which  was,  to  apply  for  a  flag,  to  go  to  General 
Washington,  and  endeavour  through  his  means  to 
make  their  peace  with  Congress.  Surprising  advice 
this,  for  a  British  General  to  give  to  British  subjects 
holding  commissions  under  the  Crown  !  To  join  re- 
bellion, renounce  their  allegiance,  abjure  their  sover- 


240 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


eigh,  perjure  themselves,  and  turn  traitors.  Shocked 
at  this  advice  they  instantly  repaired  to  General  Clin- 
ton and  told  him  the  advice  they  had  received  from 
General  Howe.  Clinton  was  equally  surprised.  He 
told  them  by  no  means  to  pursue  any  steps  of  the 
kind,  that  the  war  was  not  at  an  end,  nor  to  be  given 
up  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  it  was  the  intention  of  his 
Majesty  and  his  ministers,  to  pursue  it  with  the 
utmost  vigour,  and  that  his  Majesty  expected  his  loyal 
subjects  in  America  to  use  their  exertions  in  its  prose- 
cution. These  facts  Joseph  Galloway,  Esq.  (who  was 
at  that  time  Superintendent  of  the  Court  of  Police )  swore 
to,  upon  his  examination  before  the  House  of  Commons. 
The  General  was  present,  nor  was  the  charge  denied. 
From  this  circumstance  let  the  public  judge,  whether 
General  Howe  was  a  real  friend  to  his  Sovereign  or 
not  ?  or  whether  he  ever  intended,  seriously  intended, 
to  put  an  end  to  the  American  War,  if  he  could  avoid 
it?  It  was  frequently  in  his  power,  yet  every  oppor- 
tunity was  neglected.  Rebellion  during  his  command 
instead  of  being  suppressed,  was  actually  cherished, 
nursed,  and  fostered.  The  army  he  had  to  deal  with 
in  1776,  and  1777,  were  so  much  in  want  of  discipline, 
of  arms,  clothing,  and  ammunition,  that  in  several  in- 
stances he  was  near  putting  an  end  to  the  rebellion  in 
spite  of  his  teeth,  and  great  pains  he  took  to  avoid  it. 

The  Royal  Register,  in  speaking  of  this  gentleman, 
says:  "If  Sir  William  Howe  had  fortified  the  hills 
"  about  Boston,  he  could  not  have  been  driven  from  it ; 
"  had  he  pursued  his  victory  upon  Long  Island,  he  had 
"  ended  the  rebellion  ;  had  he  landed  above  New  York 
"  not  a  man  could  have  escaped  ;  had  he  fought  the 
"Americans  at  the  Bronx,  he  was  sure  of  victory ;  had 
"  he  co-operated  with  the  northern  army,  he  had  saved 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  24 1 

'•it;  or  had  he  gone  to  Philadelphia  by  land,  he  had 
"ruined  Mr.  Washington  and  his  forces.  But  as  he 
"  did  none  of  these  things,  had  he  been  consigned  to 
"  his  grave,  instead  of  being  sent  to  America,  many  a 
"stream  of  blood,  man)-  a  million  of  treasure,  and  a 
"lonof  series  of  dishonour  had  been  saved  to  this 
"  country."  Vol.  8th,  page  166.  "  His  summers  were 
"  consumed  in  fatiguing,  expensive,  and  useless,  opera- 
"  tions,  while  the  winters  were  passed  away  in  lust 
"and  luxury,"  id.  163.  "  I  have  read  his  defence  and 
"  found  not  the  expected  justification.  I  have  perused 
"  with  equal  attention  Mr.  Galloway's  observations 
"  upon  it,  and  guilt  is  in  every  page  of  that  examina- 
"tion."    id.  163. 

Upon  the  suspension  of  Sir  William  Howe,  in  his 
command  in  America,  a  most  ridiculous  farce  took 
place.  Philadelphia  was  the  scene  of  action.  The 
officers  of  the  army,  who  had  been  indulged  by  the 
General  in  every  kind  of  dissipation,  luxury,  and  wan- 
tonness, agreed  to  exhibit  a  something  before  unknown 
to  the  New  World,  perhaps  to  the  old.  It  was  to  sig- 
nalize, perpetuate,  and  hand  down  to  the  remotest 
ages,  the  bravery,  the  heroism,  the  military  achieve- 
ments, and  noble  exploits  performed  in  America,  by 
the  two  brothers,  Lord  Howe  and  Sir  William  Howe ; 
the  first  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  navy,  the 
second,  that  of  the  army,  in  America.  The  particulars 
of  this  burletta  are  contained  in  the  following  letter 
from  an  officer  upon  the  spot,  to  his  friend  in  England, 
dated  at  Philadelphia,  the  23d  of  May,  1778.  "For 
"  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  write  to  you  with  unwilling- 
"  ness.  The  ship  which  carries  home  Sir  William  will 
"  convey  this.  We  part  with  him  with  reluctance,  he 
"was  the  favourite  of  the  army.  That  our  sentiments 
16 


242 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  of  his  conduct  while  Commander-in-Chief  in  this 
"  country  might  be  universally  known,  it  was  agreed 
"  to  give  him  as  splendid  an  entertainment  as  the 
"  shortness  of  the  time  would  admit  of.  The  whole 
"  army  would  cheerfully  have  contributed  to  the  ex- 
"  pense  ;  22  field  officers,  however,  joined  in  a  subscrip- 
"  tion  adequate  to  the  plan  they  meant  to  adopt.  The 
"  entertainment  was  called^  Mischianza  and  consist- 
"  ed  in  variety.  Sir  John  Wrotesly,  Colonel  O'Hara, 
"  the  Majors  Gardner  and  Montressor,  were  appointed 
"managers.  On  the  tickets  of  admission  were  en- 
"  graved  in  a  shield,  a  view  of  the  sea,  with  a  setting 
"  sun,  and  on  a  wreath,  the  words,  Lucco  disccndcns 
"  aitcto  splcndorc  rcsurgam.  At  the  top  was  the  Gen- 
"  eral's  crest,  with  vive  vale.  All  round  the  shield  ran 
"  a  vignette,  and  various  military  trophies  filled  up  the 
"  ground.  A  grand  regatta  began  the  procession.  It 
"  consisted  of  three  divisions.  In  the  first,  was  the 
"  Ferret  galley  with  several  general  officers  and  a 
"  number  of  ladies.  In  the  centre,  was  the  Huzzar 
"  galley  with  Sir  William  Howe,  Lord  Howe,  Sir 
"  Henry  Clinton,  their  suites,  and  a  number  of  ladies. 
"  The  Cornwallis  galley  brought  up  the  rear,  having 
"  on  board  General  Knyphausen,  his  suite,  three  Brit- 
"  ish  Generals,  and  a  party  of  ladies.  On  each  quarter 
"  of  these  divisions  were  five  flat  boats,  lined  with 
"  crreen,  and  filled  with  gentlemen  and  ladies.  In  the 
"  front  of  the  whole,  were  three  flat  boats  with  a  band 
"  of  music  in  each.  Six  barges  rowed  about  each  flank, 
"to  keep  off  the  crowd.  The  galleys  were  dressed  in 
"  colours,  and  each  boat  displayed  the  flag  of  its  own 
"  division.  In  the  stream  opposite  the  centre  of  the 
"city,  an  armed  ship,  magnificently  decorated,  was 
"  placed  at  anchor,  and  at  some  distance  ahead  lay  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  243 

"  Roebuck,  with  the  Admiral's  flag  hoisted  at  the 
"  foretopmast  head.  The  transports,  in  a  line  the 
"  whole  length  of  the  city,  were  dressed  in  colours,  and 
"crowded  with  spectators.  The  docks  and  wharves 
"  on  each  side  the  river  were  in  the  same  situation. 
"  The  rendezvous  was  at  Knight's  wharf.  By  four 
"  the  whole  company  were  embarked,  and  the  signal 
"  being  made  by  the  Vigilant  manning  ship,  the  three 
"divisions  rowed  slowly  down  the  river,  keeping  time 
"  to  the  music  that  led  the  fleet.  Opposite  the  Mar- 
ket wharf,  a  signal  was  made  from  one  of  the  boats 
"  ahead.  The  whole  then  lay  upon  their  oars,  and 
"  the  music  played  '  God  save  the  King!  Three 
"  cheers  were  given  from  each  vessel,  and  returned 
"  from  the  multitude  on  the  shore.  The  tide  now  be- 
"  came  too  rapid  for  the  galleys  to  advance.  They 
"  were  of  course  quitted,  and  the  company  disposed  in 
"  different  barges.  The  landing  place  was  at  the  old 
"  fort,  fronting  the  building  prepared  for  the  reception 
"  of  the  company.  As  soon  as  the  General's  barge 
"pushed  for  the  shore,  the  Roebuck  saluted  with  17 
"  guns.  After  a  small  interval  the  Vigilant  did  the  same. 
"  The  company  as  they  disembarked,  arranged  them- 
"  selves  into  a  line  and  advanced  through  an  avenue 
"  formed  by  two  files  of  grenadiers,  supported  by  a 
"  line  of  horse  on  each  side.  This  avenue  led  to  a 
•'  square  lawn  lined  with  troops,  and  prepared  for  the 
"exhibition  of  a  Tilt  and  Tournament  according  to  the 
"  customs  of  ancient  chivalry.  The  whole  proceeded 
"  through  the  centre  of  the  square.  The  music,  con- 
"  sisting  of  all  the  bands  of  the  army,  moved  in  front. 
"  The  managers,  with  blue  and  white  ribbons  upon 
"their  breasts,  followed  next.  The  General,  Admi- 
"  ral,  and  the  rest  of  the  company  succeeded  promis- 


244 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  cubusly.  In  front  appeared  the  building  bounding 
"  the  view,  through  a  vista  formed  by  two  triumphal 
"  arches.  Two  pavilions  with  rows  of  benches  rising 
"  one  above  the  other,  and  serving  as  the  advanced 
"  wings  of  the  first  triumphal  arch,  received  the  ladies, 
'■'  while  the  gentlemen  ranged  themselves  in  order  on 
'■'  each  side.  On  the  front  seat  of  each  pavilion,  were 
'  placed  seven  of  the  principal  young  ladies,  dressed  in 
"  Turkish  habits,  and  wearing  in  their  turbans  the 
"  favours  with  which  they  meant  to  reward  the  Knights 
'who  were  to  contend  in  their  honour.  These  ar- 
'  rangements  being  made,  a  sound  of  trumpets  was 
'  heard  at  a  distance,  and  a  band  of  Knights  dressed 
'  in  habits  of  white  and  red  silk,  and  mounted  on  grey 
'  horses,  richly  caparisoned  in  trappings  of  the  same 
'colours,  entered  the  lists,  attended  by  their  Esquires 
'on  foot,  in  suitable  apparel,  in  the  following  order: 
'  four  trumpeters  properly  habited,  their  trumpets 
'  decorated  with  pendant  small  banners  ;  a  herald  in  his 
'  robes  of  ceremony  ;  on  his  tunic  was  the  device  of 
'  his  band,  two  roses  intertwined  with  the  motto,  we 
'droop  when  separated.  Lord  Cathcart  superbly 
'  mounted  on  a  managed  horse,  appeared  as  Chief  of 
'  these  Knights,  two  young  blacks  with  sashes  and 
'  drawers  of  blue  and  white  silk,  wearing  silver  clasps 
1  round  their  necks  and  arms,  their  breasts  and  shoul- 
'  ders  bare,  held  his  stirrups.  On  his  right  hand 
'  walked  Captain  Hazzard,  and  on  his  left  Captain 
'  Brownlow,  his  two  Esquires,  one  bearing  his  lance, 
'  the  other  his  shield.  His  device  was  Cupid  ridmg 
'  on  a  lion,  the  motto,  '  Surmounted  by  Love.'  His 
'  Lordship  appeared  in  honour  of  Miss  Auchmuty. 
'  Then  came  in  order,  the  Knights  of  his  band,  each 
1  attended  by  his  Esquire,  bearing  his  lance  and  shield. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  245 

"  i st  Knight,  The  Hon.  Captain  Cathcart,  in  honour 
"  of  Miss  White  ;  Squire  Captain  Peters  ;  device,  a 
"  heart  and  sword.    Motto,  'Love  and  Honour.' 

"  2d  Knight,  Lieutenant  Bygrove,  in  honour  of  Miss 
"  Craig,  Squire  Lieutenant  Nicholls ;  device,  Cupid 
"  tracing  a  circle.    Motto,  '  Without  End! 

"  3d  Knight,  Captain  Andre,  in  honour  of  Miss  Chew, 
"  Squire  Lieutenant  Andrfc  ;  device,  two  game  cocks 
"  fighting.    Motto,  '  No  Rival.' 

"4th  Knight,  Captain  Horneck,  in  honour  of  Miss 
"  Redman,  Esquire  Lieutenant  Talbot  ;  device,  a  burn- 
"  ing  heart.    Motto,  '  Abuse  cannot  Extinguish! 

"  5th  Knight,  Captain  Mathews,  in  honour  of  Miss 
"  Bond,  Squire  Lieutenant  Hamilton  ;  device,  a  wing- 
"  ed  heart.    Motto,  '  Each  fair  by  turn! 

"  6th  Knight,  Lieutenant  Sloper,  in  honour  of  Miss 
"  Shippen,  Squire  Lieutenant  Brown  ;  device,  a  heart 
"  and  sword.    Motto,  '  Honour  and  the  Fair! 

"  After  they  had  made  the  circuit  of  the  square,  and 
"  saluted  the  ladies  as  they  passed  before  the  pavil- 
"  ions,  they  ranged  themselves  in  a  line  in  front  of 
"  that  in  which  were  the  ladies  of  their  device,  and  then 
"  the  herald  advancing  into  the  centre  of  the  square, 
"  after  a  flourish  of  trumpets,  proclaimed  the  following 
"  challenge :  The  Knights  of  the  Blended  Rose,  by 
"  me  their  herald  proclaim  and  assert  that  the  ladies  of 
"  the  Blended  Rose,  excel  in  wit,  beauty,  and  every 
"  accomplishment  those  of  the  ivhole  world /  and 
"  should  any  Knight  or  Knights,  be  so  hardy  as  to  dis- 
"  pute  or  deny  it,  they  are  ready  to  enter  the  lists  with 
"  them,  and  maintain  their  assertions  by  deeds  of  arms, 
"  according  to  the  laws  of  ancient  chivalry.  At  the 
"  third  repetition  of  the  challenge,  the  sound  of  trum- 
"  pets  was  heard  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  square  ; 


246 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  and  another  herald  with  four  trumpeters,  dressed  in 
"  black  and  orange,  galloped  into  the  lists.  He  was 
"  met  by  the  herald  of  the  Blended  Rose,  and  after  a 
"  short  parley  they  both  advanced  in  front  of  the  pa- 
"  vilions,  when  the  black  herald  ordered  his  trumpets 
"  to  sound,  and  then  proclaimed  defiance  to  the  chal- 
"  lenge  in  the  following  words  :  The  Knights  of  the 
"  Burning  Mountain  present  themselves  here,  not  to 
"  contest  by  words,  but  to  disprove  by  deeds,  the 
"  vain-glorious  assertions  of  the  Knights  of  the  Blend- 
"  ed  Rose,  and  enter  these  lists  to  maintain,  that  the 
"  ladies  of  the  Burning  Mountain  are  not  excelled  in 
"  virtue,  beauty,  or  accomplishments  by  any  in  the  uni- 
"  verse.  He  then  returned,  upon  which  the  black 
"  Knights,  attended  by  their  Squires,  rode  into  the  lists 
"  in  the  following  order  : 

"  4  Trumpeters  preceding  the  herald  on  whose  tu 
"  nic  was  represented  a  mountain  sending  forth  flames. 
"  Motto,  '  /  burn  for  ever.'  Captain  Watson  as 
"  Chief,  dressed  in  a  suit  of  black  and  orange  silk,  and 
"  mounted  on  a  black  horse,  with  trappings  of  the 
"  same  colours  with  his  own  dress,  appeared  in  honour 
"  of  Miss  Franks  ;  he  was  attended  as  Lord  Cathcart 
"  was.  Captain  Scott  bore  his  lance,  and  Lieutenant 
"  Lyttleton  his  shield.  The  device,  a  heart  with  a 
"  wreath  of  flowers.    Motto,  'Love  and  Glory! 

"  1st  Knight,  Lieutenant  Underwood,  in  honour  of 
"  Miss  S.  Shippen,  Squire,  Ensign  Haverham  ;  device, 
"  a  pelican  feeding  her  young.  Motto,  '  For  those  1 
"  '  /ove.' 

"  2d  Knight,  Lieutenant  Winyard,  in  honour  of  Miss 
"  T.  Shippen,  Squire,  Captain  Boscawen  ;  device,  a 
"  bay  leaf.    Motto,  '  Unchangeable.' 

"  3d  Knight,  Lieutenant  Delaval,  in  honour  of  Miss 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  247 

"  Bond,  Squire,  Captain  Thorne  ;  device,  a  heart  aimed 
"at  by  several  arrows,  and  struck  by  one.  Motto, 
"  '  One  only  pierces  me.' 

"  4th  Knight,  Lieutenant  Montluisant,  in  honour  of 
"  Miss  Redman,  Squire,  Captain  Campbell;  device,  a 
"  sun-flower  turning  towards  the  sun.  Motto,  '  jfe  vise 
"  '  a  vous.' 

"  5th  Knight,  Lieutenant  Hobbart,  in  honour  of  Miss 
"  S.  Chew,  Squire,  Lieutenant  Briscoe  ;  device,  Cupid 
"  piercing  a  coat  of  mail  with  his  arrow.  Motto, 
u  <  prooj~  t0  all  but  Love.' 

"  6th  Knight,  Major  Tarleton,  in  honour  of  Miss 
"  Smith,  Squire,  Ensign  Heart ;  device,  a  light  dragoon. 
"  Motto,  '  Swift,  Vigilant,  and  Bold.' 

"  After  they  had  rode  round  the  lists  and  made  their 
"  obeisance  to  the  ladies,  they  drew  up  facing  the 
"  White  Knights,  and  the  Chief  of  these  having  thrown 
"  down  his  gauntlet,  the  Chief  of  the  Black  Knights 
"  directed  his  Esquire  to  take  it  up.  The  Knights 
"  then  received  their  lances  from  their  Squires,  fixed 
"  their  shields  on  their  left  arms,  and  making  a  gene- 
"  ral  salute  to  each  other  by  a  very  graceful  movement 
"  of  their  lances,  turned  round  to  take  their  career,  and 
"  encountering  in  full  gallop,  shivered  their  spears.  In 
"  the  2d  and  3d  encounters,  they  fired  their  pistols. 
"In  the  fourth  they  fought  with  their  swords.  At 
"  length  the  two  chiefs,  spurring  forward  in  the  centre, 
"  engaged  furiously  in  single  combat,  till  the  Marshal 
"  of  the  field  rushed  in  between  the  chiefs,  and  declared 
"  that  the  fair  damsels  of  the  Blended  Rose,  and  Burn- 
"  ing  Mountain,  were  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  proofs 
"  of  love,  and  the  signal  feats  of  valour  given  by  their 
"  respective  Knights,  and  commanded  them  as  they 
"  prized  the  future  favor  of  their  mistresses,  that  they 


248  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

"  would  instantly  desist  from  further  combat.  Obedi- 
"  ence  being  paid  by  the  Chiefs  to  this  order,  they 
"joined  their  respective  bands.  The  White  Knights 
"  and  their  attendants  filed  to  the  left,  the  Black  Knights 
"  to  the  right,  and  after  passing  each  other  moved  up 
"  alternately,  till  they  approached  the  pavilions  of  the 
"  ladies,  when  they  gave  a  general  salute.  A  passage 
"  being  opened  between  the  two  pavilions,  the 
"  Knights,  preceded  by  the  Squires  and  the  bands  of 
"  music,  rode  through  the  first  triumphal  arch  and  ar- 
"  ranged  themselves  to  the  right  and  left.  This  arch 
"  was  erected  in  honour  of  Lord  Howe.  It  presented 
"  two  fronts  in  the  Tuscan  order.  The  pediment  was 
"  adorned  with  various  naval  trophies,  and  at  the  top 
"  was  the  figure  ot  Neptune  with  a  trident  in  his  right 
"  hand.  In  a  niche  on  each  side  stood  a  sailor  with  a 
"  drawn  cutlass.  Three  plumes  of  feathers  were 
"  placed  on  the  summit  of  each  wing,  and  in  the  entab- 
lature was  the  inscription,  '  Laus  illi  dcbctur,  et 
"  'a/ma  gratia  major.'  In  the  interval  between  the 
"  two  arches  was  an  avenue  300  feet  long  and  34 
"  broad.  It  was  lined  on  each  side  with  a  file  of 
"  troops,  and  the  colours  of  all  the  army,  planted  at 
"  proper  distances,  had  a  beautiful  effect  in  diversify- 
"  ing  the  scene.  Between  these  colours  the  Knights 
"  and  Squires  took  their  stations.  The  bands  con- 
"  tinued  to  play  several  pieces  of  martial  music.  The 
"  company  moved  forward  in  procession,  with  the 
"  ladies  in  the  Turkish  habits  in  front;  as  they  passed, 
"  they  were  saluted  by  their  Knights,  who  dismounted 
"  and  joined  them.  In  this  order  the  whole  were  con- 
"  ducted  to  a  garden  that  fronted  the  house  through 
"  the  2d  triumphal  arch  dedicated  to  the  General. 
"  This  arch  was  also  built  in  the  Tuscan  order.  On 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  249 

"  the  interior  part  of  the  pediment  was  painted  a  plume 
"  of  feathers  and  various  military  trophies.  At  the  top 
"  stood  the  figure  of  Fame,  and  in  the  entablature  this 
"device,  '/  bone  quo  virtus  tua  te  vocet j  I  pede 
"  '/aus/o.'  On  the  right  hand  pillar  was  placed  a 
"  bomb  shell,  and  on  the  left  a  flaming  heart.  The 
"  front  next  the  house  was  adorned  with  preparations 
"  for  a  fire-work.  From  the  garden,  a  flight  of  steps 
"  covered  with  carpets  led  into  a  spacious  hall,  the 
"  panels  painted  in  imitation  of  Sienna  marble,  the 
"  surbase  and  all  below  was  black.  In  this  hall  were 
"  tea,  coffee,  chocolate,  lemonade,  and  other  liquors 
"  with  which  the  company  were  regaled.  The  Knights 
"  now  came  in,  and  upon  their  knees  received  their 
"  favours  from  their  respective  ladies.  A  room  was 
"  also  appropriated  for  the  use  of  the  faro  table  during 
"  the  night.  As  you  entered  it,  you  saw  on  a  panel 
"  over  the  chimney  a  cornucopia  filled  with  flowers  of 
"  the  richest  colours  ;  over  the  door  as  you  went  out, 
"  another  presented  itself  shrunk,  reversed,  and  emp- 
"  tied.  The  ball-room  was  decorated  in  a  light,  elegant 
style  of  painting.  The  ground  was  a  pale  blue,  pan- 
"  elled  with  a  small  gold  bead,  and  in  the  interior  filled 
"  with  drooping  festoons  of  flowers  in  their  natural 
"  colours.  Below  the  surbase,  the  ground  was  of 
"  rose-pink  with  drapery  festooned  in  blue.  These 
"  decorations  were  heightened  by  85  mirrors  decked 
"  with  rose-pink  silk  ribbons,  and  artificial  flowers. 
"  In  the  intermediate  spaces  were  34  branches  with 
"  wax  lights  ornamented  in  a  similar  manner.  There 
"  were  four  drawing  rooms  with  sideboards  of  refresh- 
"  merits  decorated  and  lighted  as  the  ball-room.  The 
"  ball  was  opened  by  the  Knights  and  their  ladies. 
"  The  dances  continued  till  ten.    The  windows  were 


25O  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

"  then  thrown  open,  and  a  magnificent  bouquet  of  rock- 
"  ets  began  the  fireworks.  They  consisted  of  20  differ- 
"  ent  exhibitions,  displayed  under  the  direction  of  the 
"  Chief  Engineer  with  the  happiest  success,  and  in  the 
"  highest  style  of  beauty.  Towards  the  conclusion, 
"  the  interior  part  of  the  triumphal  arch  was  illuminat- 
"  ed  amidst  an  uninterrupted  flight  of  rockets  and 
"  bursting  of  balloons.  The  military  trophies  on  each 
"  side  assumed  a  variety  of  transparent  colours.  The 
"  shell  and  flaming  heart  on  the  wings  sent  forth  Chi- 
"  nese  fountains  succeeded  by  fire  pots.  Fame  ap- 
"  peared  at  the  top  spangled  with  stars,  and  from  her 
"  trumpet  blowing  the  following  device  in  letters  of 
"  light :  '  Tes  Lanricrs  sont  immortels.'  A  fautcur  of 
"  rockets,  bursting  from  the  pediment,  concluded  the 
"  ' feu  d1  artifice.'  At  twelve  supper  was  announced, 
"  and  large  folding  doors  artfully  concealed,  were  now 
"  thrown  open  and  discovered  an  elegant  saloon  of 
"  210  feet  by  40,  and  22  in  height,  with  3  alcoves  on 
"  each  side,  which  served  for  side  boards.  The  ceil- 
"  ing  was  the  segment  of  a  circle,  and  the  sides  were 
"  painted  of  a  light  straw  colour  with  vine  leaves  and 
"  festoon  flowers,  some  in  bright,  some  in  darkish 
"  green.  56  large  pier  glasses  ornamented  with  green 
"  silk,  artificial  flowers  and  ribbons;  100  branches  with 
"  3  lights  in  each,  trimmed  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
"mirrors;  18  lustres,  each  with  24  lights,  suspended 
"  from  the  ceiling  and  ornamented  as  the  branches ;  300 
"  wax  tapers  disposed  along  the  supper  tables ;  430 
"  covers,  1,200  dishes,  24  blacks  in  Oriental  dresses  with 
"  silver  collars  and  bracelets,  ranged  in  two  lines,  and 
"  bending  to  the  ground  as  the  General  and  Admiral 

<_>  O  # 

"  approached  the  saloon — all  forming  together  the  most 
"  brilliant  assemblage  of  gay  objects,  and  all  appear- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  25  I 

"  ing  at  once,  exhibited  a  coup  d'ceil  magnificent  be- 
"  yond  all  description.  Towards  the  end  of  the  supper, 
"  the  herald  of  the  Blended  Rose,  in  his  habit  of  cere- 
"  mony,  attended  by  his  trumpets,  entered  the  saloon 
"  and  proclaimed  the  King's  health,  the  Queen's,  the 
"  Royal  Family,  the  Army  and  Navy,  with  their  re- 
"  spective  commanders,  the  '  Knights  and  their  ladies,' 
"  the  ladies  in  general.  Each  toast  was  followed  by  a 
"  flourish  of  music.  After  supper  the  dancing  recom- 
"  menced  and  continued  till  four  in  the  morning-."1 
Soon  after  the  exhibition  of  this  farce,  comedy,  or 
burletta,  Sir  William  left  Philadelphia  and  sailed  for 
England.  Upon  his  arrival  he  joined  heart  and  hand 
in  supporting  an  unprincipled  faction  then  in  Parlia- 
ment, who  were  opposing  the  administration  of 
Lord  North,  clogging  the  wheels  of  government,  en- 
coura<jino-  the  rebellion  in  America,  and  fomenting  di- 
visions  in  England.  What  Ministry  but  one  headed  by 
an  irresolute,  timid  nobleman,  and  the  hero  of  Minden, 
would  have  intrusted  the  principal  command  in  Ameri- 
ca, the  suppression  of  an  unprovoked  rebellion,  (upon 

1  The  Royal  Register,  in  speaking  of  this  same  Mischianza,  says  :  "  The  Fete  that 
"was  given  Sir  William  by  the  officers  of  his  late  army,  was  not  the  festival  of 
"victory,  who  wished  to  decorate  the  adieus  of  a  hero,  who  had  covered  her  with 
"laurels.  It  was  the  idle  pageantry  of  folly,  it  was  the  fantastical  applause  of 
"grateful  pleasure." 

How  different  were  the  sentiments  of  Sir  Augustus  Elliott,  the  noble  defender  of 
Gibraltar,  from  those  of  Sir  William  Howe.  Having  defended  the  rock  during  the 
whole  of  the  war,  with  great  valour,  courage  and  bravery,  baffled  his  country's 
enemies  and  supported  the  glory  of  Britain  ;  upon  leaving  the  garrison  the  officers 
expressed  an  inclination  of  giving  him  a  grand  entertainment  as  a  mark  of  their 
high  opinion  of  his  eminent  services.  He  was  waited  upon  by  an  officer  of  high 
rank,  who  communicated  the  sentiment  of  his  brethren,  and  begged  to  know  what 
would  be  most  agreeable.  "  Anything,"  replied  the  old  veteran,  "but  a  Mischianza. 
"  The  ladies,  no  doubt,  would  wish  for  a  ball.  But  we  have  had  enough  of  them. 
"And  enough  is  as  good  as  a  feast.  Present  my  most  respectful  thanks  to  my 
"brave  friends,  and  tell  them  my  only  wish  is  to  march  out  of  this  garrison  with 
"  the  honours  of  war.  I  shall  then  ground  my  arms  and  retire  in  triumph."  Vide 
the  British  Journal,  12th  November,  17S5. 


252 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  success  of  which  the  honour,  the  dignity,  and 
almost  the  being-  of  Great  Britain  depended)  to 
a  General,  a  well-known  enemy  to  the  American  War, 
the  partisan  of  a  faction,  a  tool  to,  and  under  the  im- 
mediate influence  of,  the  leaders  of  the  opposition. 
Yet  so  it  was.  Unhappily  for  America,  unhappily  for 
Great  Britain,  he  had  the  command  for  three  years. 
His  army  consisted  sometimes  of  50,000  men,  never  less 
than  30,000  ;  a  fleet  of  nearly  50  sail,  men-of-war,  gal- 
leys, and  armed  ships  under  the  command  of  his  bro- 
ther, was  ready  to  co-operate,  and  yet  nothing  was 
done. 

As  this  Mischianza  was  contrived,  performed,  and 
acted,  in  order  to  perpetuate  and  hand  down  to  pos- 
terity, the  valour,  the  conduct,  the  victories  and  no- 
ble actions  achieved  by  the  two  brothers  while  com- 
manders in  America ;  as  also  their  able  negotiations  as 
commissioners  for  restoring  peace  to  the  colonies  ; 
a  review  shall  be  now  taken  of  the  whole,  and  the  pub- 
lic left  to  judge  how  deserving  the  two  brothers  were 
of  this  triumphal  raree  show,  a  raree  show  laughed  at 
by  one-half  the  army,  ridiculed  by  the  inhabitants, 
damned  by  the  loyalists,  and  made  a  mockery  of,  by 
the  rebels.  To  beg-in  then.  General  Howe  arrived  at 
Boston  in  the  Spring  of  1775.  In  July  he  commanded 
the  attack  upon  Bunker's  Hill,  where,  by  his  mismanage- 
ment, imprudence,  and  ill  conduct,  he  sacrificed  a  little 
army  of  veterans.  Though  he  succeeded  in  the  at- 
tempt, he  lost  at  least  1,000  men  and  100  brave  officers, 
and  in  return  killed,  wounded,  and  made  prisoners  of 
about  150  half  armed  militia,  commanded  by  a  Boston 
physician,  and  got  the  possession  of  a  hill  upon  which 
the  rebels  in  the  course  of  about  1 2  hours  dug  a  few 
holes  to  cover  themselves  against  a  cannonade  from 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


253 


Boston.  In  the  fall  of  1775,  he  was  appointed  to  the 
chief  command  in  America.  He  was  still  at  Boston, 
had  an  army  of  more  than  9,000  effectives,  besides 
sailors,  marines,  and  native  loyalists.  He  continued 
perfectly  still,  (nothing  seemed  to  engross  his  attention 
but  the  faro  table,  the  play  house,  the  dancing  assem- 
bly, and  Mrs.  Loring)  and  permitted  the  rebels  (though 
a  work  of  some  months)  to  collect  such  a  body  of  men 
about  the  town,  and  to  fortify  every  hill  in  its  neigh- 
bourhood, that  an  attempt  to  dislodge  them  was  look- 
ed upon  as  a  dangerous  expedient.  I  lis  quarters 
became  amazingly  confined.  The  army  was  intensely 
cooped  up  in  the  town.  No  fresh  provisions  were  to 
be  had.  Fuel  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  procured. 
No  forage  could  be  got.  The  enemy  (though  at  this 
time  a  half-armed,  and  half-clothed  militia)  every  day 
grew  more  and  more  numerous.  Dorchester  point, 
within  gunshot  of  Boston,  was  possessed  by  the  rebels 
and  made  amazingly  strong.  Thus  circumstanced,  the 
General  gave  up  all  thought  of  keeping  the  place. 
He  therefore  embarked  his  army  with  such  of  the  loy- 
alists as  were  afraid  to  stay  behind,  destroyed  a  great 
quantity  of  useful  and  necessary  stores,  left  behind  him 
a  large  train  of  battering  cannon  very  little  damaged, 
and  all  the  horses  belonging  to  the  two  regiments  of 
dragoons.  And  permitting  his  favourites  to  take  as 
much  plunder  (the  property  of  the  inhabitants)  as  the 
shortness  of  the  time  would  admit  of  getting  on  board, 
he  on  the  17th  of  March,  1776,  left  Boston  and  sailed 
for  Halifax,  where  he  arrived  after  a  short  passage 
without  any  loss  whatever.  No  men-of-war  were  left 
in  Boston  Bay  to  prevent  transports,  store  ships,  or 
merchantmen,  not  knowing  of  the  evacuation,  from 
entering  the  port  and  being  captured.    The  conse- 


254 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


quence  of  which  was,  that  several  transports  with 
troops  on  board,  and  a  number  of  merchantmen  with 
provisions  of  every  kind,  and  bound  to  Boston,  for  the 
use  of  the  British  army,  sailed  boldly  into  the  harbour 
and  were  taken  by  the  rebels.  This  was  a  heavy  loss 
to  the  British  army,  to  the  nation,  and  to  a  number  of 
individuals.  A  few  men-of-war  stationed  in  Nantasket 
Roads  would  have  prevented  the  whole.  In  June, 
1776,  the  General  embarked  his  army  at  Halifax,  con- 
sisting of  about  12,000  effectives;  and  on  the  30th 
landed  them  in  good  health  and  high  spirits  upon 
Staten  Island,  in  the  province  of  New  York,  which  the 
rebels  abandoned  upon  the  appearance  of  the  fleet. 
Upon  this  island  he  remained  until  the  22nd  of  August 
following.  In  the  meantime  the  rebels  collected  all 
their  force,  even  their  militia,  from  Connecticut,  New 
York,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  the 
lower  counties  on  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  Virginia, 
and  stationed  the  whole  at  Kingsbridge,  adjoining  the 
island  of  New  York,  along  the  Jersey  shore  contigu- 
ous to  Staten  Island,  in  the  city  of  New  YorK,  and 
upon  the  westermost  part  of  Long  Island,  where  they 
had  been  most  industriously  at  work  in  fortifying,  from 
the  arrival  of  the  British  army  until  this  time.  W  hile 
the  army  lay  at  Staten  Island,  General  Howe  attempt- 
ed to  enter  into  a  treaty  with  Washington  about  an 
amicable  accommodation  between  the  two  countries.  It 
was  refused  by  the  latter  unless  the  validity  of  his  com- 
mission under  Congress  was  admitted  by  directing  his 
letters  to  "General  Washington,"  instead  of  "Geo'rge 
"  Washington,  Esq."  After  a  little  altercation  this  point 
was  given  up,  and  of  course  the  commission  under 
Congress  allowed  as  valid,  the  rebel  army  a  loyal  and 
a  constitutional  one,  the  States  independent  of  Britain 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  255 

and  the  Congress  sovereign  of  these  States.  This 
point  gained,  Washington  told  General  Howe's  mes- 
senger that  he  himself  had  no  power  to  treat,  that  he 
was  commissioned  to  command  the  army  of  the  States 
only,  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  treating  or  negotiating. 
That  if  General  Howe  wanted  to  treat,  or  negotiate,  he 
must  apply  to  Congress  under  whom  he  acted,  and 
who  were  vested  with  all  the  powers  of  the  States,  as 
to  war,  peace,  treaties,  and  negotiations.  Here  the 
matter  rested.  No  man  was  ever  more  completely 
humbugged  in  this  affair  than  General  Howe  was  by 
the  rebel  chief. 

Lord  Howe,  in  the  Eagle  of  60  guns,  joined  the 
General  at  Staten  Island  and  took  the  command  of  the 
navy  in  America.  By  the  middle  of  August,  General 
Howe  had  received  all  his  expected  reinforcements. 
The  rebels  had  clone  the  same.  The  royal  army  con- 
sisted of  about  40,000  veteran  troops,  well  fed,  well 
clothed,  well  armed,  and  well  paid  ;  with  a  thundering 
train  of  artillery,  in  high  spirits,  and  wishing  for  noth- 
ing more  than  a  fair  battle  with  rebellion.  A  consider- 
able body  of  loyalists  had  also  joined  them,  and 
Queens  County  upon  Long  Island,  with  at  least  1,000 
militia,  stood  ready  to  receive  them  with  open  arms. 
A  fleet,  of  at  least  30  men-of-war  and  armed  ships 
under  Lord  Howe,  attended  this  formidable  armament. 
The  rebel  army,  at  this  time  in  the  environs  of  New 
York,  consisted  of  about  50,000  men  badly  armed, 
badly  clothed,  without  discipline,  scarcely  an  officer  of 
experience  among  them,  and  a  most  infamous  train  of 
artillery  most  injudiciously  managed.  On  the  2 2d  of 
August  the  whole  British  army  (a  sufficient  guard  to 
protect  the  stores  and  hospitals  upon  Staten  Island, 
excepted)  embarked  in  flat  bottomed  boats,  and  landed 


256 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


at  Gravesend  Bay,  in  Kings  County,  upon  Long 
Island,  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  The  rebels  upon 
information  of  this,  poured  their  whole  force  also  upon 
Long  Island,  (a  few  for  the  protection  of  New  York 
excepted).  Washington  and  all  their  principal  Gen- 
erals attended.  On  the  27th  the  two  armies  met.  An 
action  instantly  took  place,  and  was  almost  as  instanta- 
neously decided.  The  rebels  were  totally  defeated, 
and  before  12  o'clock  the  British  had  killed  and  taken 
prisoners  about  4,000  rebels,  among  whom  were  3 
Generals,  a  number  of  other  field  officers,  with  cap- 
tains and  subalterns  in  abundance.  The  enemy  fled 
within  their  lines  (such  as  they  were).  To  the  sur- 
prise of  the  world  this  victory  was  never  pursued. 
The  General  ordered  his  army  to  encamp  in  front  of 
the  rebel  lines,  "  enough,"  exclaimed  he,  "is  done  for 
one  day."  In  the  night  the  rebels  abandoned  their 
lines  and  passed  over  to  New  York.  Of  this  the  Gen- 
eral was  not  apprised  till  the  morning,  when  not  a 
rebel  was  to  be  found,  seen,  or  heard  of,  upon  Long 
Island.  Upon  this  island  the  General  rested  himself 
and  his  army  for  three  weeks.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
rebels  recovered  from  their  panic.  After  this  battle, 
Lord  Howe,  one  of  the  Commissioners  for  restoring 
peace  &c,  attempted  a  negotiation  with  Congress, 
upon  the  subject  of  an  accommodation  ;  to  obtain  which 
he  gave  one  Sullivan,  a  rebel  general  taken  in  the  late 
action,  permission  to  go  to  Philadelphia  with  proposals 
of  such  a  nature.  Congress  appeared  very  averse  to 
the  proposal  ;  but  the  populace  in  that  city  grew  not 
only  clamorous,  but  rather  outrageous,  and  insisted 
upon  a  treaty.  To  the  clamour  of  the  people,  Con- 
gress was  obliged  to  submit.  Their  authority  was  de- 
rived from-  the  mob,  and  the  motto  of  the  Congression- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  257 

al  Arms  was,  "Vox  populi,  Vox  Dei."  A  committee 
was  accordingly  appointed.  The  intent  was  to  satisfy 
the  people,  as  for  a  peace,  a  truce,  or  an  accommoda- 
tion, unless  upon  their  own  terms,  they  had  not  the 
least  thought.  A  committee  of  five  were  appointed  to 
meet  his  Lordship.  The  old,  arch  rebel  Franklin,  was 
at  their  head.  Billop's  farm  upon  Staten  Island  was 
the  place  fixed  upon  for  the  interview.  Lord  Howe 
and  the  rebel  Commissioners  accordingly  met.  The 
latter  refused  to  treat,  unless  Lord  Howe  would  ex- 
plicitly acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  States, 
as  they  insisted  the  General  had  done,  in  his  corre- 
spondence with  Washington.  The  treaty  accordingly 
came  to  nothing.  His  Lordship  not  choosing  to  be  as 
complaisant  to  rebels  as  the  General  had  been,  Lord 
Howe  returned  to  his  ship,  the  rebel  commissioners 
to  Philadelphia,  where  they  found  means  to  pacify  the 
mob,  by  making  them  believe  that  the  British  Com- 
missioners were  vested  with  no  one  power  but  that  of 
granting  pardons  to  such  Americans  as  should  ac- 
knowledge themselves  rebels,  and  chose  to  accept  of 
them.  Here  ended  the  second  and  last  negotiation 
attempted  by  the  brothers  Howe,  while  they  remained 
the  sole  Commissioners  in  America  for  restoring  peace 
to  the  colonies.  On  the  1 5th  of  September,  after  spend- 
ing three  weeks  upon  Long  Island,  General  Howe 
embarked  his  army  at  Newtown,  crossed  the  East 
river,  and  landed  upon  York  Island  without  opposi- 
tion or  the  loss  of  a  man,  defeated  some  parties  which 
were  fallen  in  with  contiguous  to  the  place  of  landing, 
proceeded  to,  and  took  possession  of,  the  high  grounds 
of  Inclenbergh.  Upon  these  heights  he  halted,  and 
saw  the  rebel  forces  march  out  of  New  York,  with 
their  most  valuable  stores  and  baggage,  without  giving 

17 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


them  the  least  interruption,  though  he  might  have  de- 
stroyed the  whole  with  the  utmost  ease.  In  the  eve 
ning  he  took  possession  of  the  city,  the  rebels  having 
evacuated  it  upon  his  landing.  This  was  the  15th  of 
September.  The  General  stayed  in  New  York  until  the 
1 2th  of  October,  (a  whole  month).  The  army  was  then 
embarked,  sailed  up  the  East  river  and  landed  upon 
Throgs  Neck,  in  the  county  of  Westchester,  about  16 
miles  from  New  York.  Here  5  days  were  spent  in 
doing  nothing,*  stealing  horses,  and  plundering  the  in- 
habitants, excepted.  He  now  embarked  the  army 
again,  having  found  Throgs  Neck  to  be  almost  an 
island,  proceeded  a  little  further  along  the  Sound,  and 
landed  upon  Pell's  Neck,  without  opposition  or  the  loss 
of  a  man,  marched  up  to  the  White  Plains  where  Wash- 
ington with  the  rebel  army  was  encamped,  and  took 
such  judicious  positions  that  he  had  the  whole  rebel 
army,  nay  rebellion  itself,  at  his  absolute  disposal. 
Notwithstanding  which,  the  rebels,  after  a  party  of 
them  were  driven  from  a  height,  were  suffered  to 
decamp,  and  march  off,  with  all  their  baggage,  stores, 
and  provisions,  without  even  a  pursuit.  The  rebels 
having  fled  from  the  White  Plains,  General  Howe 
returned  to  York  Island.  Knyphausen,  with  the 
Germans,  attacked  Fort  Washington  (the  only  place 
the  rebels  had  upon  the  island)  and  took  it.  The 
garrison,  consisting  of  3,000  men,  surrendered  them- 
selves at  discretion.  The  Commander  of  Fort  Lee, 
on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Hudson  river,  finding 
an  attack  intended  upon  his  garrison,  abandoned  it, 
and  retired  to  Hackensack,  where  he  was  joined  by 
Washington,  and  the  dregs  of  his  late  army,  at  this 
time  reduced  to  a  mere  nullity.  They  precipitately 
pushed  through  Jersey  on  their  way  to  Philadelphia, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  259 

0 

Lord  Cornwallis  with  a  part  of  the  Rritish  army  in  full 
pursuit.  Unluckily  his  Lordship's  orders  were  to  pro- 
ceed no  further  than  New  Brunswick,  otherwise  Wash- 
ington and  his  army  would  have  been  no  more.  Corn- 
wallis in  consequence  of  his  orders  from  General 
Howe,  stopped  at  Brunswick.  The  rebels  finding  the 
pursuit  at  an  end,  halted  at  Princeton,  about  twelve 
miles  further  on.  From  New  York  General  Howe,  in- 
stead of  employing  his  whole  force  against  Washing- 
ton and  his  armv,  sent  10,000  men  to  attack  Rhode 
Island.  This  done,  he  went  to  Brunswick,  took  the 
command  of  the  army  and  gave  chase  to  the  rebels. 
He  now  had  it  once  more  in  his  power  to  have  de- 
stroyed the  whole  rebel  army  before  they  could  have 
passed  the  Delaware,  had  he  so  pleased.  But  the 
suppression  of  the  rebellion  seems  to  have  been  no 
part  of  the  General's  plan  ;  he  therefore  coolly,  content- 
edly, and  deliberately  pursued,  or  rather,  at  a  respecta- 
ble distance  followed,  the  remains  of  a  broken  and  dis- 
pirited army  of  rebellious  subjects,  sick  of  the  cause, 
with  a  victorious,  a  high  spirited,  and  a  loyal  army 
consisting  of  four  times  the  number  of  the  militia  they 
were  in  pursuit  of,  to  the  very  banks  of  the  Delaware  ; 
and  though  the  pursuit  was  as  slow  as  the  General  could 
possibly  make  it,  he  reached  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river 
in  time  to  see  the  rebel  army  land  upon  the  western 
shore.  They  proceeded  on  for  Philadelphia  with  the 
utmost  dispatch.  To  the  surprise  of  the  British  army, 
of  New  Jersey,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  short,  of  the 
whole  continent,  the  General  here  gave  over  the  pur- 
suit,1 cantoned  his  troops  in  Jersey,  and  returned  to 

'Harvey  in  his  Naval  History  says,  that  Washington's  army  in  the  summer  of 
1776  consisted  of  at  least  60.000  men;  that  when  they  passed  the  Delaware  the 
December  following  they  scarcely  amounted  to  5,000. 


260 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


New  York.  At  Trenton,  upon  the  banks  of  the  Dela- 
ware, he  quartered  Hessians  under  the  command  of  a 
drunken  Colonel.  No  redoubts  were  made,  houses 
fortified,  or  works  built,  to  secure  them  in  case  of  an 
attack.  This  neglect  occasioned  the  unhappy  affair  at 
Trenton,  already  related,  which  gave  a  turn  to  the 
war.  The  General,  after  spending  the  winter  in  New 
York  in  luxury  and  dissipation,  in  June  1777,  entered 
Jersey  with  at  least  30,000  men,  looked  at  Washington 
who  had  about  10,000,  abandoned  Jersey,  left  the  loy- 
alists to  shift  for  themselves,  returned  to  Staten  Island, 
embarked  his  army,  put  to  sea,  sailed  up  the  Chesa- 
peake, and  landed  at  the  head  of  Elk.  From  hence 
they  marched  for  Philadelphia.  Washington  with  the 
whole  rebel  army  met  him  at  Brandywine,  an  action 
took  place,  the  rebels  were  totally  defeated,  lost  their 
cannon,  their  baggage,  and  their  stores,  with  a  number 
of  men,  with  a  trifling  loss  to  the  British.  Here  again 
no  pursuit  was  made.  The  General  rested  his  army 
three  days,  then  marched  on,  and  triumphantly  entered 
the  unfortified  city  of  Philadelphia.  When  in  posses- 
sion, so  bad  was  the  lookout  there,  that  a  part  of 
the  army  quartered  at  Germantown  was  fairly  sur- 
prised and  put  to  the  rout.  The  General  continued 
in  Philadelphia  during  the  winter,  absorbed  in  luxury 
and  dissipation,  with  at  least  25,000  men,  cooped  up 
by  Washington  with  about  10,000,  of  which  one  half 
at  least  were  militia. 

Thus  far  as  to  the  General.  Now  for  his  Lordship, 
the  Admiral.  He  arrived  at  Staten  Island,  in  July  1776. 
On  the  27th  of  August,  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Brook- 
land,  he  sent  four  ships  to  cannonade  the  rebel  works 
upon  Nutten  Island,  which  they  did  at  the  distance  of 
two  miles,  never  hurt  a  man,  and  were  called  off  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  26 1 

afternoon.  He  condemned  the  war,  damned  the  Pro- 
hibitory Act,  and  cursed  Lord  North.  Yet  he  never 
made  an  objection  to  the  receipt  of  the  produce  of  every 
prize  taken  and  condemned,  though  captured  in  conse- 
quence of  that  damnable  act  called  "  The  Prohibitory 
Act."  In  order  to  open  the  Delaware  he  was  obliged  to 
attack  Mud  Island;  here  he  lost  the  Augusta  of  60  guns, 
and  two  frigates,  the  Merlin  and  Porcupine.  The 
island  being  reduced,  his  Lordship  went  up  to  Phila- 
delphia. Late  in  the  fall,  he  went  and  wintered  with 
the  large  ships  at  Rhode  Island,  and  in  the  spring  re- 
turned to  Philadelphia.  The  public  now  have  a  faith- 
ful, true,  and  impartial  relation  of  all  the  transactions, 
operations,  maneuvres,  victories,  negotiations,  and 
warlike  achievements,  performed  by  the  two  brothers 
during  their  respective  commands  in  America  up  to 
this  time ;  to  perpetuate  which,  that  ridiculous  farce, 
the  Mischianza,  was  contrived  and  acted.  It  is  really 
surprising  that  men  of  sense  could  be  regaled  with 
such  nonsense.  Yet  it  seems  to  have  given  great 
satisfaction  to  the  brothers.  They  were  delighted  at 
the  parade.  It  tickled  their  vanity.  It  pleased  their 
ambition.  The  exhibition  of  this  triumphal  Mischianza 
will  be  handed  down  to  posterity,  in  the  annals  of 
Great  Britain  and  America,  as  one  of  the  most  ridicu- 
lous, undeserved,  and  unmerited,  triumphs  ever  yet  per- 
formed. Had  the  General  been  properly  rewarded  for 
his  conduct  while  Commander-in-Chief  in  America,  an 
execution,  and  not  a  Mischianza,  would  have  been  the 
consequence.  Caligula  the  Roman  Emperor  demanded 
and  had,  a  triumph  for  some  cockle  shells  which  he  em- 
ployed his  army  in  picking  up  upon  the  coasts  of  the 
German  Sea.  Whenever  I  read  the  account  of  the 
Mischianza,  it  puts  me  in  mind  of  Caligula's  triumph. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Sir  William  Howe  being  recalled  and  the  Mis- 
chianza  farce  performed,  he  sailed  the  latter  end  of 
May,  1778,  for  England,  and  General  Clinton  took 
the  command  of  the  royal  army  in  America  ;  and  imme- 
diately the  necessary  steps,  in  consequence  of  his 
orders  from  Britain,  were  taken  for  the  evacuation  of 
Philadelphia.  The  inhabitants  who  thought  it  advisa- 
ble to  leave  that  city,  embarked  with  their  movable 
property  on  board  the  transports.  The  artillery,  stores, 
baggage,  and  provisions,  not  wanted  for  the  army, 
were  also  embarked.  This  done,  Sir  Henry  crossed 
the  Delaware  with  his  whole  army,  nearly  30,000  effec- 
tive men,  and  entered  New  Jersey  on  his  way  by  land 
to  New  York.  This  being  effected,  Lord  Howe  with 
the  men-of-war,  armed  ships,  transports,  and  merchant- 
men, also  left  Philadelphia  and  sailed  for  New  York. 
No  injury  was  done  to  the  city,  and  all  the  forts,  bat- 
teries, redoubts,  barracks,  and  stables,  which  had  been 
built  by  the  British,  were  left  in  complete  repair. 
The)-  might  have  been  destroyed.  Of  this,  however, 
the  General  was  the  proper  judge.  They  were  of 
great  service  to  the  rebels  in  the  end.  The  General 
proceeded  in  his  inarch  with  caution  ;  the  number  of 


HISTORY  OK  NEW   YORK.  263 

wagons  employed  to  carry  the  baggage,  stores,  and  pro- 
visions, were  amazing  ;  the  wagons  only,  in  the  line  of 
march,  extended  12  miles  in  length.  The  movements 
were  of  course  slow.  The  rebels  had  taken  care  to 
break  down  all  the  bridges,  blow  up  the  causeways,  and 
fill  up  the  wells,  in  the  route  which  it  was  supposed  the 
British  army  would  take.  This  put  them  to  great  dif- 
ficulties. Washington,  as  soon  as  he  found  the  evacu- 
ation had  taken  place,  followed  with  his  whole  army, 
consisting  of  about  10,000  Continentals,  and  perhaps 
as  many  militia.  The  British  left  Philadelphia  the  6th 
of  June.  The  march  was  so  slow,  that  it  did  not  arrive 
at  Sandy  Hook  till  the  last  of  the  month,  the  distance 
about  70  miles.  The  weather  was  excessively  hot. 
The  number  of  wagons  was  a  prodigious  incumbrance. 
The  rebels  attacked  the  rear  of  the  British  whenever 
an  opportunity  offered.  This  happened  at  several  dif- 
ferent times,  and  though  they  were  always  repulsed 
with  loss,  and  the  British  army  arrived  safe  at  Sandy 
Hook  without  the  loss  of  a  wagon,  yet  from  the  in- 
tense heat,  different  skirmishes,  and  desertion,  it  con- 
sisted upon  its  arrival  at  the  Hook,  of  at  least  1,500 
men  less,  than  it  contained  when  it  left  Philadelphia. 
Sir  Henry  found  Lord  Howe  with  the  whole  fleet  at 
anchor  within  the  Hook,  where  he  arrived  the  day  be- 
fore.1 The  army,  baggage,  stores,  provisions,  artillery, 
wagons,  horses,  and  forage,  were  embarked  and  sent  up 
to  New  York.  The  army  went  into  quarters,  some  upon 
York  Island,  some  upon  Staten  Island,  and  a  great 

1  Gordon  says  that  no  ships  were  left  at  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware  to  give 
notice  to  vessels  inward  bound  cf  the  evacuation.  In  consequence  of  which  a 
fleet  of  victuallers  from  Ireland  entered  the  river,  and  had  proceeded  within  50 
miles  of  Philadelphia  before  they  heard  of  its  evacuation.  Had  they  been  cap- 
tured, the  loss  to  the  British  must  have  been  attended  with  the  worst  of  conse- 
quences, and  been  of  amazing  service  to  the  rebels. 


264 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


number  upon  Long  Island,  where  1,200  horses  M'ere 
billetted  upon  the  farmers,  who  were  compelled  to 
pasture  these  horses,  and  entertain  their  conductors 
and  drivers,  during  the  remainder  of  the  season,  for 
which  the  Quarter-masters  never  paid  a  farthing,  nor 
gave  a  certificate.  This  was  the  method  which  the 
army  constantly  took  to  conciliate  the  affections  of  his 
majesty's  deluded  subjects,  and  by  such  lenient  means 
prevail  upon  them  to  return  to  their  allegiance.  It  is 
rather  surprising  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  (unless  his 
orders  were  positive)  should  have  undertaken  such  a 
march  with  such  a  quantity  of  baggage,  provisions, 
stores,  and  wagons  in  the  most  sultry  season  of  the 
year,1  when  he  might  have  embarked  the  whole  at 
Philadelphia,  and  gone  to  New  York  by  water.  Had 
he  done  this,  the  1,500  men  would  have  been  saved, 
and"  the  army  landed  at  New  York  fresh,  and  fit  for 
duty,  instead  of  being  harassed,  fatigued,  and  fairly 
worn  down  by  the  tedious,  sultry,  and  hazardous  march 
through  New  Jersey.  But,  as  it  has  been  before  men- 
tioned, a  kind  of  fatality  attended  the  conduct  of  the 
British  Generals  during  the  whole  course  of  the  Ameri- 
can war. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1778  a  remarkable  manoeuvre 
took  place.  Upon  the  submission  of  Long  Island  to 
General  Howe,  in  1776,  he  appointed  Oliver  De  Lan- 
cey,  a  Brigadier-General,  with  orders  to  raise  three 
battalions  of  500  men  each  for  the  defence  of  the  Island. 
That  this  body  of  men  were  to  remain  upon  the  Island 
for  its  defence  during  the  war,  and  to  be  employed 
upon  no  other  service,  was  the  prevailing  opinion  of 


1  Fifty  Grenadiers  were  found  dead  under  a  large  tree,  without  a  wcund  upon 
either.  This  was,  no  doubt,  occasioned  by  drinking  cold  water,  when  very  hot, 
A  thing  very  common  in  America. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  265 

the  inhabitants,  of  the  soldiers,  and  perhaps  of  more 
than  nine-tenths  of  the  officers.  To  raise  this  corps 
large  sums  were  contributed  by  the  Brigadier-General, 
and  monies  were  also  contributed  by  the  inhabitants 
of  every  town  upon  the  island.  Some  thousands  upon 
this  occasion  were  generously  given.  Sons  of  many 
reputable  farmers,  as  well  as  a  number  of  respectable 
freeholders  enlisted.  It  was  for  the  qfood  of  the  cause. 
It  was  for  the  defence  and  protection  of  the  Island. 
One  of  the  battalions  consisted,  from  the  colonel  down 
to  the  lowest  subaltern,  with  the  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates,  solely  of  natives,  or  inhabitants  of 
Queens  County.1  In  making  out  the  commissions  given 
by  Howe  for  this  corps,  after  the  words  "for  the  de- 
"  fence  of  Long  Island,"  were  artfully  added,  "and 
"other  exigencies."  The  battalions  were  soon  raised. 
The  General  was  Colonel  of  the  first,  his  son-in-law, 
John  Harris  Cruger,  Esq.,  one  of  his  majesty's  council 
for  the  province  of  New  York,  was  his  Lieut.-Colonel ; 
George  Brewerton,  Esq.,  an  alderman  of  the  city 
(who  had  served  in  the  provincial  service  during  the 
whole  of  the  preceding  war,  and,  though  quite  a  young 
man,  commanded  a  New  York  provincial  regiment  at 
the  siege  of  the  Havannah,  and  for  his  spirited  con- 
duct received  the  thanks  of  Lord  Albemarle  upon  sev- 
eral occasions),  was  Colonel  of  the  second  ;  his  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, was  Stephen  De  Lancey,  Esq.,  the 
eldest  son  of  the  Brigadier.  Gabriel  Ludlow,  an  in- 
habitant of  Queens  County,  had  the  third,  and  Rich- 
ard Hulet,  a  native  of  the  same  County,  was  his  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel. In  the  winter  of  ijj6-j,  these  bat- 
talions were  stationed,  one  at  Oyster  Bay,  one  at 


1  The  third  battalion,  commissioned  by  Colonel  Gabriel  Ludlow. 


266 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Huntington,  and  one  at  Brookhaven,  three  considera- 
ble towns  upon  the  north  side  of  the  island,  adjoining 
the  sound.  While  thus  situated,  the  island  remained 
in  a  perfect  state  of  tranquillity  as  to  any  attacks  or 
depredations  from  its  neighbours,  the  New  England 
rebels.  In  1777,  the  first  and  second  battalions  were 
ordered  from  Long  Island  to  Kingsbridge,  in  the 
County  of  Westchester.  This  occasioned  some  cla- 
mouring ;  however,  the  first  being  soon  ordered  back, 
with  directions  to  take  post  and  build  a  fort  at  Hunt- 
ington, while  the  third  did  the  same  at  Brookhaven, 
all  murmuring  ceased.  The  second  battalion  con- 
tinned  at  Kingsbridge.  The  inhabitants  of  Oyster 
Bay,  the  northern  frontier  of  Queens  County,  consist- 
ing of  hearty  loyalists,  and  being  embodied  as  a  mili- 
tia, were  thought  sufficient  to  defend  themselves 
against  the  attempts  of  their  opposite  neighbours. 
The  forts  being  built  at  Huntington  and  Brookhaven, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Cruder  had  the  command  of  the 
former,  Hulet  of  the  latter.  Both  of  them  well  es- 
teemed upon  the  island,  resolute,  bold,  and  intrepid  ; 
zealous  loyalists  from  principle,  and  had  both  been  suf- 
ferers in  the  cause  of  their  sovereign.  In  their  re- 
spective  commands  they  were  alert,  active,  and  vigi- 
lant. The  consequence  of  which,  was  perfect  security, 
peace,  and  safety,  to  the  whole  Island.  In  the  spring 
of  1778,  (nobody,  the  then  Commander-in-Chief  at 
New  York1  excepted,  knows  for  what)  the  forts  at 
Huntington  and  Brookhaven  were  ordered  to  be  de- 
stroyed ;  the  stores,  provisions,  and  artillery  brought 
away,  and  the  troops  to  march  and  encamp  at  a  place 
called  the  Head  of  the  Vly,  near  Newtown,  about  six 


General  Robertson. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  267 

miles  from  New  York.  This  step  was  alarming  to  all 
the  loyalists  to  the  eastward  of  Jamaica.  It  was  no 
wonder.  The  consequences  were  soon  felt  with  a 
vengeance.  The  New  England  men  immediately 
fitted  out  small  privateers,  with  which  they  infested 
the  northern  coast  of  the  island,  and  captured  the 
trading  boats,  wood  boats,  and  other  craft ;  landed 
and  plundered  the  tories,  of  their  cattle,  horses,  hogs, 
sheep,  negroes,  money,  plate,  provisions,  and  house- 
hold furniture ;  made  them  prisoners,  carried  them 
into  captivity,  and  detained  them,  some  in  jail,  and 
others  upon  parole  until  exchanged.  Thus  was  the 
greatest  part  of  Long  Island  abandoned,  and  his  ma- 
jesty's loyal  subjects  thereon,  left  entirely  at  the  mercy 
of  rebellion,  though  they  had  largely  contributed  to 
the  raising  of  De  Lancey's  brigade,  upon  a  supposition 
that  it  was  solely  intended  for  the  defence  of  the  Island. 
In  consequence  of  the  words  in  the  officer's  commis- 
sions "  and  other  exigencies,"  General  Clinton,  in  the 
fall  of  1778,  sent  the  first  and  second  battalions  with 
General  Campbell  to  Georgia,  where  they  behaved 
with  credit,  reputation,  honour,  and  courage  ;*  were  in 
all  the  actions,  sieges,  and  attacks,  in  the  Southern 
Colonies,  from  that  period  until  the  evacuation  of  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  in  consequence  of  Lord  Shel- 

1  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cruger,  who  commanded  the  second  battalion,  signalized 
himself  at  the  battle  of  the  Savannah,  upon  the  first  landing  of  the  troops  in 
Georgia  in  1778  ;  his  behaviour  was  conspicuous  at  the  siege  of  the  Savannah  by 
D'Estaign,  in  1779,  where  he  commanded  one  of  the  batteries,  and  repulsed  the 
enemy  in  three  several  attacks.  He  signalized  himself  at  the  siege  of  Charlestown, 
in  17S0.  His  conduct  was  highly  commended  in  the  action  near  Camden,  where 
Gates  met  with  a  total  defeat.  Nothing  could  be  more  brilliant  than  his  spirit  and 
resolution  in  the  defence  of  Eort  '96,  where  he  commanded,  and  if  any  thing  could 
add  to  the  heroism  of  this  amiable  and  loyal  New  Yorker,  it  is  the  active,  spirited 
and  judicious  part  he  acted  in  the  battle  at  the  Etways,  or  Eutaw,  in  1781,  where  his 
bravery,  coolness,  resolution,  judgment,  and  steadiness  turned  the  fortune  of  the 
day  in  favour  of  the  British,  when  the  jilt  was  upon  the  point  of  abandoning  them. 


268 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


burne's  patched  up  peace,  when  they  returned  to  New 
York,  and  have  been  since  disbanded  in  Nova  Scotia. 
The  third  battalion  was  stationed  at  Lloyd's  Neck,  to 
cover  the  wood  cutters  for  the  British  army,  where  they 
remained  until  the  evacuation  of  New  York,  when  they 
also  went  to,  and  were  disbanded  in,  Nova  Scotia. 

To  enumerate  the  number  of  loyalists  who  were 
plundered,  carried  away,  and  imprisoned,  (in  conse- 
quence of  abandoning  the  island  to  the  eastward  of 
Jamaica),  would  be  almost  impossible,  the  numbers 
were  so  great,  and  the  transactions  so  frequent.  Let 
it  suffice  only  to  mention,  that  Judge  Ludlow  and 
Colonel  Ludlow,  within  four  miles  of  Jamaica,  had 
their  houses  broken  open  and  plundered.  The  Judge 
made  his  escape.  The  Colonel  was  luckily  with  his 
battalion  at  Lloyd's  Neck.  Their  wives  were  abused, 
ill-treated,  insulted,  called  damned  tories,  and  even 
beaten.  Captain  Wooley,  of  the  militia,  about  three 
miles  from  Jamaica,  had  his  house  broken  open,  was 
robbed  of  £700  in  cash,  the  furniture  of  his  house,  of 
several  slaves,  and  was  carried  a  prisoner  into  Con- 
necticut. Richard  Townsend,  Esq.,  was  robbed  of  a 
large  store  of  goods,  and  carried  a  prisoner  into  New 
England.  Thomas  Smith,  Esq.,  of  Oyster  Bay,  had 
his  house  three  times  broken  open  and  plundered. 
Judge  Jones  had  his  house  broken  open,  completely 
plundered,  and  himself  carried  into  Connecticut,  though 
at  the  very  time  a  prisoner  upon  parole.  John  Town- 
send,  Esq.,  of  Oyster  Bay,  was  served  in  the  same 
manner,  with  this  addition,  they  almost  destroyed  Tiis 
house,  a  genteel  mansion.  William  Nicoll,  Esq.,  was 
twice  plundered  ;  Colonel  Richard  Floyd  three  times, 
and  his  cattle,  sheep,  and  several  of  his  slaves  carried 
off.    Colonel  Benjamin  Floyd  was  plundered  and  car- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


269 


ried  to  Connecticut,  released  iipon  his  parole,  and 
•while  living,  as  he  thought,  in  safety,  in  C07iscquence 
of  such  parole,  had  his  house  broken  open  in  the  dead 
of  night  by  a  party  from  New  England,  who  took 
away  his  furniture,  and  robbed  him  of  ,£1,000  in  cash. 
Mr.  Seaton,  an  Englishman,  was  plundered  by  the 
same  party.  They  took  away  his  furniture,  and  strip- 
ped his  wife,  and  three  daughters,  of  the  very  clothes 
upon  their  backs.  John  Hulett,  Esq.,  of  Oyster 
Ray,  had  his  house  broken  open,  plundered,  and  him- 
self carried  to  Poughkeepsie,  in  the  province  of 
New  York,  lodged  in  a  jail,  and  closely  confined  for 
five  months.  Major  Parker,  and  Major  Hudson,  were 
both  plundered  and  carried  prisoners  into  Connecticut. 
Let  these  few  instances  suffice,  thousands  might  be 
produced.  In  a  word,  depredations  were  daily  com- 
mitted upon  the  loyalists,  from  Jamaica  to  the  east  end 
of  the  island,  a  distance  of  at  least  120  miles,  without 
an)-  interruption,  for  want  of  a  small  body  of  troops 
for  its  protection. 

Other  ill  consequences,  owing  to  the  taking  away 
the  protection  of  the  greatest  part  of  Long  Island, 
must  be  now  mentioned.  Upon  the  reduction  of  Long 
Island  and  New  York  in  1776,  a  most  beneficial  trade 
for  the  inhabitants  in  New  York,  and  for  the  army  and 
navy,  was  opened  in  the  bay  on  the  south  side  of  Long 
Island.  Not  less  than  150  pettyaugers,  schooners, 
and  small  sloops,  were  employed  in  this  business. 
They  went  about  80  miles  clown  the  island,  and  return- 
ed weekly  to  New  York  loaded  with  shell  fish  of  every 
kind,  wild  fowl  of  all  sorts,  and  in  winter  with  large 
quantities  of  fish,  with  which  the  New  York  markets 
were  plentifully  supplied.  They  used  also  to  carry 
such  merchandize  as  was  suitable  to  the  country  peo- 


270 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


pie,  which  they  bartered  away,  for  hogs,  lambs,  calves, 
hams,  smoked  beef,  cheese,  butter,  and  poultry  of  all 
kinds.  They  also  purchased  large  quantities  of  plank, 
boards,  and  shingles.  All  were  carried  to,  and  disposed 
of  at,  New  York.  This  trade  was  greatly  advanta- 
geous to  the  inhabitants,  the  army,  navy,  and  trans- 
ports, then  in  New  York.  It  met  with  no  interruption 
until  the  spring  of  1778,  when  the  troops  raised  for 
the  protection  of  the  Island  being  withdrawn  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  New  York,  the  rebels  in  Connecticut 
fitted  out  a  number  of  whale  boats  commissioned  as  pri- 
vateers ;  each  had  a  captain,  a  lieutenant,  and  from  12  to 
24  men,  armed  with  muskets,  pistols,  and  also  a  swivel 
gun,  which,  being  removable,  served  either  in  a  pursuit 
or  retreat.  With  these  boats  they  crossed  the  Sound, 
and  landed  at  a  place  called  "The  Canoe  Place,"  where 
the  island  is  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  broad. 
Over  this  carrying  place  they  drew  their  whale  boats, 
and  launching  them  into  the  South  Bay,  they  proceed- 
ed to  the  westward,  and  took  every  boat  which  fell  in 
their  way,  sent  them  round  Montauk  Point  to  New 
London,  where  they  were  libelled  and  condemned. 
By  this  means  a  trade  of  the  utmost  consequence  to 
New  York,  the  army,  and  navy,  was  in  a  great  meas- 
ure destroyed.  An  application  was  made  by  some  gen- 
tlemen upon  Long  Island  to  Admiral  Lord  Howe  for  a 
couple  of  row-galleys  for  the  protection  of  a  trade,  at 
that  time  so  very  useful  and  beneficial,  which  by  taking 
their  stations  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  Canoe  Place, 
would  have  effectually  answered  the  purpose,  and 'the 
trade  been  perfectly  secure.  But  contrary  to  their  ex- 
pectations, the  Admiral  told  them  "  he  had  no  galleys 
"  to  spare,  and  they  might  protect  their  own  trade 
"  themselves,  and  be  damned."    The  number  of  rebel 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  2J\ 

whale  boats  that  were  dail\-  in  the  bay,  the  Admiral 
refusing  a  guard,  and  the  king's  ships  frequently  pres- 
sing the  boatmen  as  they  entered  the  Narrows,  entirely 
broke  up  a  trade  of  the  utmost  consequence  at  that 
period  to  the  inhabitants  of  New  York,  the  army, 
navy,  transports,  and  merchantmen.  The  rebels  hav- 
ing nothing  to  fear,  sailed  down  the  bay  as  far  as 
Rockaway,  within  15  miles  of  the  city,  and  destroyed 
all  the  wood  boats,  hay  boats,  coasters,  canoes,  and 
floats,  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  on  the  south  side 
of  the  island.  They  frequently  landed,  robbed  the  in- 
habitants of  their  furniture,  linen,  wearing  apparel, 
money,  negroes,  rum,  wine,  sugar,  and  salt;  killed  their 
cattle,  hogs,  sheep,  and  poultry  ;  and  burnt  their  hay, 
their  oats,  wheat,  rye,  and  Indian  corn.  The  loyal  in- 
habitants complained,  but  without  effect.  Two  galleys 
were  all  that  was  wanted,  or  asked  for.  The  answer 
was  always  the  same,  "  defend  yourselves,  you  have  a 
"  militia."  That  the  militia  was  embodied  is  most  cer- 
tain, but  two  whale  boats  might  plunder  a  house  of 
all  its  effects,  destroy  all  the  cattle,  hay,  and  corn  upon 
the  farm,  and  before  a  sufficient  number  of  men  could 
be  collected  together  to  oppose  them,  be  at  the  dis- 
tance of  20,  30,  or  even  40,  miles.  Besides,  all  the 
militia  upon  the  island  could  not  have  guarded  an  ex- 
tensive coast  of  100  miles  in  length  with  more  than 
100  little  rivers  emptying  themselves  into  the  South 
Bay,  all  of  them  navigable  for  whale  boats  from  half 
flood  to  half  ebb,  at  least.  Two  galleys  would  have 
most  effectually  answered  the  purpose.  But  they  were 
not  to  be  had.  Galleys  could  go  to  the  Delaware,  to 
the  Chesapeak,  and  along  the  coast,  and  take  prizes, 
to  the  one-eighth  of  the  proceeds  of  each  of  which  the 
Admiral  was  entitled. 


272 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  the  coasters  and 
loyal  inhabitants  upon  the  north  side  of  the  island, 
upon  De  Lancey's  battalions  being  withdrawn,  shared 
the  same  fate  with  those  of  the  south.  The  vessels 
belonging-  to  every  town  or  port  adjoining  the  Sound, 
were  either  taken  or  destroyed,  and  their  trade  with 
New  York  ruined.  A  few  cutters,  by  constantly  cruis- 
ing up  and  down  the  Sound,  would  have  prevented 
the  whole,  but  nothing  of  the  kind  could  be  obtained, 
after  a  number  of  pressing  applications.  General 
Howe  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  Admiral  Howe 
chose  to  keep  his  cutters  at  sea. 

Early  in  the  year  1778.  France  acknowledged  the 
independency  of  the  American  revolted  Colonies,  and 
entered  into  a  treaty  of  commerce  and  alliance  with 
them.  In  the  month  of  May  Silas  Deane  (prior  to 
the  troubles  a  school  master  at  Weathersfield,  in  Con- 
necticut, a  rigid  presbyterian,  a  warm  republican,  had 
been  a  member  of  the  two  first  Congresses,  and  for 
some  time  Congressional  resident  at  Paris,)  arrived  at 
Philadelphia  with  the  treaty  signed.  He  was  accom- 
modated with  a  French  frigate.  This  was  matter  of 
great  joy  and  exultation  to  rebellion,  and  accordingly 
received  with  the  utmost  pleasure.  The  grand  mon- 
arch upon  this  occasion  was  honoured  with  an  addi- 
tional title,  to  wit,  "  The  great  and  good  Ally  of  the 
"  American  States."  Ambassadors  were  now  sent  by 
Congress  to  all  the  powers  of  Europe  (Britain  except- 
ed), and  received  by  none,  except  "  their  great  and 
"  good  Ally  the  French  King." 

About  the  middle  of  June,  the  Compte  D'Estaign  1 

1  The  Compte  was  a  proper  person  to  be  entrusted  with  such  a  command,  a 
command  for  the  defence  and  protection  of  revolted  subjects.  Having  no  honour 
of  his  own,  he  was  a  proper  protector  for  rebels.    No  gentleman  of  mind  and 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


arrived  from  Toulon  upon  the  coast  of  Virginia,  as 
commander  of  a  French  licet,  consisting  of  12  sail  of 


ard,  a  town-clerk  of  Strasburgh.  He  also  wrote  a 
letter  to  his  new  friends  and  allies,  and  the  letter  is  di- 
rected thus:  "To  our  very  dear,  great  friends,  the 
"  President  and  Members  of  the  General  Congress  of 
"  North  America."  Thus  did  the  grand  monarch  ally 
himself  with,  countenance,  and  flatter  a  set  of  the 
most  ungrateful  rebels  the  world  ever  produced. 
About  the  middle  of  July  D'Estaign  arrived  upon  the 
coast  of  New  York,  and  anchored  off  Sandy  Hook. 
Had  he  been  a  month  sooner,  or  had  he  fallen  in  with 
the  latter  coast  on  his  arrival,  instead  of  that  of  Virginia, 

strict  honour  would  have  engaged  in  so  unjustifiable  an  expedition  as  the  Compte 
was  now  engaged  in.  There  was  no  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France,  and 
yet  the  Compte,  to  serve  the  purposes  of  rebellion,  committed  piracy  upon  the 
high  seas,  upon  the  subjects  of  a  monarch  in  alliance,  and  strict  amity,  with  his 
own.  This  same  Compte,  in  1748,  was  taken  prisoner  in  the  East  Indies,  and 
allowed  his  parole.  This  he  broke,  and  commanded  an  expedition  against  an  Eng- 
lish settlement  in  that  country.  Admiral  Boscawen  was  then  Commander-in- 
Chief  in  India,  and  often  said,  if  ever  he  got  the  villain  in  his  power  again,  he 
would  chain  him  upon  his  quarter-deck,  and  treat  him  like  a  baboon.  So  much 
for  the  honour  and  character  of  the  Compte  D'Estaign.  When  the  Duke  of  Bed- 
ford was  at  Paris,  in  the  public  capacity  of  Ambassador  Plenipotentiary,  treating 
of  the  Peace  before  the  last,  the  French  minister  had  prepared  a  splendid  enter- 
tainment, to  which  the  first  personages  in  Paris,  and  all  the  foreign  ministers  were 
invited.  Among  the  rest,  the  Duke  of  Bedford.  The  Duke  being  engaged  in 
conversation,  previous  to  the  company  sitting  down  to  table,  observed  Compte 
D'Estaign  enter  the  room,  upon  which  he  ordered  his  carriage  to  the  door.  The 
French  Minister  was  astonished,  and  begged  his  grace  would  inform  him  whether 
he  had  taken  offence  at  any  thing  in  his  house?  The  Duke,  with  some  emotion, 
said,  "  He  never  sat  in  company  with  a  man  who  had  forfeited  his  honour."  The 
French  minister  looking  round  the  room,  seeing  D'Estaign,  instantly  understood 
who  the  Duke  alluded  to,  whispered  a  gentleman  near  him  to  go  to  D'Estaign  to 
inform  him  that  his  company  was  not  agreeable,  the  Compte  retired  with  no  small 
confusion.  The  Duke  countermanded  the  order  for  his  carriage,  and  partook  of 
the  entertainment. 


IS 


2/4 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  consequence  to  the  British  fleet  and  army,  then 
returning  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  must  have 
been  dreadful ;  but  making  Virginia  at  first,  and  sailing 
slowly  on  to  the  northward,  before  he  arrived  off  the 
Hook  the  whole  fleet  of  transports  had  entered  the 
harbour  of  New  York.  The  British  fleet  under  Lord 
Howe  was  moored  within  the  Hook,  and  the  army  un- 
der General  Clinton  were  landed,  and  quartered  upon 
Staten  Island,  York  Island,  and  Long  Island.  This  was 
not  completed  more  than  12  days  before  D'Estaign's  ar- 
rival off  the  Hook.  An  attack  upon  New  York  was 
now  expected.  The  French  fleet  was  greatly  superior 
to  the  English.  It  consisted  of  a  90  gun  ship,  an  80, 
six  74's,  four  of  64,  besides  three  large  frigates,  and 
a  body  of  land  forces  on  board.  Lord  Howe's  fleet 
consisted  of  only  six  ships  of  64  guns,  three  of  50, 
two  of  40,  with  some  frigates  and  sloops.  D'Estaign 
captured  every  vessel  that  was  bound  to  New  York. 
Lord  Howe  was  in  possession  of  the  Hook,  and  took 
every  necessary  step  to  repel  the  enemy  should  an  en- 
trance be  attempted.  Batteries,  redoubts,  and  other 
fortifications  were  erected  on  the  shore,  and  garrisoned 
by  skilful  artillery-men.  The  ships  were  put  into  a 
proper  and  most  judicious  position. 

They  were  well  manned  by  experienced  sailors,  a 
number  of  them  volunteers  from  the  transports  in  New- 
York.  The  whole  bodv  of  the  li<jht  infantrv,  and  all 
the  grenadiers,  belonging  to  the  British  army  were,  at 
their  own  request,  permitted  to  serve  on  board  the 
British  fleet.  These  were  headed  by  some  of  the  first 
blood  in  England.  Among  others,  we  find  the  names 
of  the  young  Duke  of  Ancaster,  of  the  Earl  of  Cath 
cart,  and  Lord  Rawdon.  Towards  the  end  of  July, 
D'Estaign's  fleet  weighed  anchor,  and  as  everybody 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


2/5 


then  supposed,  with  an  intention  to  attack  Lord  Howe, 
and  if  successful,  then  New  York,  the  capture  of  which 
would  have  terminated  the  American  War.  The  wind 
was  fair,  the  tide  high,  consequently  favourable  for  pass- 
ing the  bar.  D'Estaign,  however,  instead  of  attempting 
the  Hook,  stood  out  to  sea,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight. 
Soon  after  this,  Lord  Howe  was  joined  by  a  50  gun 
ship  from  the  West  Indies,  a  64  and  a  50  from  Hali- 
fax, and  a  74  from  England.  They  all  arrived  singly, 
and  had  D'Estaign  continued  off  Sandy  Hook,  each 
must  have  been  taken.  Lord  Howe  was  now  superior 
in  number  of  ships  to  the  French.  The  latter,  however, 
superior  in  weight  of  metal  and  largeness  of  ships. 
Each  fleet  was  equally  well  manned.  The  French 
having  failed  in  the  grand  object  of  their  expedition, 
"  the  reduction  of  New  York,  the  destruction  of  the 
"  navy  there,  and  the  capture  of  the  British  army,"  an 
attack  upon  Rhode  Island  became  the  favourite  plan. 
D'Estaign  with  his  fleet  was  to  make  an  attack  bv  sea, 
while  General  Sullivan  with  10,000  men  was  to  attempt 
the  place  by  land.  This  occasioned  the  removal  of 
the  French  fleet  from  the  coast  of  New  York.  D'Es- 
taign soon  arrived  at  Rhode  Island,  and  either  entered, 
or  blocked  up,  all  the  inlets,  channels,  and  commu- 
nications, leading  to  every  part  upon  the  island.  Sul- 
livan landed  with  his  army  upon  the  island.  Sir 
Robert  Pigot,  a  brave  old  General,  was  Commander 
of  the  British  troops  upon  the  island,  and  he  took 
every  necessary  step,  and  used  every  precaution  for 
making  a  most  resolute  and  vigorous  defence.  It  was 
on  the  8th  of  August  when  Sullivan  landed.  The 
same  day  D'Estaign  entered  the  harbour  of  Newport, 
and  was  welcomed  with  an  incessant  and  formidable 
fire  from  the  forts,  batteries,  and  works  erected  for  its 


276 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


protection.  Four  frigates  which  lay  in  the  harbour 
were  burnt,  and  one  sunk,  to  prevent  their  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  French.  On  the  9th  of  August, 
Lord  Howe  with  the  British  fleet  appeared  in  sight. 
On  the  10th  the  French  fleet  left  Newport  and  stood 
to  sea.  Lord  Howe  did  the  same,  and  each  Admiral 
with  great  skill  contended  for  the  weather-oaug-e.  The 
manoeuvring  for  this  object  prevented  an  engagement 
on  that  day.  The  wind  on  the  following  day  proving 
adverse  to  the  designs  of  the  British  Admiral,  he  de- 
termined to  make  the  best  of  the  matter  and  to  engage 
the  enemy  at  all  events.  He  accordingly  formed  his 
line,  his  five  ships  were  prepared,  all  was  in  readiness. 
The  French  did  the  same,  and  had  the  wind  of  the 
English-.  At  this  instant  a  strong  gale  of  wind  came 
on,  which  soon  increased  to  a  most  violent  storm,  and 
continuing  for  more  than  two  days,  not  only  put  an  end 
to  the  expected  engagement,  but  so  completely  sepa- 
rated and  dispersed  the  two  fleets,  that  when  the 
storm  abated  scarcely  two  of  either  fleet  were  in  com- 
pany. The  wind  was  east,  and  each  fleet  was  carried 
rapidly  to  the  west.  When  the  storm  ceased,  the  two 
fleets  found  themselves  dispersed  all  along  the  coasts 
of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  the  capes  of  Delaware,  and 
some  of  the  French,  as  far  to  the  southward  as  the 
capes  of  Virginia.  Both  fleets  suffered  considerably  in 
their  masts,  yards,  and  rigging.  The  British  fleet  re- 
paired at  Sandy  Hook.  The  French  in  the  Delaware. 
The  French  sailed  first,  and  went  to  Rhode  Island. 
Sullivan  was  still  there  carrying  on  the  siege  against 
Newport,  the  capital  of  the  island.  Upon  the  arrival 
of  D'Estaign,  Sullivan  pressed  for  a  co-operation. 
But  whether  the  French  fleet  was  still  in  so  crazy  3 
condition  as  to  want  a  thorough  repair,  or  apprehen 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


277 


sive  of  the  speedy  arrival  of  the  British  fleet,  he  ex- 
cused himself,  and  sailed  for  Boston,  leaving  Sullivan 
and  his  army  to  themselves.  The  leaving"  of  Rhode 
Island  was  lucky  for  the  Count.  Lord  Howe  had 
sailed  for  Rhode  Island ,  his  fleet  in  complete  repair,  and 
a  continuance  of  two  days  longer  would,  in  all  proba- 
bility, have  been  fatal  to  the  French  fleet.  His  Lord- 
ship getting  intelligence  that  D'Estaign  had  lef*- 
Rhode  Island  and  sailed  to  the  eastward,  pushed  for 
Boston  Bay,  hoping  to  arrive  there  before  the  French. 
But  when  he  entered  the  bay  he  found  the  Compte  at 
anchor  in  Nantasket  roads,  and  in  such  a  situation  as 
rendered  an  attack  upon  his  fleet  impracticable.  He 
therefore  left  the  bay,  returned  to  New  York,  delivered 
the  fleet  up  to  Admiral  Gambier,  and  sailed  for 
England.  Here  ended  his  Lordship's  command  in 
America. 

Sullivan,  upon  D'Estaign  leaving  Rhode  Island,  im- 
mediately took  the  necessary  steps  to  raise  the  siege 
and  secure  his  retreat.  No  sooner  had  he  begun  his 
march  than  the  troops  from  the  garrison  pursued,  and 
at  every  opportunity  that  offered,  attacked  him  with 
vigour,  but  (notwithstanding  the  loss  of  a  number  of 
men  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners)  he  made  his 
retreat  good,  and  crossed  to  the  main  without  the  least 
loss  in  stores,  baggage,  or  artillery.  His  retreat  gained 
him  honour.  The  British  allow  it  was  well  conducted, 
admirable,  and  scarcely  to  be  equalled  by  the  most 
experienced  military  character.  This  retreat  was  how- 
ever made  in  good  time,  for  scarcely  had  Sullivan 
got  footing  on  the  main,  than  General  Clinton  arrived 
from  New  York  with  such  a  body  of  troops  as  would 
most  effectually  have  prevented  his  leaving  the  island. 
The  consequence  would,  and  must,  have  been  the  cap- 


2j8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


ture  of  his  army,  the  loss  of  his  stores,  his  baggage, 
provisions,  and  artillery.  In  a  word,  Sullivan  was 
born  under  a  lucky  planet. 

General  Clinton,  finding  nothing  to  be  done,  returned 
to  New  York,  but  dispatched  General  Grey  with  about 
4,000  men,  under  the  convoy  of  some  frigates,  to  the 
eastward,  to  exterminate  the  nests  of  some  rebel  pri- 
vateers, which  abounded  in  the  harbours,  rivers,  and 
creeks  about  Buzzard's  Bay,  in  the  old  colony  of  Ply- 
mouth. This  business  was  effectually  performed.  At 
Fairhaven  70  sail  of  shipping  were  destroyed,  with 
small  craft  in  abundance.  The  magazines,  wharfs, 
stores,  warehouses,  rope-walks,  and  vessels  on  the 
stocks,  were  all  burnt.  All  the  dwelling  houses,  and 
holy  edifices  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God,  shared 
the  same  fate.  From  Fairhaven  the  General  proceeded 
to  Martha's  Vineyard,  the  Elizabeth  Isles,  Nantucket, 
and  Block  Island,  and  disarmed  the  inhabitants 
(who  had  never  interfered  in  the  contest),  laid  them 
under  contribution,  plundered  their  houses,  and  brought 
with  them  to  New  York  about  2,000  sheep.  1,000  fat 
cattle,  1,500  hogs,  and  nearly  500  horses,  exclusive  of 
what  was  used  upon  the  expedition.  The  sheep, 
cattle,  and  hogs  were,  at  New  York,  delivered  to  the 
Commissaries,  killed,  and  distributed  in  rations  to  the 
army  ;  and  though  they  cost  the  Commissary  nothing, 
were  the  plunder  of  a  licentious  army,  to  which  (in 
point  of  conquest)  they  belonged,  yet  he  had  the 
conscience  to  charge  the  Crown  2  shilling's  sterling  for 
every  pound.  He  besides  sold  the  heads,  skins,  and 
hides,  and  put  the  money  into  his  own  pocket.  The 
horses  were  delivered  to  the  Quarter-master,  and  the 
Crown  charged  £20  sterling  for  each.  No  wonder 
that  Commissaries,    Barrack-masters,  and  Quarter- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  2/9 

masters  made  such  amazing  estates  during  the  Ameri- 
can War.  Nor  is  it  a  wonder  that  John  Bull  got  tired 
of  this  war,  not  against  rebellion,  but  against  the 
Treasury  of  Great  Britain. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


In  the  summer  of  1778,  Mr.  John  Richards,  a  native 
of  Barbadoes,  but  a  long  resident  in  New  Jersey, 
where  he  inherited  a  genteel  estate,  situated  upon  the 
banks  of  the  Passaic,  was  foully  murdered.  He  was  a 
steady,  noted  Loyalist,  spoke  his  mind  freely  in  favour 
of  Great  Britain,  but  never  was  in  arms,  or  served  in 
any  civil  capacity.  This  gentleman,  after  the  conquest 
of  New  Jersey,  in  1776,  and  that  province  became  the 
seat  of  war,  removed  to  New  York,  but  left  his  family 
at  home.  Hearing  that  the  small-pox  had  appeared  in 
his  family,  he  determined  to  pay  them  a  visi^.  Upon 
his  way  he  stopped  at  a  public-house.  Here  were  a 
number  of  rebels,  to  one  of  whom  he  was  well  known. 
This  fellow  abused  him,  called  him  a  tory,  a  villa:n,  a 
British  scoundrel,  and  demanded  his  watch.  Ti.is 
Richards  refused  to  deliver,  upon  which  the  rebel 
drew  a  pistol  from  his  pocket,  and  with  great  compo- 
sure shot  Richards  through  the  head.  He  instantly 
died.  The  rebels  then  took  his  watch,  his  money, 
what  things  he  had  with  him,  stripped  the  body  of  its 
clothes,  and  deliberately  marched  off.  This  horrid, 
cruel,  malicious  murder  was  approved  of  by  Governor 
Livingston.    He  recommended  the  murderer  to  Con- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  28 1 

gross.  Congress  rewarded  him  with  a  Captain's  com- 
mission.1 

Not  long  after  the  murder  of  Richards,  an  officer  in 
Skinner's  Corps,  and  formerly  an  intimate  of  the  mur- 
dered man,  got  information  where  the  murderer  was, 
with  a  few  men  only.  With  Skinner's  leave  he  passed 
to  Jersey,  surprised  the  rebel  party,  and  in  about 
twelve  hours  they  were  all  safely  lodged  in  the  prevost 
at  New  York.  General  Clinton  had  never  complained 
of  this  barbarous  and  inhuman  murder  either  to  Gov- 
ernor Livingston,  Washington,  or  the  Congress.  He 
now  had  the  villain  in  his  power.  Everybody  sup- 
posed retaliation  would  take  place.  Nothing  of  the 
kind.  In  five  days  after  his  imprisonment  he  had  the 
liberty  of  the  city  upon  his  parole  ;  in  about  ten  he  was 
exchanged  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  Thus  the  rebels 
murdered  with  impunity,  and  the  British  Generals  were 
afraid  to  retaliate.  This  was  the  case  the  whole  war. 
The  British  Generals  were  bullied  by  the  rebels,  who 
acted  with  spirit  and   resolution.     Whenever  they 

1  This  was  a  more  cruel  and  malicious  murder  than  that  of  Miss  McCrea,  which 
happened  the  preceding  year,  near  Saratoga.  The  former  was  committed  by 
Christians,  the  latter  by  savages  in  the  heat  of  passion,  violently  disputing  whose 
prisoner  the  lady  was.  Yet  this  latter  murder  was,  with  every  exaggeration  that 
could  be  thought  of,  published  by  order  of  Congress  and  dispersed  through  all 
Christendom,  while  the  former  was  publicly  rewarded  by  the  same  body  of  men,  and 
the  murderer  thanked  for  the  horrid  act. 

Gordon,  who  cannot  be  suspected  of  partiality  to  the  British,  gives  in  his  history 
of  the  American  Revolution,  the  following  account  of  Miss  McCrea's  death  : 

"  Mr.  Jones,  her  lover,  engaged  some  Indians  to  carry  her  away  from  the  Ameri- 
cans by  way  of  security.  He  feared  for  her  safety,  as  her  father  was  a  Loyalist,  and 
"  he  an  officer  in  the  British  army,  to  whom  she  was  engaged.  He  promised  a  bar- 
"  rel  of  rum  as  a  reward  to  the  person  who  should  bring  her  safe  to  him.  The  two 
"  who  took  her  disputed  which  of  them  should  convey  her  to  Mr.  Jones.  Each 
"anxious  for  the  reward,  one  of  them,  that  the  other  might  not  receive  it,  struck  his 
"tomahawk  into  her  skull,  and  killed  her  upon  the  spot."  This,  Gordon  sajs,  he 
had  from  Mrs.  McNeil,  who  was  in  company  with  Miss  McCrea  when  taken  by 
the  Indians. 


282 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


threatened  their  threats  were  carried  into  execution. 
The  British  were  eternally  threatening  by  their  pro- 
clamations, yet  never  carried  a  single  'hreat  into  ex- 
ecution ;  though  every  account  daily  brought  in  from 
the  rebel  country  was  giving  a  list  of  murders,  im- 
prisonments, and  robberies  committed  upon  his  Majes- 
ty's loyal  subjects  for  refusing  to  assist,  or  take  up 
arms,  in  favour  of  rebellion. 

Upon  the  evacuation  of  Philadephia  by  the  British 
in  1778,  and  repossession  taken  by  the  rebels,  two 
gentlemen  of  that  city,  one  by  the  name  of  Carlisle,  the 
other  by  that  of  Roberts,  both  Quakers,  and  long  resi- 
dents in  that  city,  where  the  whole  of  their  property 
lay,  were  apprehended  as  traitors  to  the  State,  com- 
mitted to  jail,  and  loaded  with  irons.  They  were  gen- 
tlemen of  rank,  character,  and  fortune ;  they  were  un- 
fortunately Loyalists,  attached  to  their  Sovereign  and 
the  British  Constitution  ;  they  had,  however,  incurred 
the  displeasure  of  Congress,  and  were  destined  as  vic- 
tims to  their  resentment.  A  Grand  Jury  were  sum- 
moned, the  prisoners  were  indicted,  the  crime  high 
treason,  and  that,  "  in  adhering  to  the  enemies  of  the 
State."  What  was  the  proof?  why,  they  lived  in 
Philadelphia  where  their  estates  lay,  with  their  wives 
and  families,  while  the  King's  troops  had  the  posses- 
sion of  that  city.  They  had  lived  there  unmolested  un- 
der Congress  from  May,  1775,  until  September,  1777, 
when  the  King's  troops  took  possession  of  that  place. 
They  lived  unmolested  under  the  British  Government 
as  long  as  the  army  continued  there.  They  had  a 
temporary  protection,  a  temporary  allegiance  of  course 
was  due.  They  had  enjoyed  this  before,  under  Con- 
gress, they  expected  it  again  upon  the  evacuation,  but 
were  disappointed.    They  were  brought  to  a  trial  as 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  283 

traitors,  condemned  by  a  rebel  jury,  summoned  by  a 
rebel  sheriff,  and  ordered  for  execution  by  a  rebel 
judge.  They  both  suffered  at  the  gallows,  their  real 
crime,  "  loyalty."  They  were  refused  the  benefit  of 
counsel.  They  were  insulted  by  the  Bench,  and  brow- 
beat by  the  Attorney-General.  The  charge  was  high 
treason,  the  overt  act,  living  in  Philadelphia  while  the 
King's  troops  had  the  possession.  This  the  court  de- 
clared was  "  an  adherence  to  the  enemy,"  and  conse- 
quently treason.1  While  this  tragedy  was  acting  in  Phila- 
delphia the  gentlemen  from  that  province  who  had  left 
it  with  the  army,  were  not  idle  in  New  York  on  behalf 
of  the  prisoners.  Repeated  applications  were  made  to 
General  Clinton  to  send  to  Philadelphia,  and  acquaint 
their  sjovernment  that  if  Carlisle  and  Roberts  were  ex- 
ecuted,  nay,  if  they  were  not  released,  "that  a  severe 
retaliation  should  take  place."  The  Lex  Talionis,  in 
all  civil  wars  is,  perhaps,  though  cruel,  yet  legal,  and 
upon  many  occasions  perfectly  justifiable.  The  Com- 
mander-in-Chief refused  to  exert  himself,  or  to  take 
any  step  in  the  business.  He  went  further,  he  declared 
that  sooner  than  retaliate,  he  would  resign  his  com- 
mission. This  doctrine  is  inconsistent  in  civil  wars. 
Civil  wars  widely  differ  from  wars  with  natural  enemies. 
Civil  wars  are  generally,  on  one  side  or  the  other,  at- 
tended with  acts  of  cruelty,  and  when  one  side  begins, 
no  matter  which,  the  Lex  Talionis  becomes  a  matter  of 
course.  Clinton  remained  inflexible.  Nothing  would 
he  do,  and  the  two  unhappy  Loyalists  were  executed 
in  the  most  ignominious  manner,  amidst  the  shouts 
and  insults  of  a  rebel  banditti.    What  induced  the 


1  Hundreds  of  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia,  of  rank,  pioperty,  and  influence 
were  in  the  same  predicament.  Yet  not  a  man  suffered  upon  that  account,  the 
two  poor  Quakers  excepted. 


284 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


General  not  to  interfere  in  a  matter  of  this  consequence 
(a  matter  in  which  all  the  loyal  Americans  were  so 
deeply  concerned)  was  matter  of  astonishment  and  sur- 
prise to  everybody  within  the  British  lines.  He  knew 
that  Carlisle  and  Roberts  were  loyal  to  their  Sovereign, 
he  knew  they  had  been  tried  by  a  pretended  court,  as 
traitors  to  the  State,  for  their  loyalty  to  Britain,  and 
by  such  pretended  court  had  been  convicted,  con- 
demned, and  were  upon  such  conviction  then  under 
sentence  of  death.  Yet  in  this  whole  affair  he  re- 
mained perfectly  silent,  inattentive,  and  callous  to  every 
application  on  behalf  of  the  prisoners,  though  pressed, 
begged,  and  solicited  by  people  of  the  first  rank  and 
character  from  Philadelphia.  If  the  quakings  of  his  con- 
science were  such  as  prevented  his  executing  rebels 
according  to  the  law  martial,  by  way  of  retaliation  for 
the  inhuman  murders  then  daily  committed  by  rebels 
upon  his  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  why  did  he  not  take 
such  steps  as  were  consistent  with  reason,  justice, 
and  strict  law  ?  He  had  it  in  his  power,  New  York, 
Long  Island,  Staten  Island,  and  part  of  Westchester, 
were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Great  Britain.  A  civil 
Governor  and  civil  Magistrates  were  upon  the  spot. 
The  Governor  was  in  possession  of  the  great  seal. 
If  Clinton  did  not  like  to  punish  by  the  law  martial, 
why  did  he  not  apply  to  the  Governor  to  issue  a  Com- 
mission of  Oyer  and  Terminer  for  the  trial  of  traitors 
within  the  British  lines  ?  God  knows  we  had  enough. 
Our  prisons  were  full,  and  hundreds  upon  parole, 
taken  in  arms  fighting  against  their  lawful  King.  Had 
three,  or  four,  or  half  a  dozen  of  these  been  brought  to 
trial  in  a  court  of  law,  legally  established  under  the 
power  of  Britain,  convicted,  and  condemned,  though 
not  executed,  the  murder  of  Carlisle  and  Roberts 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK. 


would  never  have  taken  place.  I  lad  this  plain  and 
legal  method  been  pursued,  no  conscientious  principles 
could  have  invaded  the  breast  of  the  General.  Every- 
thing would  have  been  legal,  right,  and  just.  This 
would  have  put  an  end  to  that  profusion  of  loyal  blood 
which  was  by  rebellion  afterwards  so  coolly  and  de- 
liberately shed.  Had  Clinton  a  thousand  heads,  he 
ought  to  lose  them  all  for  not  preventing  the  execution 
of  Carlisle  and  Roberts.  He  had  it  in  his  power. 
Through  his  pusillanimity,  misconduct,  irresolution,  and 
want  of  spirit,  the  honour  of  the  nation  was  sacrificed, 
the  blood  of  the  loyalists  with  impunity  shed,  the  em- 
pire dismembered,  and  the  property  of  the  loyal 
Americans  given  up  to  rebellion,  to  make  a  peace  for 
Great  Britain  without  a  single  term,  condition,  or  stipu- 
lation in  their  favour.  To  the  timidity  of  Clinton,  the 
honour,  the  glory,  and  dignity  of  Britain  fell  sacrifices, 
and  she  is  bound  to  execrate  him,  and  that  minister 
by  whose  means  so  irresolute,  so  ignorant,  and  so  unde- 
termined a  General  was  commissioned  as  Commander- 
in-Chief  in  America. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  troops  at  New  York,  after 
plundering  Martha's  Vineyard,  Block  Island,  Nan- 
tucket, and  the  Elizabeth  Islands,  in  1778,  the  General 
projected  an  expedition  to  Barnegat,  in  New  Jersey, 
in  order  to  destroy  a  number  of  small  privateers  that 
harboured  in  the  creeks  and  inlets  along  the  coast, 
and  to  demolish  some  rebel  salt-works  in  that  quarter. 
To  divert  the  enemy  at  the  same  time  from  the  princi- 
pal object,  Lord  Cornwallis,  with  a  large  detachment 
of  the  army,  went  into  that  province  and  took  post 
between  Newbridge  and  Hackensack,  having  the 
Hackensack  River  on  his  left,  the  Hudson  on  his  right. 
General  Knyphausen  at  the  same  time  marched  with 


286 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


another  part  of  the  army  into  the  Count}-  of  West- 
chester, and  took  a  position  opposite  to  his  Lordship, 
having  the  Hudson  on  his  left,  the  Bronx  on  his  right. 
A  number  of  galleys,  frigates,  and  other  armed  ves- 
sels, with  a  large  number  of  flat-bottomed  boats,  sailed 
up  the  Hudson  and  anchored  opposite  the  two  en- 
campments ;  that  in  case  Washington,  who  lay  snug 
in  the  Highlands,  or  in  that  neighbourhood,  should 
think  proper  to  attack  either,  the  other  might  be  in- 
stantly transported  to  its  assistance.  Washington, 
however,  was  determined  to  put  nothing  to  the  risk, 
and  kept  within  his  own  lines,  works,  and  fortifications. 
Intelligence  being  gained  that  a  rebel  regiment  of 
Light  Horse  lately  arrived  from  Virginia,  and  com- 
manded by  one  Baylor,  an  amiable  young  Virginian, 
of  a  fair  character,  reputable  family,  and  large  estate 
(it  was  in  honour  to  Washington  called  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton's own  regiment),  lay  at  a  place  called  Tappan, 
upon  the  western  bank  of  the  Hudson.  General 
Grey  was  sent  in  the  night  to  beat  up  their  quarters. 
He  surrounded  the  town,  seized  the  sentinels,  and 
with  fixed  bayonets  entered  the  houses  and  barns 
where  the  rebels  were  sleeping,  unsuspicious  of  dan- 
ger, and  before  they  could  have  recourse  to  their  arms, 
the  whole  corps  (a  few  who  concealed  themselves  ex- 
cepted) were  massacred  in  cold  blood,  and  to  the 
disgrace  of  Britons  many  of  them  were  stabbed 
while  upon  their  knees  humbly  imploring  and  submis- 
sively begging  for  mercy.  A  merciful  mind  must 
shudder  at  the  bare  mention  of  so  barbarous,  so  inhu- 
man, and  so  unchristian  an  act.  An  act  inconsistent 
with  the  dignity  or  honour  of  a  British  General,  and 
disgraceful  to  the  name  of  a  soldier. 

Upon  the  Barnegat  expedition,  a  Captain  Ferguson 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


287 


had  the  command.  He  had  about  500  men  and  some 
armed  galleys.  He  retook  some  prizes,  destroyed 
a  number  of  small  privateers,  consisting  of  sloops, 
schooners,  pettyaugers,  and  whale-boats ;  demolished 
all  the  salt-works ;  surprised,  attacked,  and  in  a  great 
measure  ruined,  Pulaski's  Legion,  which  happened  to 
be  quartered  in  the  neighbourhood  ;  plundered  the  in- 
habitants, burnt  their  houses,  their  churches,  and  their 
barns;  ruined  their  farms;  stole  their  cattle,  hogs, 
horses,  and  sheep,  and  then  triumphantly  returned  to 
New  York.  This  business  being  effected,  Cornwallis 
and  Knyphausen  also  returned  to  New  York,  bring- 
ing in  with  them  large  quantities  of  forage,  and  numer- 
ous droves  of  cattle,  horses,  hogs,  and  sheep,  of  which 
the  poor  inhabitants  had  been  indiscriminately  plun- 
dered, without  any  distinction  between  whigs  and 
tories,  loyalists  or  rebels. 

In  September,  1778,  another  expedition  took  place 
under  the  orders  of  the  Commander-in-Chief.  Gen- 
eral Tryon  had  the  command,  General  De  Lancey 
was  his  second.  This  army  consisted  of  2,000  regu- 
lars, a  battalion  of  De  Lancey's  provincials,  200  mili- 
tia infantry  from  Queens,  a  company  of  militia  Light 
Horse  from  Kings,  and  two  from  Queens.  It  seems 
the  inhabitants  at  the  east  end  of  Long  Island  were 
chiefly  presbyterians,  consequently  republicans,  and 
well  affected  to  the  cause  of  rebellion.  Their  connec- 
tions were  also  in  a  great  measure  linked  with  Con- 
nccticut,  with  the  people  of  which  a  constant  inter- 
course had  ever  been  kept  up  and  maintained.  The 
inhabitants  upon  this  part  of  the  island  were  chiefly 
graziers,  and  had  large  stocks  of  cattle,  which  they 
pretended  they  dare  not  bring  to  New  York,  for  fear 
of  being  badly  treated  by  their  New  England  neigh- 


288 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


bours.  To  bring  up  these  cattle  for  the  use  of  the 
army  was  the  object  of  the  expedition.  This  army 
marched  down  the  island  in  great  parade.  They  had 
nothing  to  fear.  The  island  was  a  territory  of  Britain, 
and  in  her  actual  possession.  They  were  four  days 
upon  the  march,  and  according  to  custom  the  soldiers 
plundered  with  impunity  all  the  way.  A  halt  of  some 
hours  was  made  at  Brookhaven,  and  while  the  two 
Generals,  and  all  the  field  officers,  were  dining  with 
Colonel  Benjamin  Floyd,  of  the  militia,  the  soldiers 
robbed  him  of  all  his  apples,  his  Indian  corn,  potatoes, 
turnips,  cabbages,  the  greatest  part  of  his  poultry,  and 
burnt  up  all  his  fences.  When  the  army  arrived  at 
its  place  of  destination,  the  cattle  were  ordered  in,  and 
a  numerous  appearance  they  made.  All  that  were  fit 
for  the  butcher  were  brought  away.  They  amounted 
to  many  hundreds.  The  expedition  lasted  about  a 
month.  No  enemy  appeared.  All  returned  safe.  The 
inhabitants  were  allowed  one  shilling  currency  by  the 
pound.  The  cattle  were  delivered  over  to  the  commis- 
saries for  the  use  of  the  army,  for  every  pound  of  which 
they  charged  the  Crown  one  and  sixpence  sterling. 
Some  hundreds  of  the  cattle  brought  in  were  found 
not  in  a  condition  for  killing.  What  was  to  be  done 
with  these  was  the  difficulty.  They  could  not  be  fatted 
at  the  west  end  of  the  island.  All  the  pasture,  corn,  and 
hay  there  were  wanted  for  the  Quarter-masters'  horses. 
In  this  dilemna  a  council  of  war  was  held.  Tryon 
presided.  Many  projects  were  proposed.  It  was  at 
length  agreed  to  ascertain  in  future  to  whom  these 
cattle  belonged,  to  have  them  all  branded  with  the 
letters  G.  R.,  and  to  leave  them  till  the  spring  in  order 
to  be  fatted  during  the  winter.  This  brand  plainly 
pointed  out  whose  property  the  cattle  were,  and  early 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


289 


in  the  spring,  when  the  cattle  were  in  proper  order, 
the  Yankees  crossed  the  sound,  seized  upon  all  the 
G.  J?.'s,  carried  them  to  Connecticut,  and  from  thence 
sent  them  to  feed  the  rebel  army  at  Morristown,  in 
New  Jersey. 

This  year  was  also  remarkable  for  another  piece  of 
extravagance.  The  Commander-in-Chief  granted 
captain's  commissions  to  several  young  gentlemen  in 
New  York.  What  the  real  intent  was,  let  the  world 
judge.  They  were  called  Safe-Guard  Captains.  Who 
they  were  to  protect,  is,  I  believe,  as  yet  unknown. 
Their  companies  never  consisted  of  a  man.  They 
had,  notwithstanding,  pay,  wore  red  coats,  cockades, 
and  swords,  rode  upon  good  horses,  and  drew  rations 
of  all  kinds.  In  this  situation  they  continued  rolling 
in  ease,  luxury,  and  dissipation,  without  doing  the 
least  duty  until  the  evacuation  of  New  York,  and  in 
consequence  of  such  commissions  were  actually  al- 
lowed half  pay  as  captains  in  the  British  Army. 

In  the  fall  of  1778,  General  Grant  was  sent  from 
New  York  with  a  detachment  of  the  army  to  the  West 
Indies.  He  attacked  the  Island  of  St.  Lucia,  reduced 
it  in  a  short  time,  and  it  continued  in  the  possession 
and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Great  Britain  until  the 
end  of  the  war,  when  it  was,  by  the  articles  of  paci- 
fication, again  restored  to  France. 

At  the  very  time  that  General  Grant  sailed  for  the 
West  Indies,  Colonel  Campbell,  also  with  a  detach- 
ment of  the  British  army,  was  sent  to  Georgia,  the 
most  Southern  of  the  revolted  colonies,  and  upon 
landing  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Savannah,  the  metro- 
polis of  the  colony,  an  action  took  place.  The  British 
were  the  conquerors.  The  rebels  were  totally  defeated ; 
their  cannon,  baggage,  and  stores  captured,  numbers 
19 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


were  killed,  wounded  or  taken  prisoners,  with  several 
officers  of  note,  character,  and  reputation,  in  the  rebel 
service.  Upon  this  Savannah  opened  her  gates,  the 
conquerors  marched  in,  the  inhabitants  renewed  their 
oaths  of  allegiance,  and  everything  within  the  walls 
was  peaceable  and  quiet.  This  was  the  work  of  a 
day  only.  The  broken  remains  of  the  rebel  army 
(the  garrison  at  Sunbury  excepted),  left  the  colony 
and  fled  into  South  Carolina.  Sunbury  being  soon 
after  taken,  the  whole  province  submitted  to  the  king, 
and  took  the  oaths  of  allegiance.  The  civil  law  was 
restored,  the  courts  of  justice  opened,  an  Assembly 
called,  and  all  the  necessary  officers,  from  a  Governor 
down  to  a  petty  constable,  appointed.  Rebellion  gave 
way,  peace,  harmony,  and  quiet  succeeded.  Colonel 
Campbell  being  joined  by  a  detachment  from  Florida 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Prevost,  the  latter  took 
the  command  as  senior  officer.  An  incursion  was 
now  made  into  South  Carolina,  and  the  army  pene- 
trated to  the  very  gates  of  Charleston,  the  capital  of 
the  province,  without  the  least  opposition  whatever, 
and  summoned  the  place  to  surrender.  This  the  town 
offered  to  do,  upon  condition  that  the  colony  might 
be  permitted  to  remain  in  a  perfect  state  of  neutrality, 
(for  the  performance  of  which  they  offered  respectable 
hostages)  until  the  end  of  the  war.1    This  being  re- 

1  Had  the  proffered  terms  been  acceeded  to,  the  acquisition  would  have  been  of 
the  utmost  consequence  to  Great  Britain.  The  American  Confederacy  would  have 
been  broken.  Georgia,  which  had  totally  surrendered,  was  restored  to  the  king's 
peace,  and  the  civil  officers  throughout  the  province  in  full  execution  of  the  law, 
the  courts  of  justice  open,  and  everything  in  peace.  South  Carolina,  lying  be- 
tween it  and  North  Carolina,  would  have  been  a  barrier.  She  would,  in  such 
case,  have  had  nothing  to  fear.  A  small  garrison  at  Savannah,  another  at  Sun- 
bury, and  one  at  Augusta,  with  the  militia  of  the  colony,  would  have  been  suffi- 
cient for  her  protection,  and  Prevost's  army,  consisting  of  3,000  excellent  troops, 
might  have  been  usefully  employed  in  other  parts  of  America.    But  to  the  misfor- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


29I 


fused  by  General  Prevost,  the  garrison  refused  to  sur- 
render, and  prepared  for  a  vigorous  defence.  The 
British  army,  not  being  large  enough  to  blockade  the 
town  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  reinforcements 
and  supplies  from  getting  into  it,  and  not  strong 
enough  to  attempt  a  storm,  left  their  camp  and  retired. 
Part  of  them  returned  to  Savannah,  in  Georgia,  the 
remainder  took  possession  of  Beaufort,  in  South  Caro- 
lina, under  the  command  of  Colonel  Maitland,  which 
they  fortified ;  and  there  remained  until  the  fall  of 
1779,  when  General  Prevost,  getting  intelligence  of 
the  Compte  D'Estaign  being  upon  the  coast,  and 
supposing  he  intended  an  attack  upon  Georgia,  in  con- 
junction with  the  rebel  forces  then  in  Carolina,  ordered 
him  to  abandon  the  place  and  return  to  Savannah. 
This  was  effected  in  the  very  nick  of  time,  and  proba- 
bly saved  the  colony.  Maitland  had  scarcely  got  into 
Savannah  when  D'Estaign  made  his  appearance,  and 
his  troops,  his  marines,  his  artillery,  and  a  large  body 
of  sailors  were  landed.  Lincoln,  at  the  head  of  a 
rebel  army  from  South  Carolina,  also  entered  Georgia 
and  joined  the  French  troops.  The  garrison  strength- 
ened their  works,  added  some  new  ones,  and  prepared 
for  a  formidable  defence.  Had  a  regular  siegfe  been 
carried  on  for  ten  days,  Savannah  must  have  surren- 
dered, and  the  colony  again  returned  to  the  power  of 
rebellion.  The  French  and  rebels,  when  joined, 
formed  an  army  at  least  five  times  more  numerous 
than  the  garrison.  The  rebels  were  not  fond  of  storm- 
ing  fortified  places,  but  the  Compte,  declaring  that  his 
fleet  lay  in  so  perilous  a  situation  that  unless  the  place 


tune  of  America,  and  injury  of  Great  Britain,  a  strange  kind  of  fatality  was  evi- 
dent in  all  our  proceedings  during  the  continuance  of  the  American  rebellion. 


292  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

was  immediately  stormed,  he  must  embark  his  troops 
and  put  to  sea,  a  storm  was  therefore  agreed  upon, 
conducted  with  judgment,  and  made  with  vigor.  The 
garrison,  though  small,  consisted  of  Britons.  They 
defended  their  works  with  spirit,  with  resolution. 
They  fought  like  lions,  and  repelled  every  attack  made 
upon  the  town.  The  garrison  gained  immortal  honour, 
the  enemy  were  totally  repulsed.  Their  loss  in  killed, 
prisoners,  and  wounded,  was  considerable.  D'Estaign 
was  among  the  latter.  He  now  gave  up  all  thoughts 
ol  Georgia,  embarked  his  troops,  and  put  to  sea. 
Lincoln,  with  the  rebels,  returned  to  Carolina.  Thus 
ended  the  siege  of  Savannah,  a  siege  honourable  to 
Great  Britain,  disgraceful  to  France  and  rebellion. 
D'Estaign  never  appeared  in  the  American  seas  after 
this. 

Some  instances  of  the  lenity,  or  timidity,  of  a 
British  General,  I  don't  know  which,  are  now  to  be 
mentioned.  In  1777,  General  De  Lancey,  whose 
quarters  were  at  Huntington,  in  Suffolk  County,  upon 
Long  Island,  ordered  one  Phillips,  the  overseer  of  a 
W  illiam  Floyd,  one  of  the  delegates  in  Congress,  and 
John  Smith,  the  son  of  William  Smith,  Esq.,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  New  York  Convention,  and  both  living 
with  their  families  within  the  rebel  lines,  to  be  appre- 
hended and  brought  before  him.  Floyd  and  Smith 
had  both  valuable  farms  upon  Long  Island,  which 
were  in  possession  of  Phillips  as  overseer  to  the  form- 
er, and  of  John  Smith  as  son  to  the  latter.  They  car- 
ried on  the  business  of  the  farms  in  the  same  manner 
as  their  principals  would  have  done  had  they  been  at 
home,  sold  the  produce  at  the  New  York  markets  for 
hard  money,  and  remitted  the  same  to  Floyd  and 
Smith  with  all  such  intelligence  as  they  could  procure. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


293 


Of  this  General  De  Lancey  had  information.  Upon 
this  he  ordered  them  taken  up.  They  were  brought 
before  him,  declared  themselves  loyal  subjects,  and 
offered  to  take  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to  the  king, 
which  they  accordingly  did.  The  General  then  or- 
dered them  to  enter  into  bonds  with  large  penalties 
and  good  security,  conditioned  for  their  good  beha- 
viour as  loyal  subjects,  not  to  leave  the  island,  nor  to 
send  any  intelligence,  information,  or  hard  money,  to 
the  rebels,  and  to  be  accountable  to  the  Crown  for 
the  annual  produce  of  the  farms  in  their  possession. 
This  done,  they  were  discharged.  No  sooner  had 
they  got  matters  properly  settled,  than  they  left  the 
Island,  went  over  to  the  rebels,  took  up  arms  in  viola- 
tion of  their  faith,  and  oath  of  allegiance,  and  were 
not  long  afterwards  (some  time  in  1778),  taken  upon 
the  Island  upon  a  plundering  party  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  fighting  against  their  sovereign,  and  pillaging 
his  lawful  subjects.  They  were  carried  to  New  York 
and  lodged  in  the  prevost,  and  to  General  Clinton, 
then  Commander-in-Chief,  full  information  of  all  these 
particulars  was  given,  yet  in  about  three  weeks  there- 
after, he  permitted  them  to  be  exchanged  as  prisoners 
of  war  ! 

In  1778,  three  young  fellows  of  the  township  of 
Oyster  Bay,  who  had,  upon  the  surrender  of  the  Isl- 
and, in  1776,  taken  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to  the  king, 
left  the  Island,  joined  the  rebels,  and  entered  into  a 
combination  with  a  gang  of  freebooters  to  plunder  the 
inhabitants  upon  the  Island  ;  with  which  intent  a  party 
of  them  crossed  the  Sound  of  an  evening,  and  after 
robbing  several  houses,  they  made  an  attempt  upon 
one  in  which  there  happened  to  be  several  men,  by 
whom  the}-  were  attacked,  overpowered,  and  taken 


294 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


prisoners,  carried  to  New  York,  tried,  convicted,  and 
ordered  to  serve  as  common  sailors  on  board  a  king's 
ship  during-  the  war.  Yet  these  fellows  (upon  the 
application  of  as  great  a  rebel 1  as  existed)  were  par- 
doned, released,  and  discharged,  without  any  punish- 
ment whatever. 

Thomas  Jones,  Esq.,  had  his  house  at  Fort  Neck, 
in  Queens  County,  on  Long  Island,  broken  open,  and 
plundered,  by  a  party  of  rebels  from  New  England,  in 
November,  1779.  One  Chichester,  who  lived  in  the 
neighbourhood,  under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain, 
served  as  their  guide.  Before  this  party  could  re-cross 
the  Sound,  seven  of  them,  of  which  this  fellow  was 
one,  were  taken  prisoners,  carried  to  New  York,  and 
lodged  in  the  prevost.  Mr.  Jones  remained  a  prisoner 
in  Connecticut  for  six  months.  Chichester  was  all  the 
time  in  prison.  Upon  Mr.  Jones'  return  he  received 
a  message  from  the  civil  Governor  of  the  province,2 
desiring  him  to  signify  in  writing  under  his  hand,  his 
consent  that  Chichester  should  be  discharged.  This 
was  refused.  Notwithstanding  which,  he  was  in  a 
few  days  afterwards  unconditionally  released,  and  re- 
turned home,  ready  to  conduct  any  other  plundering 
party  that  should  appear  in  that  quarter.  Is  it  surpris- 
ing, after  these  instances,  (hundreds  might  be  pro- 
duced) that  the  inhabitants  upon  Long  Island  were 
constantly  and  almost  daily  plundered,  when  the 
thieves,  if  taken,  were  ever  discharged  without  the 
least  punishment  (a  few  days'  confinement  in  the  pre- 
vost excepted),  and  what  was  worse,  the  plundered 
never  could  obtain  a  restitution  for  the  stolen  goods  ? 
We  were  out  of  the  king's  peace,  said  the  gentlemen 


1  Hendrick  Onderdonk,  Esq.,  of  Hempstead  Harbour. 
-  General  Robertson. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


295 


of  the  army.  Our  courts  were  shut  up,  justice  and 
law  were  gone,  and  the  inhabitants  within  the  lines 
were  as  equally  plundered  by  the  British  and  foreign 
troops,  as  they  were  by  the  rebels,  and  by  all  with 
equal  impunity.  No  satisfaction  was  to  be  obtained. 
Apply  to  a  General  and  you  were  damned  for  a  rebel, 
though  loyalty  was  your  ruin. 

J.  F.  1).  Smyth,  in  his  tour  through  the  United 
States  of  America,  page  380,  in  speaking  of  Long 
Island,  says:  "Though  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  of 
"  this  island  have  acquired  money  during  the  war,  yet 
"  many  more  have  been  most  cruelly  oppressed,  and 

vast  numbers  of  them  repeatedly  plundered  by  the 
"  depredations  of  both  sides.  Such  shocking  instances 
"  of  barbarous  brutality  have  frequently  occurred  in 
"  different  parts  of  Long  Island,  a  bare  recollection  of 
"  which  is  painful.  I  will,  therefore,  omit  them,  a  re- 
"  lation  would  be  disagreeable. "  This  gentleman  is  a 
native  of  Great  Britain,  was  a  captain  in  Simcoe's  Le- 
gion, was  a  great  deal  upon  Long  Island,  spent  the 
winter  with  the  army  at  Southampton,  in  1778,  and 
was  quartered  at  Oyster  Bay  in  the  winter  of  1779. 
He  of  course  had  it  in  his  power  to  be  well  acquaint- 
ed with  the  persecution,  and  unparalleled  depredations 
committed  upon  his  majesty's  loyal  subjects,  inhabit- 
ants of  that  Island  during  the  war,  as  well  by  the 
rebels  from  the  neighbouring  colonies,  as  by  the  licen- 
tious conduct  of  the  royal  army.  As  an  Englishman, 
and  a  British  officer,  he  will  hardly  be  suspected  of 
partiality. 

Early  in  1779,  an  expedition  was  undertaken  against 
Virginia.  Sir  George  Collyer  commanded  the  navy, 
General  Mathew  the  land  forces.  They  sailed  to  the 
Chesapeake,  landed,  and  took  the  towns  of  Ports- 


296 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


mouth,  Norfolk,  and  Suffolk.  In  these  ports  some 
ships  laden  with  above  1,000  hogsheads  of  tobacco 
were  burned  by  the  rebels;  at  least  1,000  hogsheads 
more  were  taken  by  the  British,  and  sent  to  New 
York.  Several  magazines  of  provisions  and  military 
stores  were  burnt ;  not  less  than  170  sail  of  vessels  were 
either  destroyed  or  brought  away  by  the  navy,  who 
penetrated  every  river  emptying  into  the  bay.  Rope 
walks  were  burnt,  as  well  as  a  number  of  ships  upon 
the  stocks,  the  ship  yards  broken  up,  the  timber  in 
them  ruined.  Their  arsenals  of  pitch,  tar,  hemp, 
cordage,  and  other  materials,  were  all  consumed.  The 
damage  done  the  enemy  by  this  desultory  expedition 
was  amazing,  surprising,  and  prodigious.  It  amounted 
to  little  less  than  two  millions  sterling.  Such  were 
the  effects  of  an  expedition  performed  in  the  course 
of  a  month,  when  the  whole  force  returned  to  New 
York  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  or  the  least  damage 
done  to  any  of  the  king's  ships. 

In  the  spring  of  this  year  also,  a  detachment  of  the 
royal  army,  under  the  command  of  a  General  McClean, 
went  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Penobscot,  the  eastern  part 
of  the  Massachusetts,  landed,  took  possession  of  the 
place,  erected  a  fort,  and  built  such  other  works  as 
would  be  necessary  in  case  of  an  attack.  This  little 
successful  expedition  occasioned  an  unusual  clamour 
and  alarm  in  Boston.  Penobscot  was  in  the  colony. 
It  was  an  insult,  an  affront,  not  to  be  submitted  to  by 
the  Puritan  Saints  of  New  England.  No  sooner  was 
the  affair  known  in  Boston,  than  the  whole  mass  of 
puritanic  rebellion  took  fire,  and  steps  were  immedi- 
ately taken  to  expel  the  invaders.  An  embargo  was 
laid  upon  all  shipping  in  the  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Rhode  Island,  for  forty  days.  An 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


297 


army  was  raised  under  the  command  of  one  Lovel, 
before  the  rebellion  a  schoolmaster  in  Boston.  A 
fleet  was  also  prepared  ;  a  Captain  Saltonstall  had  the 
command  as  Commodore.1  All  things  being1  in  readi- 
ness,  the  armament  left  Boston  and  sailed  for  Penob- 
scot. On  the  25th  of  July  the  rebel  fleet  appeared  in 
sight.  It  consisted  of  37  sail.  The  commander  of 
the  garrison  had  got  intelligence  of  the  preparations 
in  Boston  some  days  before  the  fleet  left.  An  express 
was  sent  to  Halifax,  and  from  thence  dispatched  to  the 
Commander-in-Chief  at  New  York.  The  rebels, 
though  several  times  repulsed  in  their  attempts  to 

1  This  gentleman  is  a  descendant  of  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  who  was  formerly 
;i  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  colony  of  Ply- 
mouth, now  a  part  of  the  State  of  the  Massachusetts.  The  Commodore  is  a  great 
grand-son.  Sir  Richard's  eldest  son  was  Gurdon  Saltonstall.  He  was  many  years 
Governor  of  Connecticut.  Some  descendants  of  Sir  Richard's  are  also  settled  at 
New  London,  rich,  respectable,  and  in  high  estimation  as  the  first  family  in  the 
place.  Roswell  Saltonstall,  the  only  grandson  of  Gurdon,  who  was  the  eldest 
son  of  Sir  Richard,  lives  upon  a  very  valuable  estate  at  Branford,  in  Connecticut, 
which  he  inherited  from  his  father.  He  has  also,  by  inheritance,  an  estate  of  some 
value  at  Pompfret,  in  Yorkshire.  Roswell  is  now  about  50  years  of  age,  and 
perhaps  one  of  the  oddest  men  in  America.  I  was  acquainted  with  him  in  Col- 
lege, and  being  a  prisoner  in  Connecticut  during  the  war,  I  went  in  company  with 
a  friend  to  pay  him  a  visit.  I  found  him  a  steady  loyalist.  He  was  dressed  in  the 
following  manner  :  coarse  leather  shoes,  tied  with  leather  strings,  instead  of 
buckles,  blue  yarn  stockings,  tied  below  the  knees  with  some  twisted  flax.  His 
breeches  were  woolen,  and  open  at  both  the  knees.  His  coat  and  waistcoat  were 
of  homespun,  his  shirt  of  coarse  linen,  and  appeared  to  have  been  worn  about  a 
month.  The  sleeves  were  tied  with  twine.  He  had  nothing  about  his  neck,  and 
from  the  looks  of  his  hair,  a  comb  had  not  seen  it  for  six  months.  He  kept  a 
seraglio,  consisting  of  six  young  women.  He  had  seven  children,  all  illegitimate. 
He  never  was  married.  He  was  sensible,  chatty,  and  entertaining.  He  treated 
US  with  cider,  apples,  and  nuts,  and  seemed  extremely  glad  to  see  us.  He  damned 
rebellion,  and  wished  success  to  his  sovereign.  When  New  Haven  was  plundered 
by  the  royal  army  in  the  summer  of  1779,  General  Tryon  had  his  head-quarters 
near  Bradford.  Upon  this  occasion  Saltonstall  had  his  beard  shaved,  his  hair 
dressed,  put  into  a  bag,  and  powdered  ;  put  on  a  new  suit  of  black  velvet,  white 
silk  stockings,  a  sword,  and  fine  hat,  and  waited  upon  the  General  and  asked  him 
to  his  house;  roasted  an  ox,  six  sheep,  and  four  hogs,  with  which  he  feasted  the 
British  soldiers.  When  the  army  left  Connecticut,  he  returned  to  his  formel 
dress,  and  his  old  method  of  living. 


298 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


land,  at  length  effected  their  object,  opened  ground, 
and  commenced  a  regular  siege.  No  sooner  did  the 
news  arrive  at  New  York  than  Sir  George  Collyer,  in 
a  sixty  gun  ship,  with  five  frigates,  were  ordered  to 
the  relief  of  the  place.  The  night  after  Sir  George 
appeared  upon  the  coast,  Lovel  embarked  his  troops, 
his  provisions,  his  stores,  his  baggage,  and  artillery,  on 
board  the  rebel  fleet,  abandoned  the  siege  by  land, 
and  seemed  determined  to  make  a  resistance  by  sea. 
The  rebel  commanders  drew  their  fleet  up  in  the  form 
of  a  half  moon  at  the  entrance  of  the  river,  as  if  deter- 
mined to  dispute  the  passage.  Their  resolution  soon 
failed,  a  most  scandalous  flight  took  place,  a  general 
chase,  and  an  unresisted  destruction  was  the  conse- 
quence. The  rebels,  finding  no  possibility  of  escaping, 
ran  many  of  their  vessels  on  shore,  set  them  on  fire, 
and  took  to  the  woods.  No  destruction  could  be 
more  complete.  Nothing  in  the  naval  line  escaped. 
A  frigate  of  20  guns,  another  of  18,  and  eight  sail  of 
provision  vessels  were  captured,  and  24  sail  of  trans- 
ports were  destroyed.  To  complete  the  whole,  more 
than  two-thirds  of  the  whole  army  and  sailors  em- 
ployed in  this  expedition  died  in  the  woods,  through 
hunger  and  fatigue,  before  they  could  reach  the  set- 
tled parts  of  the  Massachusetts.  Saltonstall  gained 
no  honour,  his  conduct  was  execrated  through  the 
rebel  States,  yet  he  was  never  brought  to  a  trial.  No 
attempts  were  ever  after  made  for  the  recovery  of 
Penobscot.  The  other  States  refused  to  bear  any 
part  of  the  expense  which  the  New  Englanders  were 
put  to  in  consequence  of  the  late  expedition,  nor  did 
Congress,  though  applied  to  strongly,  recommend  the 
matter.  Penobscot  remained  in  the  hands  of  Great 
Britain,  till  the  noted  Jesuit  Malgarida,  in  conjunction 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


299 


with  a  baker  of  bread  and  a  retailer  of  wine,  gave  it 
up  to  rebellion  in  complete  and  perfect  order,  upon  the 
conclusion  of  the  late  war,  by  the  dishonourable  peace 
of  Paris,  a  peace  that  dismembered  the  empire,  dis- 
graced the  nation,  and  made  Britain  the  laughing  stock, 
the  ridicule,  the  jest,  of  all  Europe. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

In  the  year  1779,  the  refugees  within  the  British 
lines,  who  were  become  numerous,  were  by  permission 
from  the  British  Ministry,  suffered  to  establish  a  juris- 
diction of  their  own,  independent  of  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  and  governed  by  a  body  of  their  own  cre- 
ation, to  which  they  gave  the  title  of  "  The  Honour- 
"  able  Board  of  Associated  Loyalists."  These  re- 
fugees having  arms  in  their  hands,  no  pay,  provisions, 
nor  clothing  from  the  Crown,  were  now  under  the  sanc- 
tion of  government,  and  the  countenance  of  their 
"  Honourable  Board,"  publicly  encouraged  to  maintain, 
support,  and  if  possible,  enrich  themselves  by  the 
spoil  and  plunder  of  the  rebels,  under  pretence  of  dis- 
tressing the  enemy,  and  gaining  information  necessary 
for  the  Commander-in-Chief.  Those  upon  Long  Isl- 
and, and  Staten  Island,  were  in  possession  of  whale 
boats  of  different  sizes,  rowed  with  from  eight  to  thirty 
oars.  They  had  also  some  small  armed  sloops,  schoon- 
ers, and  pettyaugers.  They  were  all  commissioned 
as  private  vessels  of  war,  and  as  their  crews  consisted 
of  a  set  of  people  who  had  either  fled,  or  been 
driven,  from  the  rebel  country,  they  were  perfectly  ac- 
quainted with  all  the  different  situations  along  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


3OI 


coasts  of  New  Jersey  and  Connecticut,  as  well  as  those 
of  New  York  under  the  jurisdiction  of  rebellion,  with 
all  the  different  creeks,  coves,  bays,  rivers,  and  har- 
bours ;  and  with  the  situation  of  the  several  towns  and 
villages,  houses  of  gentlemen,  and  country  farms. 
These  coasts  they  infested  in  the  night,  and  brought 
off  the  cattle,  horses,  hogs,  sheep,  and  poultry,  belong- 
ing to  the  inhabitants,  their  furniture,  household  goods, 
negroes,  wearing  apparel,  bedding,  sheeting  and  linen; 
burnt  houses,  destroyed  churches,  and  brought  off  a 
number  of  prisoners.  This  plunder  was  sold  at  ven- 
due for  the  benefit  of  the  captors.  These  refugees  con- 
sisted of  three  "  societies,"  one  formed  of  those  in  New 
York  and  upon  Staten  Island,  another  of  those  upon 
Long  Island,  and  the  third,  of  those  posted  at  Kings- 
bridge,  Morrisania,  and  the  borough  of  Westchester. 
They  were  all  under  the  jurisdiction  of,  and  subject  to, 
the  directions  and  orders  of  the  "  Honourable  Board." 
Those  at  Kingsbridge,  Morrisania  and  the  borough  of 
Westchester,  consisted  of  horsemen,  were  formed  into 
companies,  and  regularly  officered  and  commissioned. 
These  made  incursions  into  the  country  and  plundered 
whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon,  and  if  no 
rebel  property  was  to  be  found,  the  Loyalists  and  the 
neutrals  suffered.  It  was  an  established  rule  never  to 
return  empty  handed.  The  New  York  and  Staten 
Island  society  confined  their  littoral  predatory  war  to 
the  coasts  of  New  Jersey,  and  to  those  of  New  York 
below  the  Highlands,  and  to  the  west,  and  east  sides 
of  the  Hudson.  The  Long  Island  society  infested 
the  coasts  of  Connecticut,  with  some  of  the  eastern- 
most parts  of  the  province  of  New  York  adjoining 
the  Sound.  By  way  of  retaliation,  a  number  of  the  like 
boats  with  similar  commissions  were  fitted  out  and 


302 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


commissioned  by  the  Governors  of  Connecticut,  New 
Jersey,  and  of  that  part  of  New  York  in  the  power  of 
the  rebels.  These  retaliators  infested  the  coasts  of 
Long  Island,  and  plundered  the  inhabitants  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  loyal  refugees  plundered  theirs, 
with  this  difference  only,  they  burnt  no  dwelling 
houses,  nor  ever  injured  a  church.  They  destroyed 
some  saw  mills,  the  property  of  individuals,  which 
were  worked  for  the  use  of  the  army.  In  this  they 
were  justifiable  by  the  usage  and  customs  of  all  nations 
when  in  an  actual  state  of  war.  It  was  remarked,  that 
after  this  establishment  took  place,  and  a  predatory  war 
commenced  on  each  side,  that  no  battle  or  attack  ever 
occurred  between  the  rebel  and  the  loyal  privateers. 
It  was  said,  I  believe  it  a  fact,  that  in  passing  the 
Sound  upon  their  respective  depredations,  they  fre- 
quently met,  hailed  each  other,  gave  three  cheers,  and 
unmolestedly  proceeded  on  their  different  expeditions. 
It  was  also,  at  last,  averred  as  a  fact,  that  these  depre- 
dators grew  so  civil  to  each  other,  that  they  mutually 
gave  notice  of  the  persons  most  proper  to  be  made 
prisoners  of,  the  situation  of  their  houses,  and  where 
the  most  plunder  was  likely  to  be  obtained.  This 
connection  answered  the  purpose  of  both  parties.  A 
prisoner  taken  from  Connecticut,  and  carried  to  Long 
Island,  and  from  thence  to  New  York,  it  was  natural 
for  his  relations  to  wish  to  have  him  exchanged.  The 
Captain  of  a  New  England  whale-boat  privateer  waits 
upon  the  wife  or  other  near  relation  of  the  captive,  and 
offers  to  take  a  person  from  the  British  lines,  who 
should  answer  for  an  exchange :  but  as  the  adventure 
must  be  of  course  dangerous,  and  attended  with  fatigue 
and  expense,  a  proper  compensation  must  be  given. 
The  bargain  made,  the  adventurers  proceed.  The 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


303 


royal  refugees  point  out  to  the  rebel  ones  a  proper 
man.  Mis  house  is  attacked  in  the  night,  broken  open, 
plundered,  and  the  owner  carried  into  New  England. 
Upon  this  an  exchange  is  proposed.  The  Comman- 
der-in-Chief says,  "  I  have  no  objection,  but  the  pris- 
"  oner  is  not  mine,  he  belongs  to  the  '  Honourable 
"  '  Board  of  Associated  Loyalists,'  you  must  apply  to 
"  them."  The  Board  consents,  but  the  crew  who 
took  the  prisoner  must  be  satisfied,  and  a  reward  also 
given  for  their  consent.  The  sums  asked  were  in  pro- 
portion to  the  rank  of  the  prisoner.  I  have  seen  re- 
ceipts of  this  kind  from  30  to  150  guineas.  This  trade 
was  carried  on  from  the  incorporation  of  the  Board  to 
the  end  of  the  war.  It  injured  individuals,  was  of  no 
service  to  the  general  cause.  It  gratified  the  ambition 
of  a  few  sycophants  and  pensioners.  No  information 
that  could  be  depended  upon,  was  ever  obtained 
through  the  means  of  these  refugee  corps  under  the 
orders,  directions  and  sanction  of  the  "  Honourable 
"  Board."  I  don't  pretend  that  the  "  Honourable 
"  Board  "  knew  of,  or  connived  at,  such  iniquitous  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Associated  Loyalists,  but  they  cer- 
tainly encouraged  them  to  infest  the  rebel  coasts,  and 
plunder  the  inhabitants  indiscriminately,  without  any 
distinction  of  Whigs  or  Tories,  Loyalists  or  rebels. 
Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  peace,  all  the  refugee  plun- 
derers were  provided  with  vessels,  sent  to  Nova 
Scotia,  and  had  lands  granted  them  in  proportion  to 
their  respective  ranks,  which  they  held  in  the  "  Hon- 
"  ourable  Corps  "  of  refugees,  employed  by  govern- 
ment to  plunder  inoffensive  farmers,  burn  their  houses, 
and  steal  their  cattle.  The  "  Honourable  Board,"  con- 
sisted of  25  members,  each  had  ^200  sterling  per  an- 
num, with  rations  of  every  kind.    The  Board  cost  the 


3<H 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


nation  at  least  ,£30,000  sterling  a  year.  It  might  have 
been  appropriated  to  a  much  better  purpose.  The 
American  War  was  not  against  rebellion,  it  was 
against  the  Treasury  of  Great  Britain,  and  of  which  it 
nearly  made  a  conquest. 

In  May,  1781,  four  rebel  whale-boats  from  New  Ro- 
chelle,  upon  the  main  within  the  province  of  New  York, 
actually  went  to  the  British  guard  ship  which  lay  at 
the  Two  Brothers,  small  islands  in  the  Sound,  about  a 
mile  below  Whitestone,  and  nearly  midway  between 
the  main  and  Long  Island,  and  made  presents  of  poul- 
try, lamb,  veal,  and  vegetables,  to  the  Captain  and 
other  officers,  and  in  return  their  crews  were  regaled 
with  wine,  punch,  and  grog.  In  the  evening  they  took 
leave,  went  directly  to  Long  Island,  broke  open  the 
house  of  Thomas  Hicks,  Esq.,  robbed  him  of  several 
hundred  pounds  in  cash,  his  plate,  his  linen,  his 
library,  and  as  much  furniture  as  the  boats  could  con- 
tain, and  returned  with  their  spoil  directly  to  New  Ro- 
chelle.  As  they  passed  the  guard  ship  upon  their  re- 
turn, they  gave  her  three  cheers,  which  the  ship  cor- 
dially returned.  This  is  a  fact,  and  this  fact  speaks 
for  itself  It  is  no  wonder  the  inhabitants  of  Long 
Island  were  so  constantly  plundered,  when  such  an 
intimacy  subsisted  between  the  rebels  and  the  very 
persons  appointed  to  guard  the  coasts  of  the  Island. 

I  will  now  relate  a  most  extraordinary  manoeuvre  that 
took  place  during  the  war.  William  Axtell,  Esq.,  of 
Kings  County,  upon  Long  Island,  and  a  member  of  his 
Majesty's  Council,  was  commissioned  by  the  Comman- 
der-in-Chief as  Colonel  of  a  regiment  to  consist  of  500 
men,  to  be  raised  by  him  on  the  King's  account,  the 
officers  to  have  the  same  rank,  and  pay,  as  the  other 
provincial  corps,  with  this  condition  however,  they 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


were  to  be  disbanded  on  the  first  day  of  the  ensuing 
December.  Axtell's  recruits  amounted  to  about  thirty. 
These  formed  his  regiment.  It  was  in  pay  from  the 
ist  of  May,  1779,  to  the  1st  of  December  following, 
seven  months.  It  was  encamped  in  his  court  yard. 
It  guarded  his  house,  his  poultry,  his  hogs,  his  sheep, 
and  his  cows.  No  other  service  did  the  regiment  do, 
except,  that  two  attended  him  whenever  he  took  a  ride. 
Yet,  he  received  full  pay,  clothing,  arms,  and  provi- 
sions, for  500  men  the  whole  time.  He  had  a  secretary, 
an  aid-de-camp,  a  chaplain,  a  physician,  and  a  surgeon, 
all  in  full  pay.  This  was  his  staff.  Even  this  was  not 
enough,  the  Commander-in-Chief  gave  him  the  power 
of  granting  licences  to  all  the  public  houses  in  the 
county.  He  licensed  about  150,  a  third  of  the  count)-. 
Each  man  was  obliged  to  pay  a  "fee"  {£6  8s.  od.)  per 
annum,  amounting  to  more  than  £900.  His  Ex- 
cellency, the  General,  also  gave  orders  that  no  person 
whatever  should  pass  Brookland  ferry  from  Long  Isl- 
and to  New  York  without  a  pass  from  Colonel  Axtell. 
Of  this  he  made  the  most.  Not  less  than  20,000  peo 
pie,  exclusive  of  the  military,  at  that  time  annually 
passed  the  ferry.  Every  one,  instead  of  the  two  pence 
formerly  paid,  was  obliged  to  pay  the  Colonel  8  shil- 
ling-?;, which  yearly  amounted  to  the  tune  of  some  thou- 
sands.  This  was  for  a  license  to  pass,  the  ferryman 
was  to  be  paid  besides.  His  regiment  was  (had  it 
ever  existed)  disbanded  on  the  ist  of  December,  1779. 
In  the  other  two  lucrative  employments  he  continued 
until  General  Robertson's  arrival  at  New  York,  as 
civil  Governor  in  1780.  As  soon  as  Robertson  had 
established  a  "  Court  of  Police  "  upon  Long  Island  he 
divested  Axtell  of  his  power  of  granting  licenses,  and 
vested  it  in  his  Court  of  Police,  that  the  revenues 
20 


306 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


arising  therefrom,  might  be  lodged  in  the  "city  funds." 
The  granting  of  passes  was  so  very  unpopular,  an  act 
so  extortionate,  and  so  universally  complained  of,  that 
his  Excellency  abolished  it  entirely,  the  only  good 
thing  he  ever  did  while  Governor  of  the  province. 
This  Colonel  Axtell  was  born  in  the  island  of  Jamaica. 
His  grandfather  was  a  violent  partizan  in  the  grand 
English  rebellion  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  ist ;  com- 
manded the  guard  that  attended  the  mock  court  which 
sentenced  that  unhappy  monarch  to  the  block ;  was 
warm,  hot,  and  riotous  upon  the  trial.  When  Lady 
Fairfax  from  the  gallery,  on  Bradshaw,  the  President 
of  the  pretended  court,  saying  that  the  charge  ex- 
hibited against  Charles  Stuart  (meaning  the  King) 
was  by  the  good  people  of  England,  exclaimed,  "it 
"  was  a  lie,  that  above  half  the  commons  disavowed 
"  the  act,  and  that  Oliver  was  a  usurper  and  a  traitor," 
Axtell  cried  out  to  his  soldiers  to  shoot  her.  Durino- 
the  whole  of  the  trial,  which  continued  several  days,  he 
stimulated,  persuaded,  and  encouraged  the  guard, 
whenever  the  King  appeared,  to  call  out,  "justice," 
"justice  ;  "  and  when  the  infamous,  unjust,  and  murder- 
ous sentence  was  pronounced,  he  ordered  them,  as  the 
King  left  the  hall,  to  bellow  out,  "execution,"  "  ex- 
ecution." He  was  after  the  restoration  apprehended, 
tried  for  his  treason,  convicted  and  executed ;  after 
which  his  son  Daniel  went  to  Jamaica,  in  the  West 
Indies,  where  he  accumulated  a  genteel  estate,  and 
died,  leaving  this  William,  his  only  son,  and  heir. 
The  father  having  in  his  lifetime  been  upon  the  conti- 
nent of  America,  made  a  purchase  of  a  valuable  tract 
of  land  upon  the  banks  of  the  Raritan,  in  the  province 
of  New  Jersey.  To  dispose  of  this  estate,  brought 
Mr.  Axtell  to  that  colony,  in  1746.    From  thence  he 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


went  to  New  York,  ran  away  with,  and  married,  a 
beautiful  young  lady  the  daughter  of  Abraham  De- 
peyster,  Esq.,  the  Treasurer  of  that  province.  Axtell 
soon  after  his  marriage  sold  his  property  in  Jersey, 
built  a  noble  house  in  New  York,  and  lived  in  the 
most  splendid  manner.  This  could  not  last  forever. 
His  finances  at  length  grew  rather  short.  In  1754,  he 
left  New  York  and  went  to  Jamaica  in  order  to  settle 
with  his  father's  executors.  This  business  finished,  he 
went  to  England,  and  sent  for  his  wife.  He  continued 
in  England  several  years.  He  then  returned  to  New 
York,  and  brought  with  him  a  mandamus  appointing 
him  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council.  He  purchased  an 
elegant  house  at  Flatbush,  upon  Long  Island,  about 
five  miles  from  New  York.  He  also  built  a  good 
house  upon  church  ground  in  the  city,  upon  a  long 
lease,  and  at  a  moderate  rent.  When  the  American 
troubles  first  began,  as  far  as  words  would  go,  he  op- 
posed Great  Britain,  and  espoused  the  American  cause. 
So  zealous  was  he  in  this  business,  that  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Queens  County  Loyalists,  at  Hempstead,  in 
1776,  (though  he  had  no  property  in  that  county,  and 
lived  in  a  different  one)  he,  unasked,  uninvited,  and 
unsolicited,  attended  the  meeting,  made  a  set  speech, 
in  which  the  conduct  of  the  rebels  was  justified,  the 
steps  then  taken  by  Britain  reprobated,  and  General 
Tryon,  then  civil  Governor  of  New  York,  most  abom- 
inably abused  ;  1  he  told  the  people  that  their  confi- 
dence in  him  would  be  their  ruin  ;  that  their  error 
perhaps  might  not  be  seen  until  it  was  too  late.  But 

'Mr.  Axtell  had  been  in  the  year  1772,  appointed  Colonel  of  the  Kings  County 
militia  hy  this  same  General  Tryon,  at  his  own  request  and  desire.  To  gratify  Axtell 
in  this,  the  General  went  so  far  as  to  displace  John  Rapelje  who  was  the  Colonel, 
;ind  possessed  the  most  rigid  principles  of  loyalty. 


3o8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


in  the  end  says  he,  "you  will  curse  Tryon  and  damn 
"  him  for  his  advice."  He  exhorted  the  inhabitants  to 
pursue  the  same  steps  that  were  then  taking  in  Kings, 
under  his  immediate  direction,  by  putting  all  their 
corn,  hay,  and  forage  into  stacks,  and  as  soon  as  the 
King's  troops  landed  upon  the  island  to  set  fire  to  the 
whole.  (General  Howe  was  at  this  time  in  posses- 
sion of  Staten  Island.)  The  Queens  County  inhabi- 
tants in  general  possessed  the  most  unbounded  loyalty. 
Axtell  was  therefore  laughed  at,  ridiculed,  hissed,  in- 
sulted, and  returned  back  to  his  own  county  in  disgust, 
not  much  pleased  with  his  reception  in  Queens,  where 
in  short  he  had  no  business.1  When  the  army  landed, 
Axtell's  plan  was  put  in  execution  in  Kings,  the  forage 
was  all  destroyed.  Times  however  soon  changed, 
Long  Island  was  conquered,  New  York  and  the  Island 
reduced,  and  half  Westchester  in  the  same  predica- 
ment. Axtell's  whole  estate  was  now  in  the  power  of 
the  conquerors.  Wonderful  to  tell  !  Axtell's  senti- 
ments instantly  altered.  He  became  a  loyalist  of  the 
first  magnitude,  toasted  the  King,  the  British  Generals, 
the  army,  the  navy,  and  damned  rebellion.  He  pre- 
tended to  be  a  real  advocate  for  the  cause  of  Great 
Britain.  This  induced  Clinton  to  give  him  the  ap- 
pointments before  mentioned,  and  this  induced  the 
rebel  Legislature  of  New  York  to  include  him  in  their 
Act  of  Attainder  and  Confiscation.  But  prior  to  this, 
he  had  taken  care  to  marry  his  niece  (an  adopted 
child)  to  a  rebel  major,  one  Giles,  of  Maryland,  then  a 
prisoner  at  Flatbush,  to  whom  he  made  over  his  whole 
estate  upon  certain  conditions,  by  which  the  whole  is 


1  This  anecdote  I  had  from  Dr.  Martin,  a  freeholder  in  Queens,  who  was  pre- 
sent. He  is  a  gentleman  of  the  most  unblemished  character,  of  the  strictest  vera- 
city, and  a  first-rate  Loyalist. 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK. 


3°9 


saved  to  himself  and  family.  Upon  the  evacuation  of 
New  York,  he  came  to  England,  obtained  a  pension, 
and  was  allowed  half  pay  as  a  reduced  Colonel  in  his 
Majesty's  service.1 

As  a  part  of  the  operations  of  the  American  War, 
which  have  not  been  already  mentioned,  are  included 
in  the  character  and  conduct  of  General  Montgomery, 
I  shall  now  insert  them.  This  gentleman  was  a  native 
of  Ireland.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  17th,  which  served 
in  America  in  the  war  preceding  the  rebellion.  At 
the  close  of  that  war  he  returned  to  Europe.  Not 
meeting  with  the  promotion  he  expected,  he  sold  out, 
came  to  New  York  and  purchased  a  small  farm  near 
Kingsbridge.  In  1773,  he  married  a  daughter  of 
Judge  Livingston,  sold  his  farm  at  Kingsbridge,  and 
removed  to  Rynbeck  in  Dutchess,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  his  wife's  relations.  Upon  the  very  com- 
mencement of  the  rebellion,  he  took  an  active  part 
against  Great  Britain.  This  was  not  surprising,  as 
the  most  of  the  numerous  family  of  the  Livingstons, 
warmly  engaged  in  the  contest,  and  supported  every 
measure  that  was  adopted  by  the  demagogues  of  re- 
bellion. In  1775,  he  was  sent  from  Dutchess  to  repre- 
sent that  county  in  the  provincial  Congress,  then 
sitting  at  New  York.  The  Continental  Congress 
soon  after  ordered  an  army  raised.  The  provincial 
convention  of  New  York  gave  him  the  command  of  a 
regiment,  and  Congress  made  him  a  Brigadier-Gene- 
ral, and  appointed  him  second  in  command  upon  the 
expedition  then  ordered  into  Canada  under  General 

1  Robert  Cromwell  was  a  juryman  upon  the  trial  of  Daniel  Axtell,  a  person  im- 
mediately concerned  in  the  murder  of  Charles  the  ist,  aud  was  challenged  by  him. 
This  is  particularly  mentioned  in  Noble's  Memoirs  of  the  Protectorate  House  of 
Cromwell. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Schuyler.  In  September,  1775,  in  the  absence  of 
Schuyler,  he  laid  siege  to  St.  Johns,  at  the  head  of 
Champlain,  and  the  entrance  into  Canada,  which  not 
being  relieved,  after  a  siege  of  nearly  four  months,  was 
obliged  to  capitulate.  Chamblee  and  La  Prairie  fell, 
of  course.  Montreal  being  unfortified,  surrendered  at 
discretion,  and  Montgomery  entered  it  at  the  head  of 
his  army  in  great  pomp,  state,  and  triumph.  Deter- 
mined to  push  his  good  fortune,  though  in  the  midst  of 
winter,  he  marched  for  Quebec,  joined  Arnold  who 
had  arrived  from  Boston  by  the  way  of  Kennebec, 
took  the  command  of  the  whole,  and  blockaded  the 
town.  He  summoned  the  garrisOn  to  surrender.  The 
summons  was  laughed  at.  Carleton  had  the  command. 
He  had  a  loyal  garrison,  nor  was  he  ever  afraid  of 
rebels,  rebellion,  or  treason  ;  he  never  trimmed  with 
them,  he  never  coaxed  them  ;  he  was  a  veteran,  loved 
his  King,  the  Constitution  of  Britain,  and  hated  trai- 
tors. Such  a  man  was  not  to  be  easily  frightened  into 
a  tame  and  timid  surrender  of  a  garrison  which  he  had 
the  honour  of  commanding.  On  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1775,  Montgomery,  with  more  courage  and  resolu- 
tion than  prudence  or  foresight,  attempted  to  storm 
the  garrison.  In  this  he  failed,  his  army  was  defeated, 
numbers  were  either  killed,  wounded,  or  taken  prison- 
ers. Montgomery  was  among  the  slain,  Arnold 
among  the  wounded.  Thus  fell  Montgomery,  whose 
bravery  and  heroism  would  have  done  honour  to  a 
better  cause.  He  lost  his  life,  fighting  against  his 
sovereign  to  whom  he  had  sworn  allegiance,  and  in 
support  of  a  rebellion.  Nothing  can  justify  his  con- 
duct. Canada  was  a  colony  belonging  to  Great  Bri- 
tain. It  had  no  connection  with  the  revolted  colonics 
as  to  their  dispute  with  England.    Nay,  Congress  was 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK. 


at  this  very  time  acknowledging  themselves  "  faithful 
"  and  loyal  subjects  to  the  King."  Independency  was 
not  even  declared  till  five  months  after.  The  invasion 
of  Canada  by  Montgomery  can  be  justified  upon  no 
principle  whatever.  He  was  killed  in  the  very  act  of 
treason.  The  thirteen  colonies  at  the  time  publicly 
and  openly  declaring  themselves,  in  all  their  publi- 
cations, addresses,  and  petitions,  subjects  of  Great 
Britain,  Sir  Guy  Carleton  would  have  been  justi- 
fied in  the  eyes  of  all  mankind,  if  he  had  hanged 
every  prisoner  taken  upon  that  occasion,  as  a  traitor 
to  their  King,  to  their  country,  and  to  the  Constitution 
of  old  England. 

In  June,  1779,  the  army  having  been  in  quarters 
upon  Long  Island,  Staten  Island,  and  New  York  Isl- 
and, ever  since  its  arrival  from  Philadelphia,  in  July, 
1778,  embarked  by  General  Clinton's  orders,  and 
sailed  up  the  North  River,  under  the  convoy  of  seve- 
ral men-of-war,  armed  transports,  cutters  and  galleys  ; 
landed  at  Verplanck's  Point,  upon  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  in  Westchester  County,  attacked  and  took 
a  small  fort  the  rebels  had  there,  and  made  the  garri- 
son, consisting  of  about  100  men,  prisoners  of  war. 
The  fort  was  demolished,  and  a  large,  substantial  one 
built  in  its  stead,  well  mounted  with  artillery,  and 
strongly  garrisoned.  A  similar  one,  though  much 
stronger,  (as  the  situation  was  more  dangerous,  being 
on  that  side  of  the  river  where  the  rebel  grand  army 
lay  encamped,  at  the  distance  of  not  more  than  ten 
miles),  was  erected  upon  the  western  bank  of  the  river, 
at  a  place  called  Stoney  Point,  nearly  opposite  the  one 
upon  the  eastern  shore  at  Verplanck's  Point.  The 
fort  at  Stoney  Point  had  a  garrison  of  750  men,  besides 
a  company  of  artillery.    It  was  commanded  by  Lieut.- 


312 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Colonel  Johnson,  a  youth  of  courage,  bravery,  and  re- 
solution, but  unhappily  for  a  soldier,  much  inclined  to 
good  fellowship,  and  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  These 
two  forts  being  completed,  well  garrisoned,  and  pro- 
vided with  every  necessary,  the  British  army  overran 
the  whole  county  of  Westchester.  If  ever  two  parties 
met,  the  rebels  were  always  defeated.  The  towns  of 
Bedford,  Salem,  and  Northcastle,  a  number  of  reputa- 
ble farm-houses  in  different  parts,  and  about  ten  sacred 
edifices  of  every  denomination  of  Protestants,  were 
wantonly  burnt.  What  end  a  proceeding  of  this  kind 
answered  I  never  could  devise.  The  farmers,  mer- 
chants, and  tradesmen,  throughout  the  county  were  in- 
discriminately, whether  Loyalists  or  rebels,  whigs  or 
tories,  robbed  of  their  cattle,  their  horses,  hogs,  sheep, 
poultry  and  household  furniture,  which  were  sent  to 
New  York  and  sold  at  public  auction  for  the  benefit  of 
the  plunderers. 

The  whole  county  of  Westchester  being  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  British  army,  and  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  (for  once)  prudently  considering  that  a  large 
quantity  of  forage  would  be  wanted  the  ensuing  winter, 
employed  a  number  of  hay  cutters  and  hay  makers  to 
cut  down  and  cure  all  the  hay  at  Rye,  Mamaroneck, 
the  White  Plains,  New  Rochelle,  East  Chester,  the 
Manors  of  Pelham,  Scarsdale,  and  Phillipseburgh,  with 
that  upon  all  the  farms  adjacent  and  contiguous  to  the 
several  towns  and  villages  aforesaid.  The  hay  cutters 
were  protected  in  every  quarter  by  detachments  from 
the  army,  while  the  General  with  the  main  body  lay 
upon  the  borders  of  Connecticut,  as  a  protection  to  the 
whole.  While  in  this  situation  he  received  an  express 
acquainting  him  that  the  garrison  at  Stoney  Point  had 
been  surprised,  and  made  prisoners  of,  and  conducted 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


to  the  rebel  army,1  and  that  the  garrison  at  Verplanck's 
Point  expected  an  attack  every  honr.  Whether  the 
General  apprehended  the  city  of  New  York  in  danger, 
or  the  garrison  at  Verplanck's  Point  of  little  con- 
sequence, no  reinforcements  were  sent  to  the  latter. 
The  General  marched  with  his  whole  army  for  New 
York,  all  the  hay  makers,  and  their  covering  parties, 
were  called  in.  The  whole  marched  to  Kingsbridge, 
passed  the  Harlem,  and  entered  the  island  of  New 
York.  Most  of  them  were  quartered  in  the  city.  The 
remainder  in  its  environs.  The  lines  at  Kin<jsbrido-e, 
in  the  mean  time,  were  left  to  be  defended  by  a  refugee 
corps,  some  German  Chasseurs,  a  few  Anspachers, 
some  British,  and  a  few  provincials,  a  motley  crew 
consisting  of  not  more  than  1,000  men.  Clinton 
established  himself  in  the  city  of  New  York  with  about 
20,000  men,  a  large  body  of  militia,  and  a  numerous 
train  of  artillery,  and  the  island  besides  was  surrounded 
by  at  least  forty  men-of-war.  All  this  because  Stoney 
Point  had  been  surprised.  The  hay  was  all  left  be- 
hind, the  rebels  took  it  away,  Clinton  gave  them  no 
interruption.  The  rebels  no  sooner  possessed  of  the 
fort  at  Stoney  Point,  than  apprehensive  of  an  attack 
from  the  British,  removed  the  stores  and  artillery, 
burnt  the  barracks,  demolished  the  fort,  and  returned 
within  two  days  to  the  main  body  of  the  American 

1  This  surprise  was  so  complete,  or  the  garrison  so  negligent,  that  the  sentinels 
were  secured,  the  abatis  removed  and  the  rebels  within  the  works,  before  it  was 
known  that  an  enemy  was  at  hand.  This  surprise  was  conducted  by  one  Anthony 
Wayne,  then  a  General  in  the  rebel  army;  prior  to  the  war  a  tanner  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, a  man  of  courage,  conduct  and  resolution;  what  the  old  Earl  of  Chatham 
would  have  called  a  "  heaven  made  Genera/."  The  commandant  of  the  fort  and 
a  select  company  of  his  friends  upon  a  visit  from  the  garrison  at  Verplanck's 
Point  were  devoting  themselves  to  pleasure,  and  pouring  down  large  libations  to 
the  "jolly  god,"  not  in  the  least  apprehensive  of  danger,  when  Wayne  entered  the 
room  and  made  them  all  prisoners. 


3*4 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


army.  The  Commander-in-Chief  now  took  possession 
of  the  point  a  second  time,  rebuilt  the  fort,  and  put 
a  strong  garrison  into  it.  The  rebels  after  this  made 
no  attempts  upon  either  of  the  forts.  In  the  month  of 
November  following,  Clinton  ordered  both  the  forts 
demolished,  and  the  men,  stores,  artillery,  and 
provisions,  brought  to  New  York.  Upon  this  the 
rebels  again  took  possession,  rebuilt  the  forts  and  put 
strong  garrisons  into  them.  One  awed  the  county  of 
Westchester,  the  other  that  of  Orange. 

In  July,  1779,  General  Tryon  left  New  York  with 
about  2,000  troops,  convoyed  by  a  number  of  men-of- 
war  under  the  command  of  Sir  George  Collyer,  sailed 
up  the  Sound,  and  landed  at  New  Haven,  a  large  popu- 
lous town  in  Connecticut,  about  90  miles  from  New 
York.  This  town  they  completely  plundered,  even 
bedding,  and  wearing  apparel  did  not  escape  the  licen- 
tious hands  of  this  plundering  party.  From  New 
Haven  they  went  to  Fairfield,  about  20  miles  west  of 
the  former.  This  town  they  took,  plundered,  and  then 
burnt.  The  sacred  edifices  did  not  even  escape  the 
flames.  Two  Episcopal  churches,  three  Presbyterian 
meeting  houses,  and  a  Sandemanian  church  were  de- 
stroyed in  the  conflagration.  From  Fairfield  they 
went  to  Norwalk,  about  10  miles  to  the  west  of  the 
former  ;  here  they  again  landed,  plundered  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  burnt  the  town,  with  every  building  appro- 
priated to  the  worship  of  God.  From  hence  they 
crossed  the  Sound,  and  anchored  at  Huntington,  upon 
the  Long  Island  shore.  In  a  few  days  they  returned 
to  New  York.  In  the  course  of  this  expedition  all 
the  small  privateers  in  the  harbours  and  creeks  along 
the  Connecticut  shore  were  destroyed  by  the  navy. 
This  was  an  essential  piece  of  service,  but  to  rob, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


3 1 5 


plunder,  and  burn,  defenceless  unfortified  towns  could 
answer  no  purpose.  It  was  not  a  method  of  conciliat- 
ing the  deluded.  It  occasioned  rancor  and  invet- 
eracy,  and  instead  of  conciliating,  it  widened  the 
breach.  Whether  the  General  exceeded  his  orders,  or 
not,  or  some  other  motives  occasioned  it,  he  was  upon 
his  return  to  New  York,  received  at  head  quarters 
with  the  utmost  coolness.'  From  the  well  known  hu- 
manity, charity,  and  generosity  of  General  Tryon,  no 
man  in  his  perfect  senses,  can  ever  imagine,  that  the 
troops  under  his  command  were,  with  his  consent,  suf- 
fered to  plunder  peaceable  inhabitants,  towns  to  be 
burnt,  holy  buildings  destroyed,  and  thousands  of  in- 
nocent inhabitants  of  both  sexes,  and  all  ages,  and  the 
greater  part  loyalists,2  to  be  divested  of  all  the  com- 
forts of  life,  and  turned  into  the  open  fields,  no  habita- 
tions to  protect  them,  exposed  to  the  inclemency  of 
the  weather,  and  covered  by  the  canopy  of  heaven 
only.  General  Tryon's  humanity  was  such  that  noth- 
ing but  express  orders  could  have  induced  him  to  act 
a  part  so  inconsistent  with  his  well  known  and  estab- 
lished principles.  Clinton  was  at  this  time  Comman- 
der-in-Chief. He  had  no  stability,  was  weak  in  his 
intellects,  and  was  governed  by  one  William  Smith,  a 
spy  for  the  rebels. 

In  the  fall  of  1779,  General  Clinton  ordered  Rhode 
Island  evacuated  and  the  garrison  removed  to  New 
York,  with  the  stores,  provisions,  and  artillery ;  to 
effect  which,  a  number  of  King's  ships  and  transports 

1  William  Smith's  influence  with  Clinton,  it  was  said,  occasioned  this  coolness. 

5  New  Haven,  Fairfield,  and  Xorwalk  were  during  the  war  looked  upon  with  a 
jealous  eye  by  the  New  England  rebels ;  were  called  Tory  towns ;  in  short,  at 
a  moderate  computation,  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  inhabitants  of  those  towns  were 
Episcopalians,  and  the  greatest  part  of  that  profession  favoured  the  royal  cause  dui- 
ing  the  whole  rebellion. 


3 16 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


were  sent  there.  What  occasioned  the  evacuation  is 
uncertain.  It  would  have  been  for  the  benefit  of  Brit- 
ain had  it  never  taken  place.  Most  people  supposed  it 
was  an  apprehension  in  Clinton,  that  the  Compte 
D'Estaign,  then  attacking-  Georgia,  would,  in  case  of 
success  there,  come  to  New  York  and  in  conjunction 
with  the  rebel  army  attack  the  place.  This  un- 
doubtedly was  the  plan  projected  between  D'Estaign 
and  Washington.  Everything  necessary  for  the  siege 
of  New  York  was  prepared,  and  the  arrival  of 
D'Estaign  at  Sandy  Hook  in  the  month  of  November, 
was  spoken  of  by  the  rebels  with  the  utmost  con- 
fidence. This  was  a  sufficient  justification  for  the 
evacuation  of  Rhode  Island  ;  the  troops  might  be 
wanted  at  New  York,  or  should  the  attack  upon  New 
York  fail,  Rhode  Island  might  be  attempted  with  bet- 
ter success,  and  the  army  there  captured.  DEstaign's 
defeat  at  Savannah  in  Georgia,  and  departure  from 
thence  to  the  West  Indies,  put  an  end  to  all  apprehen- 
sions from  that  quarter.  The  evacuation  of  Rhode 
Island  was  made  with  great  precipitancy ;  evident  marks 
of  timidity  appeared  in  all  the  orders  given  for  the 
purpose.  It  is  true  the  troops  all  came  away,  so  did 
the  Loyalists,  the  refugees,  and  every  person  obnox- 
ious to  rebellion.  The  stores,  provisions  and  artillery 
were  brought  away,  but  all  the  wood  and  forage 
laid  in  for  6,000  men  during  the  winter,  were  left  be- 
hind. This  would  have  been  of  the  utmost  service  to 
the  army  at  New  York.  The  wood  was  cut  and  cord- 
ed in  the  wood  yards.  The  hay  was  in  trusses  in 
the  hay  yards,  the  corn  in  store  houses,  transports 
were  there  in  abundance,  nothing  could  have  been 
easier  than  its  transportation  to  New  York,  yet  it  was 
all  left  behind.    The  army  suffered  amazingly  for  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


3'/ 


want  of  it  the  ensuing  winter.  It  was  left  behind  un- 
destroyed,  and  proved  of  great  service  to  the  rebels  in 
the  end.  The  transports  with  the  troops,  on  their 
way  to  New  York,  stopped  at  Huntington  upon  Long 
Island,  where  the  refugees  were  principally  landed, 
and  billeted  about  the  country  upon  the  inhabitants. 
From  hence  the  fleet  sailed  to  New  York  and  disem- 
barked the  troops.  They  were  ordered  into  quarters 
upon  Long  Island,  some  at  Oyster  Bay,  some  at  Hun- 
tington, some  at  Smithtown,  and  some  at  Brookhaven, 
towns  upon  the  north  side  of  the  Island  adjoining  the 
Sound.  One  thing  with  respect  to  the  evacuation  of 
Rhode  Island  is  very  remarkable,  when  the  General 
found  that  D'Estaign  had  been  defeated  in  Georgia, 
was  gone  to  the  West  Indies,  and  New  York  in  no 
danger,  he  ordered  a  man-of-war  immediately  to  Rhode 
Island,  to  prevent  the  evacuation.  But  so  absent  was 
this  gentleman  that  he  never  discovered  till  some  days 
afterwards  that  he  had  forgotten  to  dispatch  his 
orders,  he  found  them  in  one  of  his  pockets,  searching 
for  papers  upon  a  particular  occasion.  It  was  too  late. 
The  evacuation  had  taken  place,  and  the  rebels  had 
taken  possession.  This  was  the  General  intrusted  by 
Great  Britain  to  suppress  a  formidable  rebellion.1 

1  The  following  are  instances  of  rebel  generosity :  The  government  of  Virgi- 
nia in  this  year  ordered  Henry  Hamilton,  Esq.,  Lieut. -Governor  of  Detroit, 
Philip  De  Jean  a  Justice  of  the  Teace  there,  and  a  Captain  La  Motte,  to  be  put  in 
irons,  confined  in  a  dungeon,  debarred  the  use  of  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and  exclud- 
ed from  all  converse  but  with  the  jailor.  These  gentlemen  were  taken  in  Fort  Sack- 
ville  in  the  Illinois  Country.  They  were  the  subjects  of,  and  held  their  commis- 
sions under,  the  King  of  Great  Britain.  The  fort  was  surrendered  to  a  rebel  army 
under  a  Colonel  Clarke  upon  capitulation,  in  which  (though  prisoners  of  war) 
honourable  terms  were  granted  them.  It  may  be  here  properly  asked  what  busi- 
ness had  Congress  in  that  part  of  the  country  ?  It  was  some  hundred  miles  out  of 
the  boundaries  of  any  of  the  revolted  colonies. 

In  this  year  also  Congress  ordered  3  British  marine  officers,  then  upon  parole  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  to  be  taken  up  and  confined  in  a  close  room  in  the  com- 


3i8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


In  the  winter  of  this  year,  information  was  received  at 
New  York,  that  Washington's  quarters  were  in  a  house 
at  Morristown,  at  some  distance  from  the  huts  occu- 
pied by  the  rebel  army.  The  snow  was  very  deep,  the 
winter  prodigiously  cold,  and  as  no  danger  was  appre- 
hended, his  guards  were  trifling.  Clinton  thought  the 
capture  of  Washington  would  put  an  end  to  the  rebel- 
lion. I  believe  it  would,  as  no  other  person  could 
have  kept  such  a  heterogeneous  army,  as  the  rebel 
one  then  consisted  of,  together.  Four  hundred  horse 
were  dispatched  for  this  purpose.  This  alert  turned 
out  as  all  others  did.  It  failed.  The  guides  got 
frightened,  the  party  bewildered,  they  lost  the  road, 
and  after  a  cold,  tedious  and  fatiguing  excursion  of  24 
hours,  without  ever  seeing  a  rebel,  returned  to  New 
York,  all  frost-bitten.  This  manoeuvre  was  laughed  at 
by  the  rebel  army,  derided  by  their  militia,  and  cursed 
by  the  Loyalists.  Thus  ended  this  famous  alert,  an 
alert  that  was  to  have  ended  the  war,  (as  Clinton  sup- 
posed). But  God  knows,  through  the  stupidity  or 
wickedness  of  our  Commanders-in-Chief,  all  our  alerts, 
battles,  and  sieges,  during  the  whole  war  (a  very  few 
excepted)  met  with  the  same  fate,  and  ended  in  the 
same  manner. 

mon  jail,  denied  the  use  of  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and  of  all  converse  but  with  the 
jailor.  These  officers  were  upon  parole.  No  pretence  of  a  breach  of  the  parole 
was  made.  It  was  done  by  way  of  retaliation  for  one  Cunningham,  then  a  prisoner 
in  New  York  and,  though  a  prisoner,  well  treated.  This  fellow  was  to  be  sent  to 
England  to  be  tried  for  piracy.  In  1777,  without  a  commission  from  France, 
Spain,  the  Devil,  or  even  Congress  itself,  he  took  a  King's  packet,  canned  her  to 
Oslend,  sold  her  without  a  legal  condemnation,  and  distributed  the  money 
amongst  his  crew.  This  rascally,  piratical  act,  Congress  justified,  and  because  he 
was  a  prisoner  in  New  York,  these  British  officers,  prisoners  upon  parole,  were 
treated  by  order  of  Congress  in  the  manner  before  mentioned. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


In  the  latter  end  of  December,  1779,  General  Clinton 
embarked  at  New  York  with  a  large  proportion  of  the 
army,  and  went  to  the  southward  with  intent  to  attack 
Charleston,  the  metropolis  of  South  Carolina,  and  by 
its  conquest  to  reduce  that  colon)-.  Georgia,  the  ad- 
joining province,  was  then  entirely  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Britain.  The  inhabitants  were  restored  to 
the  king's  peace,  and  in  full  possession  of  all  the  liber- 
ties and  privileges  which  English  subjects  enjoy  under 
the  protection  of  the  civil  law,  courts  of  justice,  judges 
upon  oath,  and  trials  by  jury.  Upon  Clinton's  leaving 
New  York,  the  command  there  devolved  upon  General 
Knyphausen,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  German  aux- 
iliaries, a  brave,  old  veteran,  who  had  served  his 
prince  in  the  military  line  from  his  earliest  youth.  He 
was  nearly  seventy,  yet  able,  strong,  and  active,  had 
a  good  head,  a  noble  soul,  and  a  bold  heart.  As  many 
troops  were  left  at  New  York  as  were  sufficient  for  its 
defence.  Nobody  repined  at  the  change  of  command- 
ers, the  inhabitants  in  particular  were  pleased.  Clin- 
ton was  in  general  disliked  ;  he  was  haughty,  morose, 
churlish,  stupid,  and  scarcely  ever  to  be  spoken  with. 
On  the  contrary,  Knyphausen  was  in  high  esteem  as 


320 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


a  good  soldier,  an  experienced  general,  an  honest 
man,  of  easy  access,  and  of  great  humanity.  No  won- 
der the  change  was  agreeable,  a  greater  contrast  be- 
tween two  characters  can  scarcely  exist.1 

The  winter  of  1779  was  the  severest  ever  known  in 
the  middle  colonies.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  take 
some  notice  of  it.  The  snow  began  to  fall  about  the 
10th  of  November,  and  continued  almost  every  day 
till  the  middle  of  the  ensuing  March.  In  the  woods 
it  lay  at  least  four  feet  upon  a  level.  It  was  with  the 
utmost  difficulty  that  the  farmers  got  their  wood. 
The  towns  in  general  were  distressed  for  the  want  of 
fuel,  the  garrison  in  New  York  particularly  so.  How 
serviceable  would  the  wood  left  at  Rhode  Island  have 
been  upon  this  occasion.  The  neglect  of  its  removal 
was  now  seen  and  lamented.  It  was,  however,  too 
late  to  remedy.  All  the  wood  upon  New  York  Island 
was  cut  down.  The  forest  trees  planted  in  gardens, 
in  court  yards,  in  avenues,  along  lanes,  and  about  the 
houses  of  gentlemen  by  way  of  ornament,  shared  the 
same  fate.  Quantities  of  apple  trees,  peach  trees, 
plum  trees,  cherry  trees,  and  pear  trees,  were  also  cut 
down.  The  situation  of  the  army  and  inhabitants  in 
this  distressful  season  was  a  sufficient  justification  for 
the  proceeding  ;  necessity  required  it.  This  the  pro- 
prietors well  knew,  and  as  necessity  has  no  law,  they 
never   complained,   grumbled,  or-  even  murmured. 

1  By  the  treaty  with  the  German  princes  for  the  use  of  their  troops,  Great 
Britain  engaged  to  pay  £10  for  every  dead  man,  and  for  every  man  that  should 
not  be  returned  at  the  end  of  the  war  ;  and  every  two  wounded  men  (though  ever 
so  slightly),  were  to  count  for  a  dead  one.  In  17S6  she  paid  for  the  loss  of  Ger- 
mans in  America  d  iring  the  war  ,£471,000.  There  must  then  have  been  expended 
during  the  rebellion  15,700  of  them.  They  were  never  as  numerous  as  the  British, 
and  a  large  number  returned  to  Europe  after  the  war.  The  scratch  of  a  finger  in  a 
German  was  called  a  wound.  He  was  carried  to  the  hospital,  and  John  Bull  paid 
for  him  as  the  half  of  a  dead  man. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


321 


They  were,  however,  never  paid.  It  was  an  emolu- 
ment to  the  Barrack- master.  The  Crown  was  charged. 
John  Bull  paid  his  debts. 

This  winter  was  intensely  cold,  the  rivers,  creeks, 
harbours,  ports,  and  brooks  were  all  frozen  up.  The 
bay  of  New  York,  and  from  thence  up  the  North 
River  to  Albany,  was  mere  terra  firma.  It  was  equal- 
ly so  in  the  East  River  for  a  long  way  up  the  Sound. 
It  was  so  strong,  that  deserters  went  upon  the  ice  to 
Connecticut  from  Lloyd's  Neck,  upon  Long  Island, 
the  distance  more  than  i  2  miles.  The  Sound  at  New 
Haven,  which  is  30  miles  from  Long  Island,  was 
frozen  over,  about  two  miles  in  the  middle  excepted, 
and  these  two  miles  were  congealed  and  filled  with 
particles  of  ice.  A  particular  event  is  striking.  From 
New  York  to  Staten  Island  the  distance  is  about 
ten  miles.  From  Long  Island  to  New  Jersey  the 
bay  is  about  six  miles  wide.  The  tide  from  Sandy 
Hook  to  New  York,  through  the  Narrows  and  the 
bay,  is  violently  rapid.  No  man  living  ever  before 
saw  this  bay  frozen  up.  Yet  so  intense  was  the  cold 
this  winter,  and  the  bay  so  hard  frozen,  that  200  sleighs 
laden  with  provisions,  with  two  horses  to  each,  escort- 
ed by  200  Light  Horse,  passed  upon  the  ice  from  New 
York  to  Staten  Island  in  a  body.  In  many  places 
large  quantities  of  water-fowl  were  picked  up  by  the 
inhabitants,  so  frozen  as  not  to  be  able  to  take  wing. 
A  very  remarkable  story,  if  true,  was  tola,  *  ao  not 
aver  it  as  a  fact,  the  report  was  current,  and  as  the 
man  bore  a  good  character,  it  was  generally  believed. 
He  was  a  substantial  farmer  upon  Staten  Island,  his 
name  Goosen  Adriance.  The  case  was  this.  He  went 
out  in  the  morning  upon  his  farm,  which  adjoins  the 
water,  and  going  along  the  shore,  he  observed  a  par- 
21 


322 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


eel  of  ducks  sitting  erect  and  in  their  proper  posture. 
Not  moving  as  he  approached,  it  surprised  him.  He 
walked  up  to  them,  found  them  stiff,  and  as  he  sup- 
posed perfectly  dead  ;  he  carried  them  home,  threw 
them  down  upon  the  table  in  his  kitchen,  where  a 
large  wood  fire  was  burning,  and  went  into  the  next 
room  to  breakfast  with  his  family.  Scarce  was  the 
breakfast  over  when  a  great  noise  and  fluttering  was 
heard  in  the  kitchen.  Upon  opening  the  door  how 
great  the  surprise.  The  supposed  dead  ducks  were 
all  flying  about  the  room.  A  gentleman  who  had  been 
a  prisoner  in  Connecticut,  and  returned  from  thence 
the  very  last  of  April,  said  that  the  snow  on  the  north 
side  of  the  fences,  from  Middletown  to  New  Haven, 
was  more  than  a  foot  deep.  This  was  never  known 
in  that  part  of  America  before,  at  least  after  the  Eng- 
lish settled  there.  The  harbours,  rivers,  and  waters 
about  New  York  were  frozen  up.  Not  a  ship  could 
move.  Had  the  rebels  thought  of  an  attack,  now  was 
their  time.  The  ice  was  strong,  hard,  and  firm.  The 
rebel  army,  with  their  heaviest  artillery,  stores,  provi- 
sions, and  baggage,  might  have  passed  the  Hudson 
with  as  much  ease  as  they  could  have  marched  the 
same  distance  upon  dry  land.  An  attack  was  threat- 
ened, Knyphausen  expected  it,  and  he  took  every 
precaution  necessary  for  a  vigorous  defence. 

Upon  this  occasion  the  inhabitants  of  New  York  man- 
ifested a  noble  and  a  loyal  spirit.  They  went  in  a  body 
to  General  Patterson,  then  Commandant  of  the  city,  and 
offered  to  embody  as  a  militia  for  its  defence,  ancTin 
case  of  an  attack,  implicitly  to  follow  the  orders  of  the 
Commander-in-Chief.  The  offer  was  accepted.  Gen- 
eral Tryon,  as  civil  Governor,  granted  the  necessary 
commissions,  and  6,000  men  in  five  days,  entered  as 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


323 


volunteers.  The  officers  consisted  of  the  first  gentle- 
men of  rank,  fortune,  and  reputation  in  the  city.  Arms 
were  supplied  them  from  the  royal  arsenal.  The 
whole  put  themselves  into  regimentals  at  their  own 
expense.  They  exercised  three  times  a  week,  and  by 
the  spring",  were  as  expert  as  any  regiment  in  his  ma- 
jesty's service.  They  continued  embodied  until  Lord 
Shelburne's  peace  in  1783,  when  they  disbanded  of 
course.  They  could  be  of  no  further  service.  His 
Lordship  had  given  the  country  away.  Nor  did  he 
make  a  term,  a  stipulation,  or  a  condition,  in  favour  of 
the  loyalists  who  had,  at  a  great  expense,  hazard,  and 
loss,  supported  the  royal  cause  for  more  than  six  years. 
A  company  of  Highlanders,  in  the  New  York  militia, 
dressed  in  the  habit  of  their  country,  and  commanded 
by  a  loyal  Scot,  an  inhabitant  in  New  York,  one  Nor- 
man Tolnice,  made  a  most  respectable  and  warlike 
appearance.  The  officers  consisted  of  gentlemen  of 
the  first  rank,  and  the  privates  were  composed  of  re 
spectable  merchants,  traders,  private  gentlemen,  and 
well  to  do  mechanics.  They  were  all  inhabitants  of 
New  York. 

In  the  spring  of  1779,  two  reputable,  substantial 
farmers  in  the  township  of  Oyster  Bay,  in  Queens 
County,  on  Long  Island,  in  the  province  of  New  York, 
had  information  lodged  against  them  by  one  Green 
Carryer,  a  fellow  of  an  infamous,  abandoned  charac- 
ter, a  refugee  from  Albany,  where  he  had  lived  several 
years  before  the  war,  in  the  capacity  of  a  day  labourer. 
Ireland  was  the  place  of  his  nativity.  He  came  to 
America  passage  free,  was  sold,  served  his  time,  and 
became  now,  (to  serve  his  own  purposes)  a  warm  loy- 
alist. Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  he  left  Al- 
bany, came  within  the  British  lines,  settled  in  the 


324 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


neighbourhood  of  the  two  farmers  before  mentioned, 
and  as  a  refugee,  was  allowed  rations  for  himself  and 
family.  The  information  was  made  to  General  Birch, 
who  then  commanded  at  Hempstead.  No  oath  was 
made,  or  required,  as  to  the  truth  of  the  information. 
The  farmers  were  charged  with  being  rebels,  though 
they  had  sworn  allegiance  to  the  king  after  the  con- 
quest of  Long  Island,  had  certificates  of  the  same,  and 
pardons  from  the  courts.  One  of  them  was  at  this 
very  time,  serving  by  virtue  of  a  commission  under  the 
Crown  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Queens  County  militia. 
The  other  was  a  trooper  in  a  company  of  horse,  raised 
in  the  same  county  by  a  commission  from  General 
Tryon.  They  were  also  charged  with  having  hoarded 
up  large  quantities  of  corn  in  order  to  raise  the  price 
upon  the  army.  Nothing  could  be  more  false  ;  it  was 
a  contrivance  to  ruin  the  two  farmers,  and  the  charac- 
ter of  Carryer  was  to  be  established,  fully  established, 
as  a  noted  loyalist.  Birch  received  the  information. 
No  inquiry  was  made  as  to  the  real  character  of  the 
farmers.  No  trial  was  had.  The  farmers  never  heard, 
and  were  totally  ignorant,  of  the  accusation.  A  quarter- 
master, with  forty  men,  six  wagons,  and  Green  Car- 
ryer, were  sent  of  an  evening,  to  search  their  houses 
and  fetch  away  their  corn.  Had  the  detachment  been 
sent  in  the  morning,  the  business,  the  rascally  business, 
might  have  been  performed,  and  the  party  returned  to 
their  quarters  by  noon  the  same  day.  The  distance 
is  but  ten  miles,  and  the  road  as  smooth  and  even  as 
a  floor.  Birch,  however,  thought  it  necessary  that 
the  party  should  be  out  for  a  night  at  least,  and  they 
made  the  use  it  was  intended  for.  That  night  all  the 
poultry  houses  in  the  neighbourhood,  were  broken 
open,  and  robbed  ;   as  many  geese,  turkeys,  dunghill 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


5^5 


fowl,  clucks,  guinea  hens,  sheep,  lambs,  calves,  and 
pigs,  were  the  plunder  of  the  night,  as  completely 
filled  two  wagons.  In  the  morning  the  farmers'  corn 
was  seized  upon.  Four  wagons  contained  the  whole. 
It  was  nothing  more  than  what  all  farmers  reserve  for 
planting,  and  feeding  their  horses  with,  in  the  plowing 
season.  The  whole  was  carried  to  Hempstead  in 
triumph.  The  corn  was  deposited  in  Birch's  stable. 
He  took  his  choice  of  the  poultry,  and  the  rest  was 
divided  among  the  regiment.  The  two  farmers  made 
frequent  applications  for  payment,  proved  their  charac- 
ters, produced  undeniable  evidence  that  the  informer 
was  a  most  notorious  liar,  and  of  an  infamous,  aban- 
doned character.  They  were  never  able  to  obtain  pay- 
ment for  their  pillaged  corn.  They  were  obliged  to 
purchase  other  corn  at  an  extravagant  price,  or  their 
farming  business  could  not  have  been  carried  on.  On 
the  other  hand,  Carryer  was  applauded,  caressed,  and 
noticed,  by  Birch  and  his  adherents.  He  had  a  rebel 
farm  given  him,  with  liberty  to  cut  down  all  the  wood, 
and  dispose  of  it  to  his  own  use  and  advantage.  The 
two  farmers  (one  a  militia  officer,  the  other  a  trooper) 
upon  their  application  for  pay,  were  turned  about  their 
business,  cursed  for  rebels,  and  threatened  with  the 
prevost.  A  pretty  method  this,  of  reclaiming  the  de- 
luded, and  conciliating  the  affections  of  his  majesty's 
disaffected  subjects  ! 

An  extraordinary  and  surprising  exertion  of  the 
power  of  Congress  shall  be  now  related.  In  the  reign 
of  Charles  the  Second,  a  grant  had  passed  the  Great 
Seal  to  William  Penn,  for  all  that  tract  of  land  in 
North  America,  now  known  by  the  name  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Besides  a  grant  of  the  soil,  all  the  powers  of 
Government  were  vested  in  the  grantee,  (the  Crown 


326 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


reserving  only  a  trifling  quit-rent,  and  the  right  of  ap- 
proving the  appointment  of  a  Governor.)  Vast  quan- 
tities of  this  tract  of  land  had  been  disposed  of  by  the 
original  patentee  and  his  descendants,  and  settled  upon 
under  a  quit-rent  of  so  much  an  acre,  the  annual  pro- 
duce of  which,  at  this  time,  amounted  to  a  very  large 
sum.  Extensive  and  valuable  tracts  of  land,  however, 
included  in  the  boundaries  of  the  letters  patent,  re- 
mained still  unsold,  and  the  absolute  property  of  the 
descendants  of  the  original  proprietor.  One  of  the 
family,  of  late  years,  always  resided  in  the  province  as 
Governor  of  the  Colony.  The  annual  salaries  of  the 
offices  in  the  Government,  in  the  absolute  disposal  of 
the  proprietors,  or  their  Governor,  amounted  to  at 
least  ,£70,000  per  annum.  A  noble  patronage  this  ! 
The  proprietors  besides,  appointed  their  own  Privy 
Council,  as  well  as  a  Legislative  Council.  The  repre- 
sentatives were  chosen  by  the  people.  In  a  word,  the 
powers  of  the  proprietors,  and  the  income  of  the  col- 
ony, were  superior  to  half  the  principalities  in  Germany. 
John  Penn,  was,  when  the  rebellion  commenced,  one 
of  the  proprietors  and  Governor  of  the  Colony.  His 
brother  Richard,  another  of  the  proprietors,  lived  also 
at  Philadelphia,  the  metropolis  of  the  proprietorship, 
(a  large,  opulent,  extensive  city,  situate  upon  the  Del- 
aware, about  100  miles  from  the  sea),  and  were  both 
married  to  American  ladies.  The  rest  of  the  proprie- 
tors lived  in  England.  John,  the  Governor,  took  no 
part  in  the  controversy,  but  acted  the  part  of  a  mere 
neutral.  His  father-in-law,  William  Allen,  Esq.,  for- 
merly Chief  Justice  of  the  province,  was  a  violent  in- 
cendiary. His  brother,  Richard,  avowed  himself  a 
friend  to  the  American  cause.  Philadelphia  was  the 
seat  of  Congress.    The  last  petition  by  them  present- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


32/ 


eel  to  the  Throne,  was  intrusted  to  the  care  of  Richard 
Perm.  His  examination  before  the  House  of  Lords, 
upon  that  occasion,  shows  how  favourable  his  senti- 
ments were  to  the  revolted  colonies.  The  proprietors 
in  England  were  none  of  them  in  Parliament,  held  no 
offices  under  the  Crown,  nor  ever  took  any  part  in 
favour  of  Britain  against  America. 

In  1777,  Congress,  by  a  resolution  of  their  own,  di- 
vested the  Penn  family  of  all  the  powers  of  Govern- 
ment, and  the  liberties,  privileges,  and  emoluments, 
granted  them  by  the  royal  charter,  without  any  com- 
pensation whatever,  and  converted  the  government 
from  a  kind  of  monarchy  into  an  absolute  republic, 
and  every  office  which  was  in  the  appointment  of 
the  proprietors,  they  made  elective  and  dependent 
upon  the  suffrages  of  the  people  at  large.  This,  it 
seems,  was  not  sufficient,  and  Congress  therefore,  in 
1779,  passed  another  resolution,  by  which  they  di- 
vested the  proprietors  of  all  their  quit- rents,  with  the 
whole  of  their  unappropriated,  unlocated,  and  unset- 
tled lands,  in  the  province,  of  the  value  of  at  least 
,£500,000  sterling,  and  vested  the  same  in  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania,  to  be  disposed  of  in  such  manner,  and 
form,  as  the  Legislature  of  that  State  should  think  pro- 
per, for  the  benefit  of  the  good  people  thereof.  In 
doing  this,  however,  they  looked  upon  themselves  as 
bound  in  justice  to  make  the  family  a  compensation. 
They  accordingly  resolved  that  the  State  should  pay 
to  the  proprietors,  in  lieu  of  their  property  (thus  un- 
justly taken  from  them),  the  a??zaztng  sum  of  ^130,- 
000  sterling,  to  be  paid  in  instalments  without  interest, 
and  the  first  payment  not  to  commence  till  ten  years 
after  the  end  of  the  war.  Was  there  ever  a  greater 
piece  of  injustice,  of  villany,  or  dishonesty  than  this  ? 


328 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Deprive  a  family  of  the  powers  of  government,  of  a 
patronage  worth  ,£70,000  per  annum,  without  the  least 
compensation,  and  of  private  property  to  the  value  of 
,£500,000,  in  consideration  of  ,£130,000,  payable  in 
instalments,  without  interest,  and  to  commence  ten 
years  after  the  war !  Thus  did  Congress,  by  an  arbi- 
trary, despotic,  and  assumed  power,  reduce  to  indi- 
gence, and  almost  beggary,  a  family  possessed  under 
the  Crown  of  powers,  privileges,  emoluments,  immu- 
nities, and  a  revenue,  superior  to  half  the  princes  in 
Germany.  Was  this  justice?  Did  the  proprietors 
deserve  this  treatment  from  their  hands  ?  Were  any 
of  the  family  consulted  in  this  business  ?  They  were 
not.  Congress  made  their  own  bargain,  Congress 
took  away  the  estate,  and  Congress  stipulated  the 
consideration  money.  If  the  proprietors  ever  get 
,£10,000  of  the  stipulated  sum,  they  may  think  them- 
selves well  off.  Congress  might,  with  as  much  pro- 
priety, have  taken  away  all  the  unimproved  and  uncul- 
tivated land  throughout  the  thirteen  colonies,  though 
granted  by  the  Crown,  and  vested  such  lands  in  the 
several  States  in  which  they  lay.  Had  this  been  done, 
much  would  not  have  been  thought  of  the  other.  But 
to  fall  upon  one  family,  and  that  a  family  of  friends, 
too,  dispossess  them  of  their  property,  and  leave  all 
others  in  possession  of  theirs,  is  a  species  of  such  bare- 
faced partiality,  villany,  and  dishonesty,  that  no  body 
of  people,  crowned  head,  or  government,  (the  American 
Congress  excepted),  were  ever  guilty  of. 

However,  not  to  be  behind  hand  with  Congress, 
the  Legislature  of  the  Colony  of  Maryland,  shortly 
after,  passed  an  act,  by  which  they  deprived  and  divest- 
ed Mr.  Harford,  the  devisee  of  the  late  Lord  Balti- 
more, the  proprietor  of  the  province,  of  all  the  powers 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


329 


of  government,  patronage,  quit-rents,  and  vacant,  un- 
settled lands  therein.  Mr.  I  larford  was  at  this  time- 
in  England,  a  minor,  and  a  ward  in  chancery  ;  and 
what  is  worthy  of  remark,  the  Governor,  the  Senate, 
and  the  House  of  Representatives  by  whom  this  law 
was  passed,  were  all  tenants  to  Mr.  Harford.  They 
held  their  lands  under  him,  and  paid  him  an  annual 
rent.  Thus  did  these  men  provide  for  themselves,  tc 
the  prejudice  of  the  real,  and  legal,  owner. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Before  I  enter  upon  the  transactions  of  the  year 
1780,  I  will  entertain  my  readers  with  a  chapter  upon 
commissaries,  quarter-masters,  and  barrack-masters. 

After  the  battle  of  Brookland,  in  August,  1776,  a 
number  of  horses  and  wagons  were  wanted  for  the  use 
of  the  army  during  the  remainder  of  the  campaign. 
Upon  the  first  application  the  inhabitants  upon  Long 
Island,  whom  General  Howe,  in  his  letter  to  the  Min- 
ister by  Major  Cuyler,  acknowledges  were  in  general 
loyal,  and  had  been  forced  into  rebellion  against  their 
inclinations,  in  a  few  days  furnished  the  number 
wanted.  These  wagons  and  horses  went  with  the 
army  to  New  York,  thence  to  the  White  Plains,  in 
Westchester  County,  returned  to  New  York  Island, 
and  after  the  reduction  of  Fort  Washington,  into,  and 
through,  New  Jersey  as  far  as  Trenton,  upon  the  banks 
of  the  Delaware.  In  the  course  of  the  campaign, 
which  did  not  end  till  the  middle  of  December,  a  num- 
ber of  the  wagons  were  ruined  or  destroyed.  Many 
of  the  horses  died,  were  killed,  disappeared,  or  at  least, 
were  never  returned  to  Long  Island.  Of  this  the 
quarter-master  took  an  advantage,  and  refused  to  pay 
(let  the  evidence  be  ever  so  clear)  for  the  horses  and 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


331 


wagons  lost  in  the  service,  or  for  the  time  of  their  be- 
ing  therein,  unless  the  owners  could  produce  the  dri- 
vers to  swear  to  the  loss,  and  to  the  time  of  their  be- 
ing in  the  King's  employ.  As  numbers  of  the  drivers 
had,  during  the  campaign,  either  died,  been  killed,  de- 
serted, or  not  returned,  a  number  of  the  inhabitants 
lost  not  only  their  horses  and  wagons,  but  the  pay 
which  they  were  legally  entitled  to,  during  their  con- 
tinuance in  the  service.  Application  upon  application 
was  made  to  the  quarter-master.  To  some  he  gave 
fair  promises ;  others  he  cursed  and  damned.  Some 
he  turned  out  of  his  house ;  to  many  he  was  invisible, 
and  numbers  he  threatened  with  the  prevost  for  being 
rebels.  No  redress  was  ever  obtained  ;  no  satisfaction 
was  ever  made.  Nor  was  a  single  sixpence  ever  paid 
to  any  of  the  numerous  set  of  claimants.  The  quar- 
ter-master pocketed  the  whole.1  This  occasioned  great 
grumblinef  amoncf  the  inhabitants,  and  well  it  might. 
Usage  like  this  they  had  not  even  experienced  from 
rebellion  itself,  for  whenever  employed  by  its  authori- 
ties, they  received  regular  pay  for  their  services.  But 
to  be  thus  treated  by  the  army  of  their  Sovereign,  to 
whom  they  had  maintained  their  allegiance  in  spite  of 
every  oppression,  even  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  was 
a  cruelty,  an  injustice,  and  such  an  act  of  dishonesty, 
as  they  had  little  reason  to  expect.  Had  the  King, 
the  nation,  or  the  country,  benefited  by  the  transaction, 

1  Richard  Floyd,  Esq.,  Colonel  of  the  Suffolk  Militia,  by  virtue  of  a  commis- 
sion from  Governor  Tryon  (as  loyal  a  subject  as  ever  the  king  could  boast  of),  had 
two  horses  worth  sixty  pounds,  and  a  wagon  worth  twenty  pounds.  They  were  in 
the  service  from  August  to  the  middle  of  December,  1776.  The  wagon  and  horses 
were  never  returned,  nor  was  the  Colonel  ever  able  to  procure  payment  for  the  same, 
notwithstanding  many  fair  promises  were  made  him.  Let  the  quarter-master  for 
1776  account  for  a  conduct  like  this.  Governor  Tryon  interfered  personally,  ap- 
plied, and  was  assured  the  Colonel  should  be  paid.  Yet  he  never  was.  The 
promise  of  the  quarter-master  of  that  campaign  was  a  "  VOX  et  praterea  nihil." 


332 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  people  would  have  been  satisfied.  But  when  they 
knew  that  their  property  was  unjustly  withholden  from 
them  in  order  to  fill  the  purse  of  a  greedy,  peculating 
quarter-master,  it  is  no  wonder  they  complained.  They 
had  justice  on  their  side. 

However,  while  the  poor  defrauded  farmers  were 
ruminating  this  matter  in  their  heads,  and  complaining 
of  the  hardships  among  themselves,  the  spring  of 
1777  approached.  Another  campaign  was  to  take 
place.  A  number  of  wagons  and  horses  would  of 
course  be  wanted.  Upon  Long  Island  they  principally 
depended.  The  quarter-master  applied  to  the  justices 
in  the  several  towns,  the  justices  summoned  the  inhab- 
itants of  each  town  to  meet  at  a  certain  place  on  a 
certain  day.  When  collected  together  the  intention 
of  the  respective  meetings  were  made  known.  An 
universal  clamour  took  place.  They  bitterly  inveighed 
against  the  usage  they  had  received  from  the  quarter- 
master during  the  former  campaign,  and  much  trouble 
seemed  to  be  foreboded  in  a  speedy  collection  of  the 
number  of  horses  and  wagons  wanted  for  the  ensuing 
campaign.  To  make  all  things  easy,  and  to  prevent 
all  disputes  which  might  thereafter  arise  between  the 
quarter-master  and  the  proprietors  of  horses  and 
wagons,  it  was  at  length,  after  a  good  deal  of  alterca- 
tion, agreed,  "  that  a  book  should  be  opened,  that  all 
"  the  horses  and  wagons  should  be  appraised  by  indif- 
"  ferent  persons,  that  the  names  of  the  owners,  and 
"  the  valuation  of  the  horses  and  wagons,  should  be 
"  entered  in  this  book  ;  that  a  person  should  be  em- 
"  ployed  by  the  quarter-master  to  keep  an  exact  ac- 
"  count  in  the  same  book,  of  the  losses  of  all  horses 
"and  wagons  during  the  campaign,  so  that  each  per- 
"  son  might  be  paid  for  the  use  of  his  horses  and 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  333 

"  wagons  from  the  time  of  their  entry  to  the  time  of 
"  their  loss."  And  the  same  book  was  to  show  the 
valuation  which  the  proprietor  was  to  receive  in  case 
of  loss,  besides  his  daily  pay,  which  was  fixed  at  i  2 
shillings  sterling-  a  clay.  The  quarter-master  was  to 
provide  drivers.  This  matter  being  settled,  the  horses 
and  wagons  were  soon  provided.  They  went  into 
New  Jersey  with  the  army,  returned  with  it  thence  to 
Staten  Island,  there  embarked,  and  landed,  after  a 
voyage  of  six  weeks,  at  the  head  of  the  Elk.  From 
thence  went  on  to  Philadelphia,  where  they  continued 
until  its  evacuation,  and  then  proceeded  with  General 
Clinton  through  the  Jerseys  to  New  York,  where  the 
army,  being  put  into  quarters,  and  the  campaign  for 
1778  (as  supposed)  at  an  end,  the  inhabitants  applied 
for  a  return  of,  and  pay  for,  their  horses  and  wagons, 
while  in  actual  service.  But  how  great  was  their  sur- 
prise, to  be  informed  that  their  horses  and  wagons 
had  been  all  "purchased"  by  the  quarter-master. 
That  it  was  in  consequence  of  such  "purchase"  that 
a  valuation  had  been  made  of  them  when  they  entered 
the  service,  and  that  he  was  ready  to  pay  each  man 
according  to  that  valuation.  This  made  a  great  noise, 
much  clamour,  some  threats,  and  an  universal  uneasi- 
ness. It  signified  nothing.  The  quarter- master  was 
positive.  There  was  no  civil  law,  the  proprietors  of 
course  without  redress.  Tenders  of  the  appraised 
value  were  made.  The  most  indigent  thought  it  pru- 
dent to  accept  the  cash.  Rut  the  wealthy  farmers, 
consisting  of  above  three-fourths  of  the  whole,  spurned 
at  the  rascally  proposal,  treated  it  with  contempt,  and 
refused  the  sums  offered,  determining  to  prosecute  for 
justice  whenever  the  king's  courts  should  open.  (No- 
body, at  that  time,  had  the  least  conception  that  Great 


334 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Britain  would  ever  grant  independency  to  the  revolted 
colonies.)  The  quarter-master's  fortune  was  now  es- 
tablished. Long  Island  had  been  an  Indostan  to  him, 
and  he  returned  to  England  (if  I  may  be  excused  the 
expression),  a  Nabob  of  the  West.  A  difficulty,  how- 
ever, still  remained  before  he  left  New  York.  At 
least  three-fourths  of  the  owners  of  the  horses  and 
wagons  had  refused  to  receive  the  sums  tendered. 
He  of  course  from  them  had  no  receipts.  An  expe- 
dient was  soon  found  out.  The  drivers  were  all  em- 
ployed by  the  quarter-master,  and  consisted  chiefly  of 
run-away  negroes.  When  he  paid  these  drivers  their 
wages,  he  took  receipts  from  them  as  if  they  had  been 
employed  by,  and  in  the  service  of,  the  owners  of  the 
horses  and  wagons,  and  artfully  inserted  in  the  receipts 
the  valuation  of  the  wagons  and  horses  of  which  the 
fellows  had  been  the  drivers,  as  so  much  money  paid 
them  in  full  of  the  demands  of  the  owners.  This 
answered  his  purpose,  for  among  the  quarter-master's 
vouchers  for  the  campaigns  of  1777  and  177S,  now 
remaining  in  the  pay  office,  are  an  amazing  number  of 
receipts  for  large  sums  of  money,  signed  with  the 
marks  of  Cato,  Caesar,  Scipio,  Pompey,  Jack,  Tom, 
Harry,  Quash,  Cuffee,  Ouamino,  &c,  &C1  Let  us 
now  calculate  the  amount  of  the  pay  of  the  horses  and 
wagons  during  the  campaigns  of  1777  and  1778,  and 
an  estimate  will  soon  be  found  of  the  sum  realized  by 
the  quarter-master  during  that  time.  Supposing  the 
number  of  horses  and  wagons  employed  amounted  to 
600,  (a  calculation  rather  small,  as  General  Clinton,  in 

'  I  was  acquainted  with  this  circumstance  by  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts,  of 
which  Sir  Guy  Carleton  was  the  President,  before  whom  I  had  a  long  examina- 
tion, and,  if  I  remember  right,  it  is  mentioned  in  one  of  their  reports  to  Parlia- 
ment. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


335 


his  letter  giving  an  account  of  his  march  through  New 
Jersey,  says,  "The  baggage  wagons,  in  the  line  of 
"march  extended  ten  miles  in  length,")  at  12  shillings 
sterling,  each  wagon  and  pair  of  horses,  from  the  1st 
of  April,  1777,  when  they  were  entered,  to  the  1st  of 
September,  1 778,  when  they  returned  to  Long  Island,  it 
will  amount  to  the  enormous  sum  of  ,£171,600  sterling. 
And  then  supposing  each  wagon  and  pair  of  horses  to 
have  been  valued  upon  an  average  at  £$0  sterling 
(which  is  rather  high),  and  supposing  the  quarter- 
master to  have  paid  for  all  (which  was  not  the  case, 
as  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  proprietors  refused  the 
sums  tendered),  the  whole  would  amount  to  but  ,£18,- 
000  sterling,  which  being  deducted  out  of  the  .£171,- 
000  sterling,  will  leave  a  clear  balance  in  favour  of  the 
quarter-master  of  ,£153,000  sterling.  Let  this  matter 
be  fairly  and  candidly  considered,  and  it  must  appear 
to  a  demonstration,  that  the  quarter-master,  allowing 
all  expenses  for  drivers,  &c.  (and  most  probably  their 
pay  was  all  charged  to  the  Crown),  did  not,  in  1777 
and  1778,  realize  less  than  ,£150,600  sterling.  He 
was  also  quarter-master  for  two  years  at  Boston,  and 
during  the  campaign  of  1776,  in  the  provinces  of  New 
York  and  New  Jersey.  What  an  amazing  sum  such 
a  prolific  genius  must  have  made  in  such  a  time  !  If 
the  horses  and  wagons  were  really  hired  at  a  stipulated 
sum  (which  I  aver  to  be  the  fact),  the  owners  ought 
in  honour,  justice,  and  equity,  to  have  been  honestly 
paid.  If  they  were  really  purchased,  why  were  they 
not  purchased  on  behalf  of  the  Crown?  The  answer 
is  plain.  The  nation,  by  such  purchase,  would  have 
saved  ,£150,000  sterling,  which  the  quarter-master,  by 
claiming  them  as  a  purchase  of  his  own,  pocketed 
himself.    The  quarter-master  now  resigned,  returned 


336 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


to  England,  made  large  purchases,  and  lived  in  the 
style  of  a  prince.  Upon  his  resignation,  all  the  horses 
and  wagons  were  sold  to  his  successor,  by  which  a 
further  clear  gain  of  not  less  than  ,£18,000  sterling 
was  also  made.  In  1779,  (having  been  in  office  about 
a  year),  the  successor  returned,  having  followed  the 
example  of  his  predecessor  with  some  small  improve- 
ments, as  rich  as  a  Jew.  In  1780,  a  third  returned  (and 
having  had  all  the  benefit  of  the  war  to  the  south- 
ward), with  double  the  fortune  the  two  former  had 
made.  In  17S1,  the  fourth  returned  with  his  ill-gotten 
plum.  Thus  went  the  money  of  John  Bull.  No 
wonder  he  grew  tired  of  the  American  war.  In  April, 
1782,  Sir  Guy  Carleton  arrived  at  New  York  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, and  before  the  fifth  had  fairly  com- 
pleted his  fortune,  made  such  a  slashing  through  sev- 
eral departments,  as  put  an  end  to  all  further  plunder 
and  peculation  during  the  continuance  of  the  army  in 
America.1 

Upon  the  evacuation  of  New  York  by  the  rebels, 
and  possession  of  it  taken  by  the  British  army  in  1776, 
the  barrack-masters  were  ordered  to  provide  quarters 
and  fuel  for  them  during  the  ensuing  winter.    All  the 

1  To  show  what  amazing  fortunes  were  made  during  the  American  war,  take 
only  the  two  following  instances  :  Jonathan  Hampton,  a  common  carpenter  in 
New  York,  about  a  year  before  the  rebellion  broke  out  was  a  bankrupt,  and  took 
the  benefit  of  an  \ct  of  Insolvency,  and  delivered  up  all  his  effects  to  his  credi- 
tors. He  wns  employed  in  the  Engineer's  Department  ;  his  pay  was  20  shillings  a 
day.  He  went  to  England  at  the  end  of  the  war  worth  50,000  guineas.  William 
Butler,  who,  when  the  war  commenced,  was  not  worth  j£io  in  the  world,  was 
employed  as  a  clerk  in  the  Commissary  General's  office  at  ten  shillings  a  day.  In 
1779,  he  married  his  only  daughter  to  a  captain  of  a  man-of-war,  and  laid  down 
10,000  guineas  as  a  marriage  portion.  In  1781  he  came  to  England,  where  he 
had  lodged  ^40,000  sterling  in  the  funds.  If  such  people  could  make  such  amaz- 
ing fortunes  in  so  short  a  time,  what  estates  must  have  been  made  by  those  com- 
missaries, barrack-masters,  and  quarter-masters,  who  »vere  really  gentlemen,  and 
countenanced  by  che  commanders-in-chief  in  ah  their  transactions. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


houses  within  the  city  of  New  York,  upon  the  island 
of  New  York,  Staten  Island,  and  as  far  eastward  as 
Jamaica  upon  Long  Island,  whether  the  property  of 
Loyalists  who  had  left  them  when  the  rebels  had  the 
possession,  or  of  persons  who  had  abandoned  them 
upon  the  flight  of  the  rebel  army,  which  were  not 
wanted  for  the  accommodation  of  the  general  officers, 
were  seized  upon  by  the  barrack-masters  and  filled 
with  soldiers.  Kings  College,  three  large,  elegant 
Dutch  churches,  two  Quaker  meeting  houses,  two 
Presbyterian  churches,  and  two  large  brew  houses,  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  with  the  Dutch  church  at  Har- 
lem, upon  York  Island,  were  appropriated  to  this  use. 
Three  Dutch  churches  and  two  Presbyterian  meeting 
houses  upon  Staten  Island  shared  the  same  fate. 
Upon  Long  Island  the  Dutch  churches  at  Brooklyn, 
Flatbush,  Gravesend,  New  Utrecht,  Bushwick,  Flat- 
lands,  New  Lotts,  Jamaica,  and  Newtown,  were  applied 
to  the  same  use ;  as  was  the  Presbyterian  meeting 
house  at  Newtown,  and  that  of  the  Quakers  at  Flush- 
ing. These  were  kept  by  the  barrack-masters  during 
the  whole  of  an  eight  years'  war ;  and  though  the 
Crown  was  regularly  charged  for  the  hire  of  them  in 
all  the  barrack-masters'  accounts,  and  paid  for  them  as 
debts  due  from  government,  the  proprietors  never  got 
a  farthing.  The  whole  was  pocketed  by  the  barrack- 
masters. 

These  gentry  also  took  possession  of  all  the  wood 
land  upon  York  Island,  Staten  Island,  and  upon 
Long  Island  along  the  Sound,  for  more  than  sixty 
miles  in  extent,  with  what  lay  in  the  county  of  West- 
chester adjoining  Harlem  River,  which  divides  that 
county  from  the  island  of  New  York,  which  either  be- 
longed to  rebels  who  had  left  their  estates  upon  the 

22 


333 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


evacuation  of  these  islands  by  the  American  army,  or 
to  Loyalists  who  had  been  obliged  through  the  per- 
secution of  the  rebels  when  in  their  possession,  to 
abandon  them  and  take  refuge  in  different  parts  of  the 
country.  These  woods  were,  in  the  course  of  the  war, 
all  cut  down  by  order  of  the  barrack-masters,  carried 
to  New  York,  and  applied  as  fuel  for  the  use  of  the 
army.  Wood-cutters,  wood-pilcrs,  carriers,  cartmen, 
wagons,  ox  carts,  drivers,  overseers,  and  inspectors, 
were  employed  for  this  purpose.  Trifles  were  allowed 
these  people  by  the  day.  Being  an  ignorant  set  of 
people,  consisting  of  Germans  who  spoke  little  English, 
of  negroes,  and  Indians,  who  could  neither  read  nor 
write,  they  made  their  marks  to  every  receipt  the  bar- 
rack-masters thought  proper  to  offer.  They  received 
their  wages,  but  knew  not  the  contents  of  the  papers 
to  which  they  affixed  their  marks.  By  this  contri- 
vance the  nation  was  cheated  out  of  amazing  sums, 
and  the  signatures  of  Tom,  Dick,  and  Harry,  produced 
as  vouchers  for  the  payment  of  the  several  articles  as 
charged  in  the  barrack-master's  accounts.  All  the 
wood  has  been  regularly  charged  to  the  Crown,  as 
wood  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  army  at  so  much 
the  cord,  the  whole  of  which  went  into  the  pockets 
of  the  barrack-masters  ;  the  real  proprietors  never  got 
a  sixpence.  There  was  cut  and  carried  to  New  York 
from  Lloyd's  Neck,  upon  Long  Island,  and  charged  to 
the  Crown,  as  much  wood  as  amounted  at  least  to 
^60,000  currency,  and  as  much  from  Morrisania  in, the 
county  of  Westchester.  Upon  the  whole,  the  wood  cut 
off  of  what  were  called  "  rebel  farms  "  upon  the  islands 
aforesaid,  in  the  course  of  the  war,  and  charged  by  the 
barrack-masters  as  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  army, 
did  not  cost  the  nation  less  than  ,£600,000.    If  it  was 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


339 


real  rebel  property,  it  belonged  to  the  Crown.  If  it 
was  the  property  of  Loyalists  the  owners  should  have 
been  paid  for  it.  If  to  the  former,  what  right  had  the 
barrack-masters  to  charge  it  as  a  debt  due  from  gov- 
ernment?  if  to  the  latter,  why  was  the  money  withheld 
from  the  real  owners  ? 

As  large  tracts  of  these  wood  lands  lay  upon  Staten 
Island,  along  the  Sound  upon  Long  Island,  and  in 
Westchester  on  the  main,  the  most  expeditious  mode 
of  transportation  was  by  water.  A  Water  Commis- 
sary was  therefore  for  that  purpose  appointed,  who 
had  his  deputies,  overseers,  inspectors,  &c,  without 
number.  A  large  quantity  of  shipping  was  purchased 
for  this  use ;  not  less  than  100  sail,  consisting  of 
brigs,  sloops,  and  schooners.  A  Commodore,  at  the 
request  of  the  Admiral,  was  commissioned  to  super- 
intend this  Water  Barrack-master  Department.  All 
the  vessels  employed  in  this  business  were  the  sole 
property  of  the  barrack-masters  and  the  Commo- 
dore of  their  fleet.  No  vessels  were  taken  upon  con- 
tract, all  were  purchased,  and  all  the  property  of  the 
gentlemen  last  mentioned.  Not  more  than  one  half 
was  ever  in  employ  at  a  time  ;  all,  however,  were  in 
full  pay.  In  June,  1780,  General  Robertson,  then 
civil  Governor  of  New  York,  ordered,  by  a  proclama- 
tion, every  freeholder  within  the  counties  of  Richmond 
upon  Staten  Island,  and  those  of  Kings,  Queens,  and 
the  westernmost  part  of  Suffolk  upon  Long  Island,  to 
cut  a  certain  number  of  cords  of  wood,  according  to 
the  quantity  upon  each  farm,  and  by  a  certain  day  to 
cart  and  deliver  it  at  the  several  wood  yards,  or  land- 
ing places,  in  the  proclamation  mentioned.  The  price 
he  limited  at  sixteen  shillings,  New  York  currency,  for 
oak,  and  28  shillings  for  hickory.    Wood  yards  were 


34Q 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


established  at  Jamaica,  Flushing,  Newtown,  Hemp- 
stead Harbour,  Oyster  Bay,  Brookland,  and  Flatbush, 
upon  Long-  Island  ;  to  each  of  which  a  deputy  barrack 
master  and  overseer,  and  an  inspector,  were  appointed. 
The  same  was  done  at  Watson's  and  Decker's  ferries 
upon  Staten  Island,  the  whole  of  which  forms  the 
county  of  Richmond.  Such  of  the  inhabitants  as  lived 
contiguous  to  landing  places,  had  orders  to  carry  their 
wood  there,  where  a  deputy  was  present  to  receive  it, 
persons  to  pile  it  up,  and  an  inspector  to  view  it.  From 
these  landing  places  the  wood  was  transported,  by 
orders  from  the  barrack-master's  commodore,  by 
some  part  of  his  fleet,  delivered  at,  and  deposited  in, 
the  wood  yards  at  New  York.  By  a  corporation  law 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  every  cord  of  wood  is  to  con- 
sist of  four  cartman's  loads  ;  which  carts,  as  to  their 
dimensions,  and  the  length  of  the  wood,  and  the 
height  to  which  it  is  to  be  piled,  are  all  ascertained  by 
the  same  act.  The  wood  during  the  whole  of  the  war 
was  all  delivered  in,  and  received  at,  the  wood  yards 
according  to  the  measurement  settled  by  the  corpora- 
tion, that  is,  four  regulated  cartman's  loads  to  each 
cord.  Yet,  surprising  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  neverthe- 
less a  fact,  that  all  the  wood  delivered  out  from  the  re- 
spective wood  yards  for  the  use  of  the  army  was  no 
more  than  three  cartmen's  loads  to  each  cord.  This 
was  called  by  the  cartmen  in  New  York,  by  the  name 
of  "a  barrack-master's  cord."  By  this  means,  one- 
fourth  part  of  all  the  wood  procured  for  the  use  oCthe 
army  during  the  whole  war  was  appropriated  to  the 
sole  use  of  the  barrack-masters,  and  though  a  great 
part  of  the  wood  was  cut  off  of  rebel  farms,  and  cost 
nothing,  and  what  was  purchased  from  the  Loyalists, 
no  more  than  16  shillings  a  cord  for  oak,  and  28  shil- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


341 


lings  for  hickory  nut,  yet  these  harpies,  openly,  and 
publicly,  sold  the  cabbaged  part  to  the  citizens  in  New 
York  at  the  enormous  price  of  £4.  a  cord  for  oak,  and 
£5  \os.  od.  for  hickory  nut.1  And  though  this  was  a 
fact  well  known,  universally  spoken  of,  and  occasioned 
a  creat  deal  of  clamour  and  uneasiness  anions  the  in- 
habitants,  yet  no  steps  were  ever  taken  for  the  preven- 
tion of  so  horrid  an  imposition  until  the  arrival  of  Sir  Guy 
Carleton,  who  soon  abolished  the  infamous  fraud.  No 
wonder  the  former  commanding  Generals  connived  at 
this  piece  of  wickedness,  when  it  is  a  well-known  fact, 
that  the  mistresses,  the  little  misses,  and  favourite  dulci- 
neas,  of  Clinton,  Robertson,  and  Birch,  were  all  sup- 
plied with  large  quantities  of  wood,  by  their  orders,  out 
of  the  wood  yards  in  New  York,  and  were  regaling 
themselves  in  routs,  dinners,  little  concerts,  and  small 
parties,  over  good,  warm,  comfortable  fires,  and  enjoy- 
ing all  the  ease  and  luxury  in  life,  while  the  poor  sol- 
diers, (for  whom  the  wood  was  provided)  were,  with 
their  wives  and  children,  perishing  in  the  barracks  in 
the  severity  of  winter,  for  the  want  of  that  fuel  to 
which  they  were  entitled,  and  which  had  been  (instead 
of  being  properly  appropriated  )  lavished  away,  and 
distributed,  among  strumpets,  panderers,  favourites, 
and  pretty  little  misses. 

Another  department  was  also  established,  that  of  a 
Commissary  of  forage.  The  principal  had  30  shillings 
sterling  a  day  ;  he  had  twenty  deputies,  clerks  and  at- 
tendants, in  this  office  ;  their  pay  from  15  shillings  to 
S  shillings  sterling  a  day.  Collectors  of  hay  through- 
out all  Long  Island,  Staten  Island,  York  Island,  and 


1  I  spent  my  winter  in  1780  in  New  York,  had  my  wood  from  the  wood  yards 
and  paid  £4  for  oak,  and       10s.  od.  for  nut,  and  for  a  cord  received  three  cart 
man's  loads  only,  instead  of  four  as  established  by  a  law  of  the  corporation. 


342 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


part  of  the  county  of  Westchester,  were  employed  by 
this  Commissary,  their  pay  20  shillings  a  ton  for  all  the 
fresh  hay,  10  shillings  for  all  the  salt  hay  procured  ; 
their  expenses  were,  besides,  all  paid,  and  rations  allow- 
ed for  themselves  and  families.  A  collector  of  this 
kind  could  with  great  ease,  and  no  expense,  make  his 
^50  a  day.  To  dispose  of  the  hay  properly  when  col- 
lected, stack  yards  were  appropriated  in  which  the  hay 
was  lodged;  a  very  large  one  in  New  York,  3  upon 
Staten  Island,  2  in  the  lower  parts  of  Westchester,  and 
not  less  than  15  upon  Long  Island.  Each  of  these 
yards  had  an  inspector,  an  overseer,  a  weigher,  and  a 
number  of  stackers.  The  inspectors  had  16  shillings 
a  day,  the  overseers  14  shillings,  and  the  stackers  5 
shillings ;  all  had  rations.  This  was  the  case  as  to  the 
country  stack  yards.  The  inspector  at  New  York 
had  a  guinea  a  day.  He  boasted  of  it  as  a  sinecure, 
and  well  he  might,  for  he  never  visited  the  yard  twice 
during  the  whole  war.  Had  he  constantly  attended,  ap- 
pearances might  have  been  saved.  It  would  have  been, 
however,  of  no  service,  for  being  brought  up  in  the 
navy,  and  after  that  employed  in  a  mercantile  way,  he 
scarcely  knew  the  difference  between  fresh  hay  and 
salt.  But  he  was  the  brother  of  a  sister  married  to  a 
General,  and  was  of  course  indulged  to  make  some- 
thing handsome  out  of  a  trading  rebellion.  There 
were  also  people  employed  by  this  office,  distinct  from 
the  hay  collectors,  to  procure  straw  for  the  use  of 
the  army,  and  as  many  straw  yards  were  provided,  as 
hay  yards,  as  many  officers  employed  in  the  collection, 
with  salaries,  and  rations,  equal  to  those  employed  in 
the  former.  Others  were  again  employed  to  procure 
Indian  corn,  oats,  buckwheat,  rye,  and  bran,  for  the 
use  of  the  horses  employed  in  the  service ;  and  to  this 


HISTORY  01'  NEW  YORK. 


343 


part  of  the  department  a  number  of  officers  were  also 
appointed,  with  rations  and  pay.  But  not  content  with 
the  money  made  in  the  aforesaid  several  ways,  a  more 
material  and  profitable  one  was  substituted.  The  col- 
lectors of  hay,  straw,  oats,  corn,  &c,  gave  certificates 
to  the  persons  of  whom  they  purchased,  of  the  quan- 
tity and  price.  These  certificates  were  signed  by  the 
collectors,  directed  to  the  Commissary,  and  to  be  by 
him  paid.  When  the  bearer  of  a  certificate  appeared, 
a  mighty  bustle  was  made  in  the  office,  and  all  the 
appearance  of  an  amazing  hurry  in  business.  The 
certificate  being  shown,  a  receipt  was  produced  and 
tendered  for  signing,  couched  in  the  following  words  : 
"  Received  this  day  of  i;  of  George 

"  Brindly,  Esq.,  Commissary  of  Forage,  the  sum  of 
"  for  weight  of  fresh  hay,  weight  of 

"salt  hay,  weight  of  straw,  for         bushels  of 

"  Indian  corn,  for  bushels  of  oats,  for 

"  bushels  of  rye,  for  bushels  of  buckwheat,  and 

"  for  bushels  of  bran,  as  witness  my  hand  the 

"  day  and  year  above  written."  If  only  10  bushels  of 
oats,  or  500  weight  of  hay,  were  to  be  paid  for,  a  re- 
ceipt like  the  above  with  all  the  blanks  therein  was  to 
be  signed  by  the  receiver.  The  country  people  in 
general,  not  apprehensive  of  any  imposition,  fraud  or 
deception,  signed  them  upon  the  receipt  of  their 
money  really  due,  without  any  hesitation  whatever. 
If  a  gentleman  made  (which  frequently  happened)  any 
difficulty  in  signing  these  blank  receipts,  he  was  told  a 
person  was  employed  purposely  to  fill  them,  that  he 
was  just  gone  out,  would  be  in  within  a  few  moments, 
and  he  was  desired  to  sign  the  receipt,  that  it  might 
be  filled  up  the  moment  the  proper  clerk  came  in. 
Many  people  were  thus  taken  in.    No  sooner  was  the 


344 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


receipt  signed,  than  the  Commissary  paid  you  the 
amount,  pulled  off  his  hat,  made  you  a  bow,  and 
wished  you  a  good  day,1  after  which  no  gentleman 
could  with  propriety  stay,  and  the  Commissary  re- 
mained in  possession  of  his  blank.  How  these  blanks 
were  filled  up  I  leave  John  Bull  to  guess,  and  the  pub- 
lic to  find  out  how  the  enormous  sums  raised  for  the 
American  war  were  lavished  away. 

There  was  also  a  Commissary  of  Cattle,  or  a  pro- 
vider of  fresh  provisions  for  the  use  of  the  army.  This 
man  had  also  his  deputies,  clerks,  cattle  purchasers, 
cattle  keepers,  cattle  feeders,  &c.  The  Commissary, 
his  clerks  and  deputies,  had  from  one  pound  ten  shil- 
lings, to  15  shillings  a  day.  The  cattle  purchasers  so 
much  per  head,  the  cattle  keepers  so  much  per  week, 
and  the  feeders  a  certain  sum  per  day ;  all  had  rations. 
The  cattle  when  purchased,  and  either  not  immediately 
wanted,  or  not  fit  for  killing,  were  pastured  with  cattle 
keepers,  who  gave  a  receipt  for  the  number  in  gross. 
It  was  therefore  very  customary  among  these  cattle 
keepers,  (in  which  no  doubt  the  Commissary  had  a 
large  share)  to  sell  the  best  of  the  cattle  to  the  butch- 
ers at  a  high  price,  and  to  purchase  and  substitute 
poor,  lean,  cattle  in  the  place  of  those  sold.  This  was 
a  business  followed  with  great  avidity  by  the  Com- 
missary and  his  cattle  feeders.  I  was  told  by  a  gentle- 
man of  the  first  character  for  veracity  and  reputation  upon 
Long  Island,  that  one  of  these  cattle  feeders,  to  his  cer- 
tain knowledge,  sold  a  pair  of  fat  oxen  for  ^120,  in  die 
room  of  which,  he  had  substituted,  and  put  into  the 
King's  herd,  to  keep  up  the  number,  two  old  cows, 
poor  and  lean,  and  worth  not  more  than  ^15  at  the 


1  Judge  Jones  was  served  in  this  manner  ;  he  mentioned  it  in  all  companies  in  New 
New  York,  and  swore  to  the  fact  before  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts  in  London 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


345 


utmost.  All  the  persons  who  received  cash  from  this 
department  also  signed  blank  receipts,  which  were 
filled  up  by  the  Commissary  as  he  thought  proper, 
and  no  doubt  as  much  to  his  advantage  as  possible. 
The  whole  of  the  departments  in  the  Commissary 
line  knew  each  other,  and  played  into  one  another's 
hands.  John  Hull  paid  for  all.  It  was  a  trading- 
rebellion,  and  every  one  made  the  most  of  it.  The 
Commissary  of  Forage,  and  the  Cattle  Commissary,1 
were  both  Bostonians,  as  cunning,  artful,  and  hypocrit- 
ical, as  the  devil  himself. 

Another  method  these  Commissaries  had  of  making 
money.  Their  collectors  of  hay,  purchasers  of  cattle, 
&c,  gave  certificates  upon  their  principals  in  favour  of 
the  persons  of  whom  they  had  made  purchases. 
These  being  in  general  common  farmers,  wanted  their 
money.  W  hen  they  applied  with  their  certificates  no 
money  was  to  be  had.  To  travel  20,  30,  40,  50,  or 
perhaps  a  100,  miles,  was  expensive.  This  the  Com- 
missaries well  knew,  and  that  the  farmers  would  soon 
grow  tired  of  the  expense,  trouble,  and  loss  of  time. 
They  had  their  agents  dispersed  about  the  country, 
who  advised  the  farmers  to  dispose  of  their  certificates 
at  a  discount  rather  than  be  at  the  trouble  and  ex- 
pense of  frequent  journeys  to  New  York,  to  no  pur- 
pose, and  perhaps  losing  the  whole  at  last.  By  such 
means,  and  by  such  artifices  were  the  country  people 
prevailed  upon  to  dispose  of  their  certificates,  which 
was  in  general  done  at  a  discount  of  from  20  to  50  per 
cent.,  the  profits  of  which  were  divided  in,  certain  pro- 
portions, among  the  Commissaries,  their  deputies,  and 
agents.  It  is  true  this  was  no  imposition  upon  the 
Crown,  but  it  was  a  most  horrid  one  upon  the  farmers. 

1  George  Blindly  and  Abiah  Willard. 


346 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


There  was  also  a  Commissary  of  Artillery,  with  his 
deputies,  clerks,  &c.  Not  less  than  500  horses  were 
employed  in  this  department ;  they  were  purchased  at 
about  ^15  per  head,  which  amounts  to  ^'6,000;  the 
purchases  were  not  made,  (as  they  ought  to  have 
been)  at  the  expense,  and  on  the  behalf,  of  the  Crown, 
but  in  the  name  of  the  Commissary  himself.  All  these 
horses  were  fed  at  the  expense  of  the  Crown,  were 
kept  in  stables  seized  upon  as  rebel  property,  for 
which  no  rent  was  paid,  the  Crown  heavily  charged, 
and  the  accounts  paid.  The  Crown  was  also  charged 
with  the  hire  of  the  horses,  (the  property  of  the  Com- 
missary) at  the  rate  of  20  shillings  sterling  per  pair  a 
day,  which  amounts  to  ,£53,750  sterling  per  annum. 
No  wonder  Commissaries  in  this  department  every 
two  years  returned  to  England  richer  than  half  the 
princes  in  Germany,  leaving  successors  to  make  their 
fortune  in  the  same  manner ! 

Was  I  to  enumerate  the  numberless  instances  of  this 
kind,  I  should  tire  my  readers  with  a  repetition  of  the 
villany  of  mankind.  A  few  more,  however,  of  the  most 
flagrant  kind,  shall  and  must,  nay,  justice  requires  that 
they  should,  be  made  known  to  the  public,  that  the 
honest  Englishman  may  know  the  purposes  for  which 
he  was  so  enormously  taxed  during  the  American  war. 
The  rebel  Generals,  after  they  had  taken  possession  of 
New  York,  Long  Island,  and  Staten  Island,  in  the  spring 
of  1776,  employed  themselves  in  barricading,  and  heav- 
ing up  works  in,  the  streets  of  the  city,  in  building  forts, 
batteries  and  redoubts,  making  intrenchments  and  run- 
ning lines  from  one  place  to  another  upon  the  whole  of 
York  Island,  all  along  the  Long  Island  shore  opposite 
the  city,  and  for  about  three  miles  back  into  the  country, 
upon  all  the  hills  and  eminences  proper  for  the  purpose. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


347 


Several  forts,  batteries,  and  redoubts,  were  also  erected 
upon  Staten  Island.  These  cost  the  rebels  nothing. 
The  whole  was  performed  by  the  soldiers  under  the  di- 
rection of  their  engineers,  who  received  their  bare  pay 
only.  Upon  the  reduction  of  these  islands  all  these 
works  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British  army.  The  Gen- 
eral, by  the  advice  of  the  principal  engineer,1  his  confi- 
dential friend,  ordered  all  these  forts,  batteries,  and  re- 
doubts, with  two  or  three  exceptions,  with  the  barri- 
cadoes  erected  by  the  rebels,  to  be  demolished,  and  the 
lines  and  entrenchments  filled  up  and  levelled.  The 
performance  of  this  business  was  committed  to  the  care 
and  direction  of  the  aforesaid  engineer,  and  to  pull 
down  what  the  rebels  had  erected  at  no  expense, 
cost  John  Bull  more  than  ,£150,000  sterling,  ^"100,000 
of  which,  the  confidential  friend  put  into  his  own 
pocket,  returned  to  England,  purchased  one  of  the 
genteelest  houses  in  Portland  Place,  a  noble  country- 
seat  in  Surrey,  set  up  his  carriages,  had  a  house  full  of 
servants  in  rich  livery,  and  lived  in  all  the  splendour  of 
an  eastern  prince.  In  1779,  General  Clinton,  then 
Commander-in-Chief  in  America,  thought  it  necessary 
not  only  to  rebuild  all  the  demolished  fortifications 
upon  Long  Island,  but  to  add  several  large  additional 
ones.  The  inhabitants  of  Kings,  Queens,  and  the 
westernmost  parts  of  Suffolk  County,  were  obliged,  at 
their  own  expense,  to  cut  down  upon  their  own  estates, 
and  with  their  own  teams  to  convey  to  Brookland,  as 
many  fascines,  faggots,  planks,  logs,  palisadoes,  &c,  as 
the  engineer  thought  proper  to  direct.  A  number  of 
these  people  lived  at  the  distance  of  10,  15,  20,  and 
some  at  more  than  30,  miles  from  the  scene  of  action. 
Not  a  farthing  was  ever  paid  them,  either  for  their 

1  John  Montresor,  Esq. 


34* 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


labour,  their  wood,  or  travelling  expenses.  This,  how- 
ever, was  not  all,  the  militia  of  Kings  and  Queens  were 
obliged  to  act  by  rotation,  as  labourers,  in  building 
these  forts,  a  certain  number  from  each  company  being 
weekly  employed  upon  this  service.  They  were  al- 
lowed the  same  rations  as  are  allowed  to  common 
soldiers  when  upon  duty,  but  not  a  single  sixpence  by 
way  of  pay  was  allowed  to  a  soul  of  them.  But  what 
is  still  worse,  (if  anything  can  be  worse)  the  Colonels 
of  the  two  counties,  Axtell  of  Kings,  and  Hamilton  of 
Oueens,  fined  all  the  defaulters  who  could  not  <jive 
a  satisfactory  reason  for  their  non-attendance  upon 
their  respective  terms  of  duty,  and  as  the  fines  were 
the  property  of  the  two  Colonels,  few  excuses  were 
judged  satisfactory,  £$  for  the  first  offence,  £10  for  the 
second,  ^15  for  the  third,  and  the  prevost  for  the 
fourth.  This  was  in  consequence  of  their  own  abso- 
lute orders.  Our  militia  law  was  expired,  our  courts 
of  justice  were  shut  up,  and  the  powers  of  the  civil  law 
and  civil  magistrates  abolished.  In  case  of  refusal  to 
pay  the  fine  a  militia  officer  was  ordered  to  distrain, 
who  in  general  took  threble  the  value  of  the  sum  de- 
manded. This  was  sold  at  public  auction.  As  the 
Colonel  and  his  officers,  the  distrainers,  were  gener- 
ally the  bidders,  nobody  dared  to  bid  above  them,  and 
the  distrained  goods  were  disposed  of  at  about  one- 
third  of  their  real  value.  From  this  injustice  no 
remedy  was  to  be  had,  as  no  civil  law  was  in  being. 
The  erecting  of  these  forts,  though  all  the  wood  was 
supplied,  and  all  the  labour  performed,  by  countrymen 
at  their  own  private  expense,  cost  the  nation  at  least 
,£100,000  more,  with  which  the  engineer  returned  to 
England,  settled  in  splendour,  and  lived  in  taste  en- 
joying every  luxury  in  life. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


349 


In  1780  it  was  thought  necessary  (nobody,  the 
Generals  excepted,  knew  for  what)  to  rebuild  all 
the  demolished  forts  that  had  been  built  by  the 
rebels  upon  New  York  Island,  and  to  add  a  number 
of  new  ones.  This  was  done,  the  work  was  perform- 
ed, that  is  the  labouring  part,  by  the  inhabitants  of 
New  York.  The  General  also  thought  it  necessary 
(for  his  own  safety  no  doubt,  as  no  one  else  appre- 
hended any  danger)  to  have  beacons  erected  all 
round  the  island,  a  circumference  of  at  least  30  miles, 
and  upon  every  hill,  mount,  or  eminence,  upon  the 
island.  Not  less  than  300  of  the  beacons  were  erected, 
with  a  tar  barrel  upon,  and  a  guard  to,  each,  to  give 
timely  notice  of  the  approach  of  an  enemy.  In  this 
business  another  ^150,000  was  expended,  and  another 
engineer  returned  to  England  in  possession  of  his 
plum.  As  a  further  security  to  the  General's  person, 
25  galleys  were  purchased  and  moored  in  a  line  in  the 
North  river  within  50  yards  of  his  Excellency's  quar- 
ters. With  the  city  surrounded  by  men-of-war,  and 
armed  ships,  with  25  armed  galleys  in  his  rear,  a  Cap- 
tain's guard  in  his  front,  300  beacons  upon  the  island 
ready  to  set  fire  to  upon  an  alarm,  20,000  good  troops 
upon  York  Island,  at  Kingsbridge,  upon  Long  Island 
and  Staten  Island,  with  at  least  10,000  militia  and 
refugees,  embodied  and  perfectly  disciplined,  he 
thought  himself  pretty  secure,  wallowed  in  the  arms  of 
Mrs.  Badely,  entertained  the  daughters  of  Blundell,1 
with  a  few  of  his  sycophants,  panderers  and  depend- 
ents, in  almost  perfect  tranquillity.    In   1781,  when 

1  Christopher  Blundell,  formerly  butler  to  the  General's  father,  George  Clinton, 
when  Governor  of  New  York  ;  for  many  years  afterwards,  and  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  rebellion,  door-keeper  and  messenger  to  the  Council,  and  was  now  but- 
ler to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  Sir  Henry  Clinton. 


35° 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Washington  and  Rochambeau  were  at  the  White 
Plains,  not  more  than  14  miles  from  Kingsbridge, 
with  about  6,000  men,  he  never  attempted  to  beat  up 
their  quarters,  though  his  force  was  the  same  as  the 
preceding  year,  but  lay  still  in  New  York,  suffered 
the  allied  army,  consisting  of  about  6,000  Frenchmen 
and  rebels,  to  continue  at  the  White  Plains  for  six 
weeks,  break  up  their  encampment,  march  to  Peeks- 
kill,  cross  the  Hudson,  pass  through  New  Jersey,  and 
proceed  to  Virginia,  without  the  least  molestation 
whatever.  Instead  of  which,  his  engineers  were  set  at 
work  upon  Long  Island,  York  Island,  at  Kingsbridge, 
and  upon  Staten  Island,  and  before  the  arrival  of  Gen- 
eral Carleton,  had  actually  expended  as  much  in  building 
fruitless  fortifications,  making  intrenchments,  forming 
lines,  and  covering  land  with  water,  as  cost  the  nation 
not  less  than  ,£300,000  sterling.  General  Carleton  upon 
taking  the  command  soon  put  an  end  to  this  baby 
house  play.  It  was  however  too  late  for  the  good  of 
the  nation.  The  business  was  done,  the  money  was 
gone.  Three  or  four  more  engineers,  in  consequence 
of  the  above-mentioned  operations,  returned  to  Eng- 
land as  rich  as  Jews.  Thus  went  the  money  of  Great 
Britain.  For  this  were,  and  still  are,  the  subjects  of 
the  kingdom  so  amazingly  taxed  to  this  very  day ;  and 
by  such  means  as  these  did  the  American  war  exhaust 
the  treasury,  end  in  the  dismemberment  of  the  empire, 
and  almost  in  the  total  ruin  of  the  nation.1 

1  The  British  Plutarch,  in  the  character  of  Mr.  Granville,  the  projector  of  the 
American  Stamp  Act  that  made  such  a  noise  in  the  world,  says,  "that  for  the 
"  short  time  he  had  the  management  of  the  public  revenues  the  strictest  economy 
"was  observed  to  reduce  the  national  debt  by  a  strict  scrutiny  into  the  demands 
"  of  those  rapacious  vultures  the  commissaries  in  the  last  war,  from  whose  accounts 
"  he  cut  off  six  millions  which  otherwise  would  have  made  a  part  of  the  national 
'  debt."  A  minister  of  the  same  spirit  might,  with  justice,  at  the  close  of  the  Ameri- 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK. 


Upon  the  close  of  the  campaign,  in  1776,  there  were 
not  less  than  10,000  prisoners,  (sailors  included)  within 
the  British  lines  at  New  York.  A  Commissary  of 
Prisoners  was  therefore  appointed,  and  one  Joshua 
Loring,  a  Bostonian,  was  commissioned  to  the  office, 
with  a  guinea  a  day,  and  rations  of  all  kinds,  for  him- 
self and  family.  In  this  appointment  there  was  recipro- 
city. Joshua  had  a  handsome  wife.  The  General,  Sir 
William  Howe,  was  fond  of  her.  Joshua  made  no  objec- 
tions. He  fingered  the  cash,  the  General  enjoyed  mad- 
am. Everybody  supposing  the  next  campaign  (should 
the  rebels  even  risk  another)  would  put  a  final  period 
to  the  rebellion,  Loring  was  determined  to  make  the 
most  of  his  commission,  and  by  appropriating  to  his 
own  use  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  rations  allowed  to 
the  prisoners,  he  actually  starved  to  death  about  300 
of  the  poor  wretches  before  an  exchange  took  place, 
which  was  not  till  February,  1777.  And  hundreds 
that  were  alive  at  the  time  were  so  emaciated,  and  en- 
feebled, for  the  want  of  provisions,  that  numbers  died 
upon  the  road  on  their  way  home,  and  many  lived  but 
a  few  days  after  reaching  their  habitations.  The  war 
continuing,  the  Commissaryship  of  Prisoners  grew  so 
lucrative  that,  in  1778,  the  Admiral  thought  proper 
to  appoint  one  for  naval  prisoners.  Upon  the  French 
war,  a  Commissary  was  appointed  for  French  prison- 
ers. When  Spain  joined  France,  another  was  ap- 
pointed for  Spanish  prisoners.  When  Great  Britain 
made  war  upon  Holland,  a  Commissary  was  appointed 
for  Dutch  prisoners.  Each  had  his  guinea  a  day,  and 
rations  for  himself  and  family.    Besides,  the  prisoners 


can  war,  have  deducted  twelve  millions  sterling  from  the  respective  commissaries 
employed  in  that  country,  which  would  have  been  a  saving  of  so  much  to  the  na- 
tion, and  the  harpies  left  in  the  possession  of  large,  ill-gotten  wealth  besides. 


352 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


were  half  starved,  as  the  Commissaries  filched  their 
provisions  and  disposed  of  them  for  their  own  use.  It 
is  a  known  fact,  also,  that  whenever  an  exchange  was 
to  take  place,  the  preference  was  always  given  to  those 
who  had,  or  could  procure,  the  most  money  to  present 
to  the  Commissaries  who  conducted  the  exchange ;  by 
which  means  large  sums  were  unjustly  extorted,  and 
demanded,  from  the  prisoners  upon  every  exchange,  to 
the  scandal  and  disgrace  of  Britons.  We  had  five 
Commissaries  of  Prisoners  when  one  could  have  done 
all  the  business.  Each  Commissary  had  a  deputy, 
a  clerk,  and  a  messenger,  in  full  pay,  with  rations  of 
every  kind.  It  may  be  presumed,  and  that  with  great 
reason,  that  the  Commissaries  of  every  kind,  Barrack- 
Masters,  Quarter-Masters,  Engineers,  &c,  within  the 
British  lines  at  New  York,  during  a  seven  years'  war, 
did  not  cost  the  nation  less  than  five  millions  of  money. 
But  when  it  is  considered  that  besides  the  several  de- 
partments at  New  York,  there  were  similar  ones  at 
Philadelphia  for  a  year,  at  Rhode  Island  for  three 
years,  in  New  Jersey  for  eight  months,  in  Boston  for 
two  years,  in  Georgia  for  four  years,  in  South  Carolina 
for  three  years,  in  North  Carolina  for  one  year,  in 
Canada  for  the  whole  war,  and  in  Virginia  upon  differ- 
ent expeditions  at  different  times,  upon  the  whole  at 
least  two  years,  that  the  blood-sucking  harpies  did  not 
swallow  up  less  than  twenty  millions  sterling  of  the 
money  raised  by  Great  Britain  for  the  support  of  the 
American  war. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


In  the  spring  of  1780,  General  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
laid  siege  to  Charleston,  the  capital  of  South  Carolina, 
but  his  army  not  being-  large  enough  completely  to 
invest  the  place,  he  sent  to  New  York  for  four  thou- 
sand more  troops,  who,  being  instantly  despatched,  ar- 
rived in  time.  The  investment  was  now  completed, 
the  siege  carried  on  with  vigor,  and  Charleston  sur- 
rendered early  in  May  upon  articles  of  capitulation. 
General  Lincoln,  with  four  thousand  Continentals, 
became  prisoners  of  war,  and  a  large  body  of  militia 
shared  the  same  fate.  Immediately  after  the  surren- 
der, Lord  Cornwallis  was  despatched  to  Camden,  upon 
the  frontiers  of  North  Carolina,  with  a  considerable 
detachment  of  the  British  army  ;  established  sev- 
eral posts  about  the  country,  and  strongly  fortified 
and  garrisoned  Camden,  where  he  deposited  the  stores 
and  provisions  of  the  army.  A  party  of  rebels  being  at 
Wrexham,  his  Lordship  ordered  Colonel  Tarleton  with 
a  detachment  of  horse  to  attack  them.  The  Colonel 
marched  105  miles  in  two  days,  and  presenting  him- 
self before  the  place,  offered  the  garrison  the  same 
terms  upon  which  Charleston  had  surrendered,  which 
being  refused,  an  attack  was  made  with  vigor,  attended 
with  success,  and  the  place  taken.  One  hundred 
23 


354 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


rebels  were  killed,  a  hundred  and  fifty  badly  wounded, 
and  a  hundred  taken  prisoners.  Their  cannon,  colors, 
stores,  and  baggage,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors. 
The  whole  colony  was  surrendered,  the  inhabitants  all 
came  in,  renewed  their  oaths  of  allegiance,  and  re- 
turned to  their  duty  as  loyal  subjects.  It  would  have 
been  wisdom,  prudence,  and  policy,  in  the  Commission- 
ers to  have  now  restored  the  colony  to  the  King's 
peace,  opened  the  courts  of  justice,  and  reinstated  all 
the  civil  officers,  from  the  Governor  down  to  a  petty 
constable.  It  would  have  had  a  wonderful  effect  in  favour 
of  Britain.  It  was  done  in  Georgia  upon  its  surrender 
the  year  preceding.  Why  it  was  not  done  in  South 
Carolina  seems  a  mysterious  kind  of  business.  It  was 
attended  in  the  end  with  the  most  fatal  and  pernicious 
consequences.  Can  the  Commissioners  give  a  reason 
why  the  inhabitants  of  Carolina,  upon  their  return  to 
their  allegiance,  were  not  as  equally  entitled  to  their 
restoration  to  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  Englishmen 
as  their  neighbors  of  Georgia  ?    I  never  heard  a  rea- 

o  o 

son  given.  Instead  of  restoring  the  Carolinians  to  the 
King's  peace,  and  re\riving  the  civil  law  upon  its  sur- 
render to  Britain,  an  indiscriminate  plunder  through- 
out the  province  was  permitted,  in  which  all  were 
sufferers.  The  consequence  of  which  was  a  second 
revolt,  and  upon  Lord  Cornwallis's  marching  through 
North  Carolina  and  entering  Virginia  in  17S1,  and 
upon  the  arrival  of  General  Green  nearly  about  the 
same  time  with  a  rebel  army  in  South  Carolina,  the  in- 
habitants in  general,  (disgusted  at  the  cruel,  inhuman 
usage  they  had  met  with  from  the  British)  joined  the 
standard  of  rebellion.  Post  after  post  was  taken,  or 
abandoned,  and  in  a  short  time  the  British  army  in 
South  Carolina  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  under  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  355 

_  0 

very  walls  of  Charleston,  where  they  continued  cooped 
up,  and  half  starved,  until  its  evacuation  in  conse- 
quence of  orders  from  the  new  Ministry,  which  took 
place  early  in  1782.  Similar  conduct  was  allowed  in 
New  Jersey  in  1776,  when  that  whole  Colony  submit- 
ted to  Great  Britain,  and  similar  consequences  ensued. 
Lord  Cornwallis  then  commanded  in  Jersey.  He  at 
this  time  had  the  command  in  South  Carolina  upon  its 
submission.  He  knew  the  consequences  that  followed 
a  universal,  general,  indiscriminate,  plunder  in  New 
Jersey.  He  had  a  precedent  before  his  eyes.  Not- 
withstanding which,  the  same  measures  were  pursued, 
the  same  steps  taken,  and  the  same  fatal  consequences 
ensued.  A  fatality  attended  all  the  British  proceed- 
ings during  the  whole  of  the  American  war. 

Upon  the  reduction  of  Charleston,  and  the  submis- 
sion of  South  Carolina  to  the  obedience  of  Britain, 
General  Clinton  embarked  with  10,000  of  his  best 
troops,  the  flower  of  the  army,  and  sailed  for  New 
York.  Lord  Cornwallis  was  left  in  Carolina  as  Com- 
mander with  about  5,000  men,  out  of  which  Charleston 
and  several  other  posts  in  the  Colony  were  to  be  gar- 
risoned. With  the  remainder,  and  such  provincials  as 
could  be  raised,  his  Lordship's  orders  were  to  conquer 
North  Carolina,  and  penetrate  into  Virginia. 

In  the  beginning  of  June,  1780,  General  Knyphau- 
sen,  who  was  then  Commander-in-Chief  in  New  York, 
entered  New  Jersey  at  the  head  of  an  army  consisting 
of  several  thousand  men,  determined  to  bring  Wash- 
ington to  a  general  battle,  or  drive  him  out  of  the  pro- 
vince. He  proceeded  as  far  as  Springfield,  about  30 
miles  from  Elizabethtown,  the  place  where  the  British 
army  landed.  Knyphausen  was  several  times  during 
his  march  attacked  by  the  rebel  militia,  in  conjunction 


35^ 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


with  detachments  from  the  Continental  aimy.  The 
rebels  were  always  repulsed,  and  lost  many  men.  The 
British  lost  some.  Washington  must  have  come  to  a 
battle,  or  given  up  the  colony.  A  fair  battle  was  all 
the  old  German  wanted.  He  now  thought  himself 
sure  of  it.  But  fortune  favoured  Washington  during- 
the  whole  war.  It  now  appeared  in  his  favour  again 
in  a  most  conspicuous  manner,  for  towards  the  latter 
end  of  the  month,  while  the  British  and  rebel  armies 
in  New  Jersey  were  in  the  situation  before  described, 
General  Clinton  arrived  from  Carolina  with  10,000 
troops,  and  landed  upon  Staten  Island.  Whether 
Clinton  thought  that  Knyphausen  would  gain  too 
much  honour  should  he  force  Washington  to  battle, 
defeat  him,  and  break  up  the  rebel  army,  or  by  what 
other  motives  induced,  is  known  only  to  himself  and 
his  privy  council.  He  instantly  upon  his  arrival,  re- 
called the  army  from  New  Jersey,  and  ordered  it  to 
repair  to  Staten  Island.  It  did  so,  and  when  the  junc- 
tion was  formed,  Clinton's  army  consisted  of  about 
16,000  good  troops.  It  was  yet  early  in  summer. 
Something  grand  was  expected  before  the  close  of  the 
campaign,  "  Sed  montes  parturiunt  et  nascitur  ridi- 
culus  mus."  The  army  being  properly  recruited  after 
the  fatigues  of  the  siege  of  Charleston,  of  a  sea  voy- 
age, and  of  the  campaign  in  New  Jersey,  were  embark- 
ed on  board  the  transports,  with  a  thundering  train  of 
artillery,  and  stores  of  every  kind.  Every  man's  mind 
was  upon  the  strain.  Some  conjectured  one  thing, 
some  another,  but  all  agreed  that  a  grand  blow  Was 
to  be  struck  in  some  quarter  or  another.  At  length 
the  fleet  sailed,  and  bent  its  course  up  the  Hudson. 
The  general  supposition  now  was,  that  the  river  was 
to  be  taken  possession  of,  and  occupied  from  New 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  357 

York  to  Albany,  and  the  communication  between  the 
eastern  and  western  colonies  totally  obstructed.  Noth- 
ing could  distress  rebellion  more.  The  western  col- 
onies, in  a  great  measure,  depended  upon  the  eastern 
for  their  beef  and  pork,  while  the  eastern  colonies,  al- 
most wholly,  depended  upon  the  western  for  flour  and 
grain.  The  obstructing  the  communication,  which  the 
possession  of  the  Hudson  would  effectually  do,  was 
therefore  an  object  of  great  consequence,  and  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  British  cause,  and  would  have 
been  a  most  effectual  means  of  distressing  rebellion.1 
But  to  the  surprise  of  everybody,  the  fleet  anchored 
at  Phillipseburgh,  about  14  miles  from  New  York,  in 
the  County  of  Westchester,  upon  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  I  ludson.  The  army  landed  and  encamped,  and 
the  transports  were  sent  to  New  York.  The  men-of- 
war,  galleys,  and  armed  ships,  formed  a  line  of  sixteen 
miles  in  length  upon  the  river,  to  prevent  Washington, 
who  lay  upon  the  western  side  of  the  river  with  not 
more  than  8,000  men,  from  passing  and  beating  up  the 
British  General's  quarters.  The  British  camp  was 
also  strongly  fortified.  General  Clinton  had  with  him 
at  this  time  little  less  than  16,000  men,  the  greatest 
part  of  them  flushed  with  the  victory  and  honour  they 
had  gained  in  the  siege,  and  reduction,  of  Charleston, 
and  the  whole  province  of  South  Carolina.  From 
Clinton's  encampment  parties  were  daily  sent  out,  who 
robbed  the  poor  inhabitants  of  their  cattle,  their  horses, 
their  hogs,  their  sheep,  their  poultry,  their  garden 
stuff,  their  Indian  corn,  their  hay,  their  household  fur- 

1  Had  General  Howe,  in  the  spring  of  1 777,  instead  of  his  wild-goose  expedi- 
tion to  the  head  of  the  Elk,  taken  possession  of  the  Hudson,  and  formed  a  junc- 
tion with  Burgoyne's  army,  then  penetrating  from  the  northward,  that  very  year, 
I  am  bold  to  say,  would  have  terminated  the  American  rebellion. 


358 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


niture,  in  short,  of  every  thing  they  could  lay  tneir  hands 
upon  ;  burnt  houses,  barns,  and  stables ;  insulted 
women,  and  imprisoned  their  husbands.  Thus  suf- 
fered the  innocent  farmers  who  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  controversy.  A  noble  employment  this,  for  a 
British  army  of  16,000  men,  under  the  command  of  a 
British  General  sent  to  America  to  crush  a  rebellion ! 

In  the  summer  of  1780,  a  French  fleet  under  the 
command  of  Monsieur  De  Ternay,  with  about  4,000 
men  commanded  by  Monsieur  Rochambeau,  arrived  at, 
and  with  the  consent  of  Congress,  took  possession  of, 
Rhode  Island,  having  accidentally  and  luckily  escaped 
the  English  squadron,  then  at  sea  under  the  command 
of  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  and  in  every  point  superior  to 
the  French.  Arbuthnot,  finding  that  De  Ternay  had 
eluded  all  the  precautions  he  had  taken  to  intercept 
him,  and  got  safe  to  Rhode  Island,  returned  to  Sandy 
Hook.  But,  being  determined  either  to  bring  the 
Frenchman  to  an  engagement,  or  to  block  him  and 
his  fleet  up,  in  Rhode  Island,  and  wanting  seamen,  the 
squadron  not  being  fully  manned,  he  wrote  to  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  in  New  York  to  procure  him 
a  supply.  The  request  was  immediately  communicat- 
ed to  the  inhabitants.  And  to  the  honour  and  loyalty 
of  New  York  let  it  be  perpetuated,  that  within  24 
hours,  2,000  seamen,  all  volunteers,  were  procured, 
sent  to  Sandy  Hook,  distant  30  miles  from  New  York, 
and  properly  distributed  in  the  several  ships.  The 
British,  through  the  exertions  of  the  loyalists  in  New 
York,  being  thus  fully  manned,  sailed  the  next  day  for 
Rhode  Island,  and  closely  blocked  up  the  French  fleet. 
This  done,  he  sent  an  express  to  General  Clinton, 
proposing  an  attack  as  soon  as  possible  upon  the 
French  fleet  and  army,  in  conjunction  with  the  British 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


359 


army,  who  were  to  land  and  attack  Monsieur  Rocham- 
beau,  while  the  British  fleet  attacked  that  of  the  French. 
The  French  army  were  at  this  time  but  just  arrived, 
were  sickly,  had  erected  no  fortifications,  nor  cast  up 
any  works  worth  mentioning.  Clinton  could  have  car- 
ried with  him  12,000  men,  w  ithout  risking-  the  safety  of 
New  York  in  the  least.  The  success  of  the  enterprise 
was  undoubted.  A  noble  achievement  it  would  have 
been.  Ten  Frenchjnen-of-war,  with  an  Admiral's  flag, 
either  taken  or  destroyed,  and  a  French  army  of  4,000 
men,  with  an  experienced  General  at  their  head,  made 
prisoners  of  war.  What  answer  was  given  to  the  pro- 
posal is  uncertain.  Express  after  express  arrived  from 
the  Admiral,  pressing  the  matter  in  the  most  urgent 
terms,  and  entreating  the  General  to  use  the  utmost 
despatch.  In  about  a  month  after  the  first  express, 
Clinton  ordered  the  transports  up  the  Sound  as  far  as 
Frog's  Neck,  about  ten  miles  distant  from  his  encamp- 
ment on  the  North  River.  As  soon  as  the  transports 
arrived,  he  decamped,  sent  a  part  of  his  troops  to  New 
York,  and  with  the  remainder  marched  to  Throg's 
Point,  embarked,  and  sailed  up  the  Sound.  Great 
things  were  now  expected  ;  nothing  less  than  the  de- 
struction of  the  French  fleet,  and  the  capture  of  Ro- 
chambeau  and  his  army.  But  to  the  disappointment 
of  every  one,  with  a  wind  as  fair  for  Rhode  Island  as 
it  could  blow,  the  whole  fleet  came  to  an  anchor  in 
Huntington  Bay,1  about  30  miles  to  the  eastward  of 

1  This  bay  is  formed  by  Lloyd's  Neck  on  the  west,  and  by  Eatons  Neck  on  the 
east,  both  of  which  project  a  considerable  distance  into  the  Sound.  The  water  is 
deep  enough  for  the  largest  man-of-war,  the  anchorage  good,  and  the  bay  secure 
from  almost  every  wind.  This  bay  is  large  enough  to  contain  the  whole  navy  of 
England.  From  the  bay,  through  a  narrow  passage,  you  enter  Huntington  Har- 
bour, which  is  a  large  basin,  land-locked  on  every  side.  At  the  head  of  the  basir 
stands  the  town,  a  decent,  complete,  pretty  place,  with  an  Episcopal  church,  and 


360 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Throg's  Point,  upon  the  Long  Island  shore.  In  this 
bay  he  continued  as  long  as  the  wind  remained  fair 
(about  a  fortnight)  for  Rhode  Island,  where  the  enemy- 
lay.  As  soon  as  the  wind  dropt  about,  and  blew  fair 
for  New  York,  the  signal  was  made,  the  anchors 
weighed,  the  sails  unfurled,  and  to  the  mortification  of 
every  loyalist  within  the  British  lines  the  fleet  moved 
to  the  westward.  Several  regiments  were  landed 
upon  Long  Island,  at  Whitestone,  about  14  miles 
from  New  York,  and  encamped.  The  remainder  went 
to  New  York  and  there  disembarked.  Those  who 
encamped  upon  Long  Island,  robbed  and  plundered 
the  inhabitants,  for  at  least  ten  miles  round,  of  their 
apples,  Indian  corn,  buckwheat,  and  garden  stuff  of 
all  kinds ;  pulled  down  and  burnt  their  fences  ;  and 
if  any  person  had  the  resolution  to  complain,  he 
was  damned  for  a  rebel,  and  threatened  with  the 
prevost. 

The  army  having  returned  and  taken  up  their  quar- 
ters in  New  York,  and  upon  Long  Island,  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief took  it  into  his  head  to  go  down  the 
Island  by  land,  and  hold  a  personal  conference  with  the 
Admiral  upon  the  propriety  of  attacking  Rhode  Island. 
To  favour  the  journey,  and  prevent  danger,  the  gren- 
adiers and  light  infantry  of  the  army  were  ordered  to 
take  post  at  Huntington,  Smithtown,  Brookhaven,  and 
Southhold,  four  towns  bordering  on  the  Sound.  This 
precaution  prevented  all  danger.  No  force  from  New 
England  was  able  to  encounter  the  several  parties. 
The  precaution  was  extremely  necessary.    Had  the 

Presbyterian  meeting-house.  The  entrance  into  the  basin,  and  the  basin  itself,  are 
not  unlike  those  of  Portsmouth.  No  vessels  above  200  tons  can  enter  the  harbour, 
but  for  all  coasters,  and  small  sloops,  it  is  a  most  commodious,  safe,  and  secure 
retreat  in  case  of  bad  weather. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  36  I 

Commander-in-Chief  been  taken  prisoner,  his  ex- 
change would  have  cost  Britain  1,300  men.  He  was, 
besides,  beloved  by  the  whole  army,  was  amazingly 
popular  among  the  inhabitants,  almost  adored  by  the 
loyal  refugees,  and  upon  his  continuance  at  the  head 
of  the  army,  as  his  pensioners  gave  out,  the  very  sal- 
vation of  America  depended.1  The  fleet  under  Ad- 
miral Arbuthnot  was  at  this  time  at  anchor  in  Gardi- 
ners  Island  Bay,  an  island  in  the  Sound  not  far  from 
Southhold.  The  grenadiers  and  light  infantry  having 
taken  possession  of  the  several  posts  allotted  them, 
the  Commander-in-Chief,  with  his  suite,  escorted  by 
the  17th  Light  Dragoons,  set  out  from  New  York,  and 
with  great  safety  travelled  down  the  island.  Upon 
his  arrival  at  Southhold,  he  despatched  an  aid-de-camp 
to  the  Admiral,  desiring  a  conference.  An  answer 
was  returned  that  an  attack  upon  Rhode  Island  was 
now  too  late,  that  the  enemy  had  strongly  fortified 
themselves  upon  the  island,  were  perfectly  recruited 
from  the  fatigues  of  their  voyage,  and  their  fleet  form- 
ed in  such  a  position  as  rendered  an  attack  not  only 
doubtful,  but  extremely  hazardous.  That  he  was  go- 
ing upon  a  cruise ;  had  given  the  necessary  orders 
for  sailing,  and  that  he  wanted  no  conference  with  a 
General  so  regardless  of  the  honour  and  dignity  of 
his  sovereign,  and  the  good  and  benefit  of  his  country. 
The  General  returned  to  New  York,  the  Admiral  went 
to  sea,  both  heartily  disgusted  with  each  other.  The 
Grenadiers  and  light  infantry  also  returned  to  New 
York.  Thus  ended  the  projected  attempt  upon  Rhode 
Island,  and  thus  ended  the  military  operations  on  the 


1  This  was  asserted  by  Daniel  Coxe,  Esq.,  and  others,  in  their  letters  to  Eng- 
land, when  the  news  first  arrived  at  New  York  of  the  appointment  of  Sir  Guj 
Carleton  as  Commander-in-Chief  in  America. 


362 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


side  of  New  York  for  the  year  1780,  whilo  an  army 
of  veterans  consisting  of  not  less  than  20,000  men 
lay  inactive  upon  New  York  Island,  and  Long  Isl- 
and, the  whole  summer,  and  Washington,  with  about 
7,000  men  all  the  time  in  New  Jersey,  not  more  than 
50  miles  from  New  York.  Good  heavens  !  What 
would  not  some  Generals  have  done  in  such  a  situa- 
tion ?  Destroyed  Washington's  army,  and  put  an  end 
to  rebellion. 

In  September,  1780,  that  part  of  the  army  which 
General  Clinton,  upon  his  return  from  Huntington, 
had  landed  upon  Long  Island,  went  into  winter  quar- 
ters ;  some  at  Flushing,  some  at  Jamaica,  and  some 
at  Newtown,  upon  the  westernmost  part  of  the  island, 
where  they  robbed,  plundered,  and  pillaged,  the  inhab- 
itants, of  their  cattle,  hogs,  sheep,  poultry,  and  in  short 
of  every  thing  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon.  It 
was  no  uncommon  thing  of  an  afternoon,  to  see  a 
farmer  driving  a  flock  of  turkeys,  geese,  ducks,  or 
dunghill  fowls,  and  locking  them  up  in  his  cellar  for 
security  during  the  night.  The  whole  day  it  was  ne- 
cessary for  a  person  to  attend  in  the  fields  where  they 
fed,  to  protect  them  from  the  ravages  of  the  military. 
Nay,  hogs  and  sheep  were  obliged  to  be  taken  the 
same  care  of.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  farmer, 
his  wife,  and  children,  to  sleep  in  one  room,  while  his 
sheep  were  bleating  in  the  room  adjoining,  his  hogs 
grunting  in  the  kitchen,  and  the  cocks  crowing,  hens 
cackling,  ducks  quacking,  and  geese  hissing,  in  the 
cellar.  Horned  cattle  were  for  safety  locked  up  every 
night  in  barns,  stables,  and  outhouses.  This  robbing 
was  done  by  people  sent  to  America  to  protect  loyal- 
ists against  the  persecution  and  depredations  of  rebels. 
To  complain  was  needless  ;  the  officers  shared  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  363 

plunder.  Though  in  each  of  these  towns  there  was  a 
barrack-yard  stocked  with  wood  for  the  use  of  the 
troops,  yet  in  the  course  of  the  winter  all  the  wooden 
fences,  with  many  orchard  and  ornamental  trees,  for  a 
circumference  of  at  least  four  miles,  were  pulled  up  or 
cut  down,  and  made  use  of  for  firewood,  and  all  the 
inclosures  laid  open..  This  the  officers  never  attempt- 
ed to  prevent.  The  rations  of  wood,  which  the  sol- 
diers should  have  daily  received,  were  sold  by  the 
officers,  and  the  money  put  in  their  own  pockets.  A 
Hessian  erected  a  small  house  upon  a  vacant  spot  of 
ground  in  the  town  of  Jamaica,  and  turned  butcher. 
He  sold  as  good  beef,  mutton,  veal,  lamb,  and  pork,  as 
an)-  other  butcher  in  the  town,  and  at  so  low  a  price 
that  he  got  all  the  custom  of  the  inhabitants.  Well 
he  might  undersell  his  brother  butchers,  as  they  were 
obliged  to  purchase  their  cattle,  while  the  Hessian  was 
never  known  to  buy  once  during  the  winter,  and  yet 
his  shambles  were  every  day  as  well,  if  not  better  sup- 
plied, than  any  other  butcher  in  the  neighbourhood. 
David  Colden,  Esq.,  an  inhabitant  of  Flushing,  a  gen- 
tleman of  the  first  character  and  reputation  as  to  hon- 
esty and  veracity,1  told  me  that  when  the  troops  left 
that  place  in  the  spring  of  1781,  there  was  not  a  four- 
footed  animal  left  in  the  town  (a  few  dogs  excepted), 
nor  a  wooden  fence  standing  within  the  township. 
That  he  had  himself  a  very  fine,  fat,  stall-fed  ox,  which 
he  intended  killing  at  New  Year's  for  his  own  use ; 
that  by  way  of  security  he  had  him  every  day  at  sun- 
set put  into  his  barn,  and  the  doors  secured  with  pad- 
locks and  iron  bars  ;  notwithstanding  which,  the  doors 


1  A  son  of  the  late  Lieutenant-Governor  Colden.  He  was  attainted  f>r  his 
loyalty,  his  estate  confiscated,  his  wife  and  children  maintained  by  their  relations. 
He  died  in  London  in  17S5  of  a  broken  heart. 


364 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


were  broken  open,  the  ox  killed,  cut  up,  and  carried 
away  ;  the  skin  and  the  entrails  they  left  in  the  barn. 
This  was  done  in  the  night. 

In  August,  1780,  three  American  loyalists,  natives 
of  New  Jersey,  who  had  served  in  some  of  the  provin- 
cial corps  upon  Staten  Island,  were  taken  prisoners, 
lodged  in  jail  at  Freehold,  in  New  Jersey,  and  indicted 
as  traitors  under  pretence  of  their  being  subjects  to 
the  United  States.  They  were  tried,  found  guilty, 
and  ordered  to  be  hanged.  A  day  was  fixed  for  their 
execution.  Of  this,  information  was  sent  to  General 
Clinton.  In  the  prevost  at  New  York,  there  were 
several  persons  who  had,  after  the  conquest  of  New 
York,  taken  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to  the  King,  after- 
wards deserted,  entered  into  the  rebel  service,  and 
were  taken  in  arms  fighting  against  their  lawful  sov- 
ereign. Three  of  these  rascals  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  pointed  out  by  name,  and  despatched  a  flag  into 
Jersey  to  let  the  rebel  powers  know,  that  if  the  persons 
condemned  there  were  executed,  he  would  instantly 
order  the  three  people  mentioned  in  his  letter  to  be 
executed  by  way  of  retaliation.  The  flag  reached  the 
place  the  very  day  of,  but  before,  the  execution.  The 
letter  was  delivered  to  the  commanding  officer.1  He 
laughed  at  it,  ordered  the  men  to  the  gallows,  and 
executed  them  in  the  messenger's  presence.  The 
messenger  returned  to  New  York,  and  made  his  re- 
port to  the  General.  Yet  strange  to  tell,  though  an 
absolute  fact,  the  three  men  mentioned  in  his  letter 
were,  in  about  ten  days,  exchanged  as  prisoners  df 

'  One  David  Forman,  a  Brigadier-General  in  the  rebel  militia  of  New  Jersey, 
and  a  native  of  that  State.  He  behaved  during  the  war  with  such  little  mercy, 
and  with  such  unbounded  cruelty  to  all  those  even  suspected  of  loyalty,  that  the 
Jersey  loyalists  gave  him  the  nick-name  of  "  Black  David."  He  is,  however,  as  a 
reward  for  his  cruelty,  honoured  with  the  Order  of  Cincinnati 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  365 

war.  A  proof  of  the  General's  humanity,  but  not  of 
justice,  or  of  sound  policy. 

In  the  year  1780,  soon  after  General  Clinton's  re- 
turn from  South  Carolina,  he  ordered  all  Long  Island 
to  be  surveyed,  and  every  farm  thereon  to  be  laid  down 
upon  a  map,  with  the  name  of  every  owner,  possessor 
or  claimant.  The  survey  began  at  Brookland  ferry,  the 
very  westernmost  part  of  the  island,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  an  experienced  surveyor,  attended  with  chain 
bearers,  flagmen,  servants,  messengers,  horses,  provi- 
sions, and  wagons.  The  survey  continued  until  the 
capture  of  Lord  Cornwallis  and  his  army,  in  October, 
1 78 1,  when  it  ceased,  not  one-fifteenth  part  of  the  bus- 
iness being  completed.  The  intention  of  this  piece 
of  business  nobody  was  able  to  unravel.  Whether 
Clinton  looked  upon  the  war  as  at  an  end,  and  intend- 
ed to  dispose  of  Long  Island  as  the  property  of  the 
Crown,  in  right  of  conquest,  as  some  leading  men  in 
the  army  frequently  suggested  was  the  case  ;  whether 
it  was  out  of  curiosity,  orders  from  England,  or  to 
make  the  fortune  of  a  favourite  surveyor,  is  still  a  mat- 
ter of  doubt.  But  most  likely  the  latter,  as  the  whole 
of  the  American  war,  from  its  commencement  to  its 
final  conclusion,  was  evidently  levied  at  the  treasury 
of  Great  Britain,  and  not  at  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion.  Had  there  been  as  much  pains  taken  to 
put  an  end  to  the  rebellion  as  there  was  to  plunder  and 
rob  the  treasury,  two  years  would  have  finished  the 
war,  saved  the  honour  of  the  nation,  and  the  Empire 
still  been  in  statu  quo.  Instead  of  which,  the  war  was 
protracted  for  eight  years,  one  hundred  millions  added 
to  the  national  debt,  an  inglorious  peace  concluded, 
independence  acknowledged  to  rebellious  subjects,  and 
the  Empire  dismembered  of  thirteen  rich  and  flourish- 


366 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


ing'  colonies,  while  quarter-masters,  barrack-masters, 
commissaries,  and  engineers,  with  a  host  of  deputies 
and  attendants,  were  yearly  returning  to  England  as 
rich  as  the  Nabobs  from  the  East.  With  this  differ- 
ence, however,  that  the  Eastern  gentry  made  their 
amazing  estates  by  plundering  the  natives  of  the 
country,  whereas  our  Western  gentry  accumulated 
theirs,  not  only  by  plundering  his  majesty's  loyal  sub- 
jects, the  natives  of  the  country,  who  they  were  sent 
over  to  defend  and  protect,  but  by  a  downright  attack 
upon  the  British  treasury.  Quid  non  mortalia  pcc- 
tora  cogis  auri  sacra  fames. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year,  1780,  General  Washington,  at 
the  head  of  about  3,000  men,  left  Verplancks  Point,  in 
the  County  of  Westchester,  where  the  main  body  of  the 
rebel  army  then  lay,  and  marched  down  into  the  lower 
parts  of  the  county  upon  a  foraging  party,  and  collect- 
ed all  the  forage  that  could  be  found  or  procured.  In 
this  excursion  he  went  to  the  White  Plains,  and  Rye, 
two  villages  within  14  miles  of  the  British  lines  at 
Kingsbridge,  to  Mamaroneck,  within  nine  miles,  to 
Scarsdale,  and  New  Rochelle,  within  seven  miles,  and 
even  to  East  Chester,  not  more  than  four  miles  from 
Valentine's  Hill,  the  eastern  extent  of  the  British  lines 
in  that  quarter.  He  was  engaged  upon  this  business 
for  nearly  a  fortnight.  General  Clinton  received  every 
day  an  account  of  his  proceedings,  his  position,  and 
his  force.  Clinton  could  have  collected,  with  the  ut- 
most ease,  15,000  veterans  in  48  hours.  Not  a  single 
step  was  taken  to  prevent,  or  frustrate,  the  designs  of 
the  rebel  chief.  His  reasons  are  known  to  himself. 
Everybody  was  surprised  at  his  conduct  upon  this  oc- 
casion. Had  he  sailed  up  the  Hudson  with  one-half 
his  army,  and  landed  at  Tarrytown,  upon  the  east 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  367 

bank  of  the  river,  about  20  miles  from  New  York,  he 
would  have  been  to  the  northward  of  the  foraging; 
party,  and  between  them  and  their  main  bod)-,  which 
lay  at  Verplancks  Point,  consisting  of  about  4,000 
men.  The  rebels  could  not  have  formed  a  junction. 
The  foraging-  party  must  have  fallen  into  his  hands,  or 
abandoned  their  forage,  their  w-agons,  and  horses,  and 
retreated  into  Connecticut.  Nothing  else  could  have 
saved  them.  The  very  gaining  of  the  forage,  with  the 
wagons  and  horses,  would  have  been  an  acquisition 
of  the  greatest  importance,  not  only  to  the  military, 
but  to  the  Long  Island  farmers,  upon  whom  the  arm)-, 
in  a  great  measure,  depended  for  their  supply.  The 
demands  for  this  article  were  large.  Every  subaltern 
had  his  horse  ;  every  captain  two  or  three,  and  from  a 
major  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  from  six  to  four- 
teen. The  quarter-master  had  about  600,  and  the 
artillery-commissary  as  many  more,  their  own  private 
property.  They  were  all  fed  at  the  expense  of  the 
Crown,  and  yet  the  Crown  was  charged  a  certain  sum 
per  day  for  ever)-  one  of  them.  Had  the  forage  col- 
lected by  Washington  been  secured,  which  might 
easily  have  been  done,  the  most  salutary  purposes 
would  have  ensued. 

General  Robertson,  at  this  time  civil  Governor  of 
New  York,  issued  a  proclamation  the  preceding  sum- 
mer, by  which  all  the  farmers  upon  Long  Island  were 
"ordered,"  "directed,"  and  "commanded,"  to  de- 
liver into  the  several  hay  yards  within  the  lines,  the 
one  full,  complete  half  of  all  the  hay  they  should  re- 
spectively cut,  whether  fresh,  or  salt,  during  the  sea- 
son. Upon  their  performance  of,  and  compliance 
with,  these  terms,  he  solemnly  pledged  his  honour, 
and  that  of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  that  the  other 


368 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


half  should  not  be  meddled  with,  but  should  remain 
peaceably  in  the  possession  of  the  several  farmers 
for  their  own  use.  The  proclamation  was  faithfully 
complied  with.  The  hay  was  delivered  agreeably 
thereto.  Notwithstanding  which,  the  public  faith,  thus 
solemnly  pledged  by  a  Governor,  sanctioned  by  a 
Commander-in-Chief  in  a  proclamation  dispersed  about 
the  country,  was  most  scandalously  broken,  and  the 
poor  farmers  had  the  greatest  part  of  the  remaining 
hay  taken  from  them  by  force,  and  violence,  and  ap- 
propriated to  the  use  of  the  army.  Some  few,  who 
had  the  "impudence"  to  complain  of  this  treatment, 
and  breach  of  public  faith,  were  made  prisoners  of,1 
and  infamously  dragged  about  the  country.  Had  not 
divine  providence  taken  more  compassion  upon  the 
poor  farmers  than  the  Governor,  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  and  the  military,  by  blessing  the  country  the 
ensuing  winter  with  weather  more  open,  mild,  and 
warm  than  was  ever  before  known,  all  the  horses, 
horned  cattle,  and  sheep  within  the  British  lines,  the 
property  of  the  inhabitants,  must  have  fallen  a  sacri- 
fice to  this  scandalous  breach  of  public  faith.  Had  the 
Commander-in-Chief  done  his  duty,  attacked  Wash- 
ington, taken  his  forage  and  brought  it  to  New  York, 
all  this  cruelty  and  injustice  would  have  been  prevent- 
ed, the  public  faith  saved,  and  the  honour  of  the  na- 
tion not  shamefully  disgraced.  The  General  had  an 
adviser,  William  Smith,  Esq.,  in  whom  he  placed  im- 
plicit confidence,  a  pretended  loyalist,  a  correspondent 
of  some  of  the  leaders  of  rebellion.     By  this  man 

'  Micajah  Townscnd,  a  venerable  old  man  of  more  than  So  years  of  age,  who 
had,  in  his  younger  days,  served  his  majesty  as  Captain  in  the  militia — a  man  of 
fair  character,  and  opulent  fortune — was,  for  complaining  of  this  breach  of  public 
faith,  taken  up,  escorted  under  a  guard  of  soldiers  from  his  own  house  to  Hemp- 
stead, at  least  12  miles,  and  there  detained  as  a  close  prisoner  for  several  days. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  369 

Clinton  was  absolutely  governed.  By  this  man's  ad- 
vice the  General  lost  America.  Every  relation  of  this 
man,  from  his  brothers  down  to  his  third  cousins,  were 
engaged  in  the  rebellion.  His  own  conduct,  from  the 
commencement  of  the  war  until  his  return  to  New 
York,  has  been  already  fully  and  particularly  men- 
tioned, and  the  motives  for  his  return  explained. 


24 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


In  the  autumn  of  this  year,  1780,  an  occurrence  hap- 
pened in  America  that  surprised  all  Europe.  Washing- 
ton, being  gone  into  New  England  upon  business  with 
Governors  and  the  leading  men  in  those  colonies,  a 
General  Arnold,  of  the  rebel  army,  was  left  Command- 
er-in-Chief of  the  garrisons  at  Verplancks,  and  West 
Point,  in  the  Highlands,  and  of  all  the  rebel  troops  in 
those  quarters.  They  consisted  of  almost  the  whole 
of  the  Continental  forces.  Matters  standing  in  this 
situation,  Arnold  sent  a  trusty  messenger  to  Clinton, 
and  proposed,  not  only  to  surrender  the  two  forts, 
with  all  the  artillery,  ammunition,  stores,  and  provisions, 
therein,  but  to  deliver  into  his  possession  the  whole 
rebel  army  then  in  those  parts,  upon  certain  conditions, 
which  the  British  General  agreed  to.1    Colonel  Robin- 

1  All  the  artillery,  stores,  ammunition,  and  provisions  in  the  two  forts  were  to 
he  the  sole  property  of  Arnold,  and  himself  commissioned  as  a  general  officer  in 
the  British  army.  In  Gordon's  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  this  fact  is 
mentioned.  Arnold  was  bold,  but  mercenary,  fond  of  parade,  and  extremely  •de- 
sirous of  obtaining  money  to  defray  the  expenses  of  it.  When  he  entered  Phila- 
delphia, upon  its  evacuation,  he  made  Governor  Penn's  house  his  head-quarters. 
It  was  the  best  house  in  the  city.  He  furnished  it  in  a  most  costly  manner,  and 
lived  in  a  style  far  beyond  his  income.  His  funds  were  at  length  exhausted-  He 
had  been  unsuccessful  in  privateering,  and  in  trade.  His  creditors  became  impor- 
tunate, while  his  lust  for  high  life  did  not  abate  in  the  least.    He  had  exhibited 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  37 1 

son,  of  the  Loyal  American  regiment,  and  Major  Andre, 
then  Adjutant- General  of  the  British  army,  were  sent 
up  the  Hudson  in  a  man-of-war,  to  hold  a  consultation 
with  Arnold,  and  settle  all  the  necessary  preliminaries. 
In  the  mean  time  the  British  troops  were  collected  at 
New  York,  and  actually  embarked  on  board  the  trans- 
ports, that  not  a  moment  might  be  lost,  after  Clinton 
should  receive  notice  of  the  plot  being  ripe  for  execu- 
tion. Upon  the  man-of-war  coming  to  an  anchor  a  lit- 
tle below  Verplanks  Point,  Major  Andre  was,  by  a  mes- 
senger from  Arnold,  desired  to  land  ;  which  he  did  in 
the  evening  "  under  the  sanction  of  a  flag"  held  a  con- 
ference with  Arnold,  settled  the  method  of  carrying 
the  scheme  into  execution,  adjusted  every  preliminary, 
and  was  intrusted  by  Arnold  with  some  papers  and 
memorandums,  necessary  for  the  inspection  and  con- 
sideration of  General  Clinton  previous  to  his  leaving 
New  York.  Every  particular  being  settled,  Andre  pro- 
posed to  return  on  board  the  man-of-war,  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  he  came  on  shore,  "  tinder  the  sane- 
"  Hon  of  a  flag."  Objections  to  this  proposal  were,  how- 
ever, made.  The  reasons  were,  as  it  has  been  suggest- 
ed, that  some  gun-boats  had  fallen  down  the  river, 
and  lay  between  the  forts  and  the  man-of-war,  and 
Arnold  was  afraid  that  the  boat  with  Andre  might  be 
stopped,  searched,  the  Major  detected,  and  the  papers 
discovered.  These  reasons,  I  must  confess,  are  rather 
puzzling.    If  the  Major  went  on  shore  "  tinder  the  sanc- 

heavy  accounts  and  large  demands  against  the  public,  and  the  Commissioners, 
upon  examination,  rejected  about  one-half.  He  appealed  to  Congress.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed,  who  reported  that  the  Commissioners  had  allowed  him  more 
than  he  was  entitled  to.  This  provoked  him.  Embarrassed  in  his  circumstances, 
and  having  a  growing  family,  he  turned  his  thoughts  towards  bettering  his  fjrtune 
by  new  means.  In  consequence  of  which  he  entered  into  the  treaty  with  General 
Clinton  for  delivering  up  the  forts,  &c. 


3/2 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"Hon  of  a  flag"  and  this  Arnold  in  a  letter  to  Wash- 
ington positively  asserts,  why  in  the  name  of  God 
could  he  not  return  on  board  again  under  the  same 
"sanction"  f    Arnold  was  commanding  officer  of  the 

«_> 

forts,  and  of  all  the  troops  in  that  quarter.  He,  and 
nobody  but  he,  in  the  absence  of  Washington,  had  the 
power  there  of  granting  flags,  and  flags  once  granted, 
are,  by  the  law  of  nations,  sacred  and  ever  protected.1 
This  odd  piece  of  conduct,  however,  took  place  ;  un- 
accountable as  it  is,  it  nevertheless  is  literally  true. 
Andre,  instead  of  taking  the  safe,  easy,  and  expedi- 
tious method,  of  returning  on  board  the  man-of-war, 
as  he  came  on  shore,  under  the  sanction  of  a  flag,  was 
advised  to  change  his  name,  and  take  a  pass  from 
Arnold  under  a  feigned  name,  and  to  proceed  to 
New  York  by  land.  In  pursuance  of  this  preposter- 
ous measure,  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  Esq.,  full  brother 
to  William  Smith,  the  then  Chief  Justice  of  New 
York,  was  intrusted,  it  seems,  to  conduct  the  Major  to 
Tarrytown,  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and 
put  him  on  the  proper  road  to  New  York.  Here 
another  piece  of  unaccountable  conduct  took  place. 
Smith,  after  Andre  and  he  had  left  the  house,  advised 
him  to  change  his  regimentals  for  an  old  suit  of  home- 
spun clothes  ;  and  this  advice,  perplexing  to  unravel  as 
it  is,  Andre,  with  all  his  sagacity  and  good  sense,  was 

1  This  is  the  case  in  all  civilized  nations.  It  was  disregarded,  however,  by  the 
Americans  during  the  late  war.  In  177S,  Lieutenant  Held,  under  the  sanction  of 
a  flag,  with  despatches  to  Congress  from  the  British  Commissioners  then  at  New 
York,  was  taken  up,  lodged  in  a  jail,  and  loaded  with  irons,  in  which  situation 
he  continued  for  two  years,  when  he  made  his  escape  and  got  to  New  York. 
Upon  the  capture  of  Fort  Montgomery,  in  October,  1777,  an  officer  under  the 
sanction  of  a  flag,  with  a  message  from  General  Clinton  to  the  commanding 
officer  of  Fort  Constitution,  was  fired  upon,  and  compelled  to  return  without  de- 
livering his  message.  Other  instances  might  be  mentioned,  let  these  at  present 
suffice. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  373 

prevailed  upon  to  pursue,  for  what  reasons  nobody 
ever  knew.  Smith  never  explained  them.  Tne  Major 
never  had  it  in  his  power.  Smith  having  conduct- 
ed Andre  across  the  river,  left  him  to  pursue  his  jour- 
ney to  New  York  under  a  fictitious  name,  divested  of  his 
regimentals,  and  disguised  in  an  old  suit  of  country 
clothes.  Smith  and  Andre  had  not  parted  more  than 
an  hour,  when  the  latter  was  apprehended  by  some  mili- 
tiamen, and  notwithstanding  the  pass,  which  he  pro- 
duced,1 was  carried  and  delivered  up  to  a  Major  Tal- 
madge, of  the  rebel  Light  Horse,  a  near  relation  of 
Smith's.  I  lad  Talmadge  any  right  to  dispute  the  pass  ? 
It  was  in  Arnold's  handwriting.  This,  Talmadge  well 
knew,  and  he  as  well  knew  that  Arnold  had  the  sole 
command  in  those  parts,  and  of  course  the  right  of 
granting  passes.  Yet  Talmadge,  from  what  motives, 
or  upon  what  information,  is  best  known  to  himself,  did 
dispute  the  pass,  and  as  if  well-knowing  what  he  was 
about,  he  ordered  the  Major's  boots  pulled  off.  Here 
the  secret  papers  were  concealed  and  discovered. 
An  express  was  sent  to  the  fort  with  the  intelligence. 
Arnold,  finding  how  matters  now  were  circumstanced, 
and  Washington  every  moment  expected,  left  his 
quarters,  went  to  the  river,  took  a  boat,  and  went  on 
board  the  man-of-war,  under  the  protection  of  a  flag. 
Why  could  Andre  not  have  done  the  same  ?  It  was 
the  same  ship  in  which  he  went  up  the  river,  and  from 
which  he  landed.  Washington  arrived  the  same  day, 
and  received  the  news  of  Andre  being  taken,  (who 
now  avowed  himself  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  Brit- 
ish army),  of  the  papers  found  upon  him  in  Arnold's 
hand  writing,  and  suspecting  (as  Arnold  was  not  at 

1  lie  was  called  in  the  pass  by  the  name  of  John  Anderson.  It  was  in  Arnold's 
own  handwriting. 


374 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


his  quarters),  that  he  was  endeavouring  to  make  his 
escape,  took  the  necessary  steps  to  prevent  it.  It  was, 
however,  too  late ;  Arnold  was  safe  on  board  the 
king's  ship.1  In  a  few  days  thereafter  he  arrived  in 
New  York,  and  though  no  part  of  the  conditions  on 
his  part  had  been  performed,  he  was  rewarded  for  this 
piece  of  loyalty,  patriotism,  or  treason,  (call  it  which 
you  will,)  with  6,000  guineas,  a  regiment,  the  rank  of 
a  General,  an  elegant  furnished  house  to  live  in  rent 
free,  and  was  in  a  short  time  sent  as  Commander-in- 
Chief  upon  a  lucrative  expedition  into  Virginia,  where 
he  made  above  ,£10,000  sterling  by  robbing  the  poor, 
inoffensive  farmers  of  their  property.  Upon  the  evac- 
uation of  New  York  in  1783,  he  went  to  England,  and 
as  a  further  reward  for  his  great  merit,  had  ^600  ster- 
ling per  annum  settled  upon  him  and  his  wife  during 
their  joint  lives,  and  the  life  of  the  survivor.  When 
the  rebellion  commenced,  and  this  man  entered  the 
American  service,  he  was  an  insolvent,  not  worth  a 
shilling.  That  he  was  brave,  courageous,  bold,  and 
decisive,  in  all  his  military  operations,  shall  not  be  de- 
nied. If  Great  Britain,  instead  of  expending  ^1,000,- 
000  in  pursuing  the  American  war  to  no  kind  of  pur- 

1  He  went  on  board  under  the  sanction  of  a  fitig,  the  very  ship  that  brought 
Andre  up.  Why  the  Major  was  not  permitted  to  do  the  same,  Arnold  and  Joshua 
Hett  Smith  best  know.  Andre,  in  a  letter  to  General  Clinton,  says,  "  The  events 
"of  coming  within  the  enemy's  posts,  and  changing  my  dress,  which  brought  me 
"to  my  present  situation,  were  contrary  to  my  own  intentions,  as  they  were  to 
"your  orders.  The  route  I  took  to  return,  was  imposed  upon  me  without  an 
"alternative."  This  must  have  been  done  by  Arnold's  orders.  Arnold,  in  a 
letter  to  Washington  upon  this  occasion,  says,  "Major  Andre  came  on  shore  "in 
"his  uniform,  without  disguise,  which,  with  much  reluctance,  and  at  my  particular 
"request  and  pressing  instance,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  exchange  for  another 
"  coat."  Can  the  General  give  satisfactory  reasons  to  the  public  for  this  conduct  ? 
It  seems,  as  well  from  Andre's  letter,  as  from  Arnold's,  that  the  fictitious  name 
and  change  of  clothes  was  an  absolute  order,  and  an  order  imposed  upon  Andri 
by  Arnold. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  T>7 $ 

pose,  had  applied,  at  the  first,  only  ,£200,000  to  the 
same  uses  as  the  money  given  to  Arnold  was,  the 
whole  rebel  army,  the  Congress,  and  all  the  conven- 
tions, and  committees,  within  the  revolted  Colonies, 
might  have  been  purchased. 

The  Marquis  De  Chastellux  in  speaking  of  Arnold, 
expresses  himself  thus :  "  Arnold  was  brought  up  an 
"  apothecary  by  Dr.  Lothrop  of  New  York,  (his 
"  mother  being  poor  and  unable  to  maintain  him),  who 
"  was  at  the  same  time  a  physician,  surgeon,  apothe- 
"  cary,  merchant,  and  shopkeeper.  When  his  time 
"  was  out  Lothrop  gave  him  ^500,  and  letters  of  re- 
"  commendation  to  his  correspondents  in  London,  by 
"  which  means  he  got  a  credit  for  some  thousands,  re- 
"  turned,  and  settled  at  New  Haven,  set  up  an  equi- 
"  page  with  ten  horses,  a  carriage,  and  a  number  of 
"  servants,  failed  in  two  years,  and  was  thrown  into 
"jail,  from  whence  he  was  relieved  by  an  Act  of 
"  Bankruptcy.  He  then  got  with  child,  and  married,  a 
"  daughter  of  Mr.  Mansfield,  then  Sheriff  of  New 
"  Haven,  much  against  the  father's  will.  A  rcconcilia- 
"  tion  taking  place,  Mansfield  employed  him  as  his 
"  supercargo  to  the  West  Indies,  where  he  went  every 
"  spring  with  horses,  hogs,  and  cattle,  and  returned  in 
"  the  fall  with  sugar,  molasses,  and  rum.  In  the  win- 
"  ter  he  went  to  Canada  as  a  kind  of  pedlar,  selling 
"  coarse  clothes,  stockings,  caps,  mittens,  cheese,  &c. 
"  With  the  produce  he  purchased  horses,  returned  to 
"  Connecticut,  and  in  the  spring  sailed  with  his  cargo 
"  to  the  West  Indies." 

Major  Andre,  upon  his  capture  already  mentioned,  was 
sent  a  prisoner  to  the  rebel  garrison  at  West  Point. 
His  case  was  referred  to  a  board  of  general  officers. 
They  examined  the  particulars,  reported  him  a  spy, 


37<5 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


and  that  by  the  law  of  nations  he  ought  to  suffer 
death.  Steps  were  taken  to  prevent  the  report  being 
carried  into  execution.  Colonel  Robinson  very  spirit- 
edly wrote  to  Washington  from  on  board  the  man-of- 
war,  insisting  upon  Andre's  being  a  privileged  person, 
in  consequence  of  Arnold's  pass,  that  he  could  not  even 
be  looked  upon  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  demanded  his 
immediate  liberation.  Arnold  also  wrote  to  Washing- 
ton to  the  same  purpose,  insisting  besides,  that  as  he 
was  the  commanding  officer  in  those  parts,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  Washington,  the  right  of  granting  flags  and 
passes  was  in  him,  and  that  Andre  having  such  a  pass 
when  taken  (given  by  him  when  Commander)  ought 
to  be  discharged.  But  the  pass  being  in  a  feigned 
name,  and  the  Major  taken,  without  his  regimentals,  in 
a  suit  of  Smith's  old  clothes,  the  letters  or  pass  had  no 
effect,  he  was  considered  as  a  spy,  and  ordered  for  ex- 
ecution. Another  attempt  was,  however,  made  to 
save  the  Major's  life,  for  which  purpose  General  Clin- 
ton, instead  of  sending  a  bold,  spirited  officer,  with  a 
resolute  message,  containing  the  proper  threats,  with 
a  fixed  determination  of  putting  such  threats  into  ex- 
ecution, should  his  demand  be  refused,  (which  might 
have  answered  his  wishes,  especially  as  he  had  then  in 
actual  custody  not  less  than  20  of  some  of  the  princi- 
pal inhabitants  of  South  Carolina,  who  had  after  its 
conquest  taken  the  oaths  of  allegiance,  and  after  that 
entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  retake  the  capitol  by  sur- 
prise) ;  instead,  I  say,  of  taking  this  method,  he  sent 
General  Robertson,  the  civil  Governor  of  the  province, 
a  superannuated,  worn  out,  timid,  irresolute,  forgetful, 
old  gentleman,  accompanied  by  Andrew  Elliot,  the 
Lieutenant-Governor,  and  William  Smith,  the  Chief 
Justice,  to  remonstrate  with  Washington  about  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  3/7 

case,  and  situation  of  Andre.  The  Governor  being  a 
British  officer  was  suffered  to  go  on  shore.  The  same 
indulgence  was  haughtily  refused  to  Elliot  and  Smith. 
An  interview  upon  the^  subject  between  Robertson  and 
the  rebel  General  Greene,  deputed  by  Washington  for 
that  purpose,  took  place,  and  while  the  former  was 
humbly  expressing  General  Clinton's  wishes  that  the 
Major's  life  might  be  saved,  begging  it  in  the  most 
suppliant  manner,  as  the  particular  request  of  the 
Commander-in-Chief,  and  submissively  and  meanly 
proposing  to  leave  the  matter  to  the  decision  of  Roch- 
ambeau,  the  French  General,  and  to  Knyphausen  the 
Commander  of  the  Hessians,  to  wit,  whether  Andre 
could  be  legally  (according  to  the  law  of  nations) 
deemed  a  spy  or  not,  Washington  hanged  the  man. 
Thus  fell  the  unfortunate,  the  brave,  the  gallant  Andre. 
Clinton  received  the  news  with  all  that  gloomy,  sulky, 
insensibility  so  natural  to  his  constitution.  The  follow- 
ing is  extracted  from  a  letter  addressed  to  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  and  inserted  in  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  of 
October  18th,  1780:  "But  leaving  these  matters,  we 
"  find  you  in  New  York,  returned  from  your  stolen  ex- 
"  pedition,  in  all  the  pomp  of  an  Eastern  conqueror, 
"  swelled  with  the  praises  of  your  parasites,  and  flat- 
"  tered  with  the  prospect  of  fresh  marks  of  royal  dis- 
"  tinction.  W  ith  such  an  army  as  you  commanded, 
"  you  looked  forward  to  an  active  campaign  in  this 
"  quarter.  But  prevented  from  this  by  the  exertions  of 
"  the  States,  and  confined  to  your  garrison  after  the 
"  engagement  at  Springfield,  you  sat  down  gloomy 
"  and  disappointed.  You  saw  the  campaign  spending 
"  itself  in  abortive  parade,  when  the  powers  of  cor- 
"  ruption  were  called  on  to  close  it  in  eclat.  West 
"  Point  was  to  be  the  object,  and  General  Arnold  its 


37$  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

betrayer.  From  what  medium  of  intelligence  you 
gained  a  knowledge  of  his  principles,  whether  you 
argued  from  your  own  heart  to  his,  or  received  it 
from  himself,  we  shall  leave  to  the  better  explanation 
of  time  ;  nor  shall  we  enquire  why  one  so  high  in 
military  reputation  as  Arnold,  acquired  too  under 
such  a  splendour  of  circumstances,  as  justly  entitle 
him  to  that  rank  which  he  held  in  Europe,  should 
thus  dispose  of  his  fame,  and  his  moral  character.  For 
the  sake  of  human  nature,  it  were  to  be  wished  that 
a  veil  could  be  thrown  over  such  examples  of  de- 
pravity ;  but  from  time  to  time,  society  is  disturbed 
with  their  appearance.  In  Arnold's  situation,  Crom- 
well would  have  acted  as  Arnold ;  and  could  Give 
have  changed  places  with  Arnold,  Clive  would  have 
sold  America,  and  Arnold  would  have  exhausted  the 
East  Indies  of  its  wealth,  and  bribed  the  British  Par- 
liament to  suffer  him  to  spend  a  few  years  in  wretch- 
edness and  infamy.  In  these  we  see  the  composition 
of  certain  spirits,  which  as  conjectures  point,  are 
considered  as  the  ornament  or  disgrace,  the  pride  or 
the  pestilence,  of  mankind. 

"  By  the  defection  of  Arnold,  America  has  one 
enemy  less,  and  you  are  not  sure  of  one  new  friend. 
He  that  submits  to  one  sale,  may  be  tempted  to 
another.  If  your  nation  can  be  pleased  with  this 
purchase,  it  must  lately  have  experienced  a  conver- 
sion in  favour  of  traitors.  And  should  your  army 
submit  to  his  company,  it  is  no  longer  at  enmity  with 
dishonour,  perfidiousness  is  become  sacred,  a'nd 
you  must  fear  for  your  own  safety.  Such  is  the  man 
you  have  bought,  and  it  were  wrong  did  America 
envy  you  his  possession.  But  the  exultation  you  en- 
joyed on  this  occasion  was  not  that  of  a  moment. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  379 

"  It  was  desultory,  and  fugitive,  as  the  faint  hopes  of 
"  a  dying  sinner,  whilst  the  capture  of  Major  Andre, 
"  your  Adjutant-General,  under  the  circumstances  of  a 
"  spy,  and  the  failure  of  your  scheme,  burst  upon  your 
"  head  like  the  discovery  of  a  plot  on  that  of  a  trai- 
"  tor.  It  was  a  dagger  ready  to  be  plunged  into  the 
"  heart  of  your  enemy,  planted  in  your  own.  Were 
"  the  succeeding  hours  of  your  Excellency's  life  to  be 
"  burnished  with  the  smiles  of  your  Sovereign,  they 
"  could  not  repay  the  distractions  that  followed.  But 
"  they  were  distractions  for  yourself,  in  which  Andre 
"  had  no  share.  But  for  this,  and  had  you  felt  but  one 
"  pang  for  his  fate,  there  might  have  been  those  who 
"  would  have  even  pitied  your  horrors. 

"  It  is  not  easy,  Sir  Harry,  to  estimate  the  loss  you 
"  have  suffered  in  Major  Andre.  Your  enemies  were 
"  not  insensible  to  his  worth.  Men  of  genius  sympa- 
"  thized  with  him,  and  lamented  that  misguided  zeal  in 
"  the  service  of  his  Prince,  which  led  to  his  punishment. 
"  Those  who  have  toiled  heretofore  to  betray  the  lib- 
"  erties  of  America,  could  lie,  but  he  could  not  deceive. 
"  Others  might  display  cunning,  but  he  discovered 
"  wisdom.  The  utmost  of  your  efforts  was  a  bribe  ; 
"  but  he  possessed  a  power  that  was  superior,  that  of 
"  seduction.  His  talents  were  beyond  most  men's 
"  virtue,  and  he  had  no  enemy,  but  in  the  field  of 
"  action.  But  great  abilities  have  their  fluctuations 
"  and  limits,  nor  are  they  at  all  times  of  the  same  tem- 
"  per ;  his  failed  him  at  that  point,  which  would  have 
"  completed  his  fortune,  and  created  you  a  fame,  to 
"  which  you  had  no  title.  It  is  curious  by  what  little 
"  incidents  and  unforeseen  combinations  great  events 
"  are  decided.  But  for  three  armed  peasants  of  the 
"  State  of  New  York,  West  Point  and  its  dependen 


38o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  cies  would  have  been  at  this  hour  in  your  possession ; 
'•  for  it  is  not  probable,  with  an  enemy  within,  and 
"  your  army  without,  that  it  could  have  been  saved. 
"  Let  this  instance  of  honesty  rescue  human  nature 
"  from  infamy,  and  serve  as  a  lesson  to  mankind  ;  and 
"  let  the  names  of  Paulding,  Van  Wart,  and  Williams, 
"  who  rejected  an  immense  bribe  with  a  grandeur  of 
"  soul  infinitely  superior  to  the  baseness  with  which 
"  Arnold  received  one,  be  remembered  with  the  tro- 
"  phies  of  pride,  while  the  monuments  of  false  glory 
"  are  trampled  on,  or  neglected. 

"  Mr.  Andre's  rank  and  talents  made  his  case  pecu- 
"  liar.  Your  army,  I  am  told,  loved  him.  General 
"  Washington  admired  him.  The  latter  shed  tears  at 
"  his  death,  while  you,  Sir  Harry,  scarce  condescended 
"  to  show  the  cold  formalities  of  an  affected  con- 
"  dolence.  There  remained  but  this  to  complete  your 
"  character,  the  torpor  in  which  you  heard  the  circum- 
"  stances  of  his  capture,  and  your  unanimated  efforts 
"  to  save  him.  His  faithful  services  surely  claimed 
"  your  utmost  interposition  ;  your  own  fame  required 
"  it,  and  your  supposed  friendship  demanded  it  from 
"  you  as  a  right.  But  a  vain  self-importance  filled 
"  your  heart,  and  you  remained  during  the  suspension 
"  of  his  life  with  all  the  haughty  majesty  of  your  na- 
"  tive  sullenness.  If  you  were  withheld  by  a  punctilio 
"  from  being  more  forward,  I  would  not  have  possess- 
"  ed  your  place  for  a  kingdom.  But  policy,  (for  who 
"  will  serve  you  in  future),  what  you  owed  to  Major 
"  Andre,  (for  his  abilities  supported  your  character), 
"  and  the  general  expectation  of  your  army,  dictated 
"  every  possible  expedient  in  his  favour.  The  very 
"  army  of  your  enemy  wondered  at  your  total  priva- 
"  tion  of  sensibility,  and  while  they  complied  with  the 


HISTORY  OK  NEW  YORK.  38 1 

"  laws  and  usages  of  nations,  did  justice  to  his  magna- 
"  nimity.  '  Be  my  witnesses,  (said  he  to  them),  while 
"  1  I  acknowledge  the  propriety  of  my  sentence,  I  die 
"  '  like  a  brave  man.' 

"  Had  you  aught  of  sentiment,  Sir  I  Iarry,  there 
"  would  be  no  end  to  your  afflictions  ;  had  you  a  mag- 
"  nanimity  like  Andre's,  you  would,  at  least,  have  sac- 
"  rificed  your  commission,  could  that  have  preserved 
"  his  life.  If  to  be  great,  is  to  be  unfeeling,  I  ask  not 
"  for  greatness.  If  to  see  one's  best  friend  suffer 
"  without  a  tear,  is  characteristic  of  dignity,  give  me 
"  lowliness.  If  high  stations  teach  men  to  believe  that 
"  the  abilities  of  others  were  only  formed  to  forward 
"  their  designs,  and  that  friends  should  be  no  longer 
"  protected  than  they  are  thought  to  be  useful,  place 
"  me  in  a  cottage  and  obscurity,  and  let  me  for  ever 
"  be  secluded  from  such  men.  But,  alas  !  it  is  the  na- 
"  ture  of  power  to  attract  and  deceive,  and,  perhaps, 
"  there  is  no  country  without  its  Clinton. 

"  But  I  leave  you,  Sir  Harry,  to  sullen  recollection. 
"  Your  fame  is  finished,  ami  I  wish  not  to  renew  my 
"address.     October  4th,  1780." 

Arnold  was  caressed  for  the  noble,  virtuous  part  he 
had  acted,  Robertson  thanked  for  his  trouble  and 
pains,  while  the  amiable  youth  (poor  Andre)  was  in  a 
few  days  forgotten.  W  hen  the  unhappy  young  soldier 
was  acquainted  with  his  sentence,  he  wrote  a  sensible, 
polite  letter  to  Washington,  modestly  requesting  that 
he  might  not  die  on  a  gallows,  but  receive  an  execu- 
tion more  worthy  of  a  soldier,  that  of  being  shot. 
This  last,  this  modest,  this  dying  request  of  the  gal- 
lant and  amiable  young  officer,  was  cruelly  refused. 
Instead  of  permitting  him  to  suffer  the  death  of  a  gen- 
tleman and  a  soldier,  he  was  hanged  like  a  dog, 


382 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Washington,  with  Monsieur  Rochambeau,  General 
Wayne,  the  Marquis  De  Lafayette,  and  other  rebel 
Generals,  looking  on,  and  witnessing  the  death  of  a 
brave  young  hero,  who  died,  as  he  had  ever  lived, 
an  honour  to  the  profession  of  arms.  By  all  the  pow- 
ers above,  had  I  been  Commander-in-Chief,  and  Andre 
my  first  friend,  my  best  adviser,  and  my  bosom  confi- 
dant, I  would  have  sacrificed  among  the  treacherous 
Carolina  conspirators,  but  what  his  manes  should 
have  been  appeased,  and  the  murder  of  the  great,  the 
good,  and  virtuous  youth,  fully,  amply,  and  completely 
revenged ! 

In  order  to  save  Andre's  life,  and  obtain  his  dis- 
charge, General  Clinton  had  taken  up  and  confined  in 
the  prevost,  about  20  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  New 
York  and  Long  Island.  He  had  the  fullest  evidence, 
the  clearest  testimony,  that  these  people  had  carried 
on  a  treasonable  correspondence  with  the  rebels  for 
many  years,  had  acted  as  spies  within  the  British  lines, 
and  given  rebellion  every  information  in  their  power. 
These  fellows  had,  upon  the  reduction  of  Long  island 
and  the  city  of  New  York,  renewed  their  oaths  of  al- 
legiance to  the  King,  lived  upon,  and  enjoyed  their 
estates,  protected  by  the  Crown.  A  correspondence 
carried  on  by  people  thus  circumstanced,  giving  every 
necessary  intelligence  to  the  rebels  of  the  proceedings 
and  designs  of  the  Royal  army,  was,  by  the  laws  of 
Great  Britain,  under  whose  protection  they  lived,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  treason.  Governor  Robert- 
son was  directed  to  acquaint  Washington  with  this 
circumstance,  and  to  assure  him  in  the  most  peremp- 
tory manner,  that  in  case  Andre  was  executed  as  a 
spy,  every  one  of  these  men  should  share  the  same 
fate.    Robertson  accordingly  assured  the  rebel  chief, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  383 

that  this  was  Clinton's  fixed  and  unalterable  resolution. 
Washington  knew  the  man,  despised  his  threats,  and 
hanged  Andre.  But,  though  strange  to  relate,  yet 
actually  true,  within  ten  days  after  the  execution  of 
Andre,  he,  Clinton,  discharged  all  these  fellows  from 
the  prevost,  suffered  them  to  live  upon  their  own 
estates,  and  that,  without  ever  exacting  a  parole,  or 
taking  the  least  security  for  their  future  good  be- 
haviour. What  could  be  expected  from  a  Comman- 
der-in-Chief sent  to  America  to  quell  a  serious  rebel- 
lion possessed  of  so  little  resolution,  such  indecision, 
and  such  rank  timidity  ?  No  wonder  the  war  ended 
as  it  did  ! 

The  execution  of  Andre  being  over,  the  next  step 
taken  by  Washington  was  to  apprehend  Smith  as  an 
accomplice  with  Arnold  in  his  intended  treason.  He 
was  accordingly  taken  up  and  lodged  in  jail.  But  not 
being  in  the  military  line,  he  was  delivered  over  to  the 
civil  power  for  trial,  being  a  subject  to  the  States  to 
whom  he  had  sworn  allegiance,  and  taken  the  neces- 
sary oaths  required  by  the  Constitution  of  New  York 
upon  its  first  formation,  and  had  been  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  rebellion  a  most  active,  zealous, 
persecuting  partisan  of  Congress.  Many  a  poor  Loy- 
alist suffered  under  his  vindictive  hands.  They  were 
punished  in  person,  and  despoiled  of  their  property. 
He  was  tried  by  a  jury  and  honourably  acquitted. 
Whether  Arnold's  letter  in  which  Smith  is  exculpated 
from  having  any  concern  in  his  treasonable  intention 
of  delivering  up  the  forts  ?  whether  his  having  per- 
suaded Andre  to  change  his  regimentals  and  put  him- 
self into  disguise,  with  other  suspicious  circumstances 
relative  to  the  Major's  capture  ?  whether  the  amiable 
character  that  he  had  ever  before  sustained  among  the 

O 


3*4 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


rebels  as  a  violent  persecuting  Whig  ?  or  his  near  rela- 
tionship to  William  Smith,  Esq.,  then  Chief  Justice  of 
New  York,  (being  full  brothers)  contributed  most  to 
his  acquittal,  is  uncertain.  Shortly  after  his  discharge 
from  prison,  he  set  out  for,  and  got  to  New  York, 
where  he  became  (strange  to  tell)  instantly  transform- 
ed from  a  most  notorious  rebel  into  an  unfortunate, 
poor,  unhappy,  young,  persecuted,  Loyalist.  In  con- 
sequence of  which  he  was  caressed  by  the  Governor, 
noticed  by  the  army,  and  pensioned  by  the  General. 
If  this  youth  could  come  under  the  character  of  one  of 
his  Majesty's  deluded  subjects  "reclaimed,"  it  may 
then  be  asserted  with  great  safety,  that  he  was  the 
only  one  of  those  deluded  subjects  whom  Robertson 
the  Governor,  Elliot  the  Lieut.-Governor,  and  Smith 
the  Chief  Justice,  with  all  their  pretended  boasted  in- 
fluence, were  ever  able  to  "  reclaim  "  from  the  time  of 
their  appointments,  to  the  respective  honours  they 
severally  enjoyed  under  the  Crown  in  the  spring  of 
1780,  to  the  evacuation  of  New  York,  in  the  autumn  of 

I783- 

Upon  this  event,  Smith,  as  well  as  his  brother  the 
Chief  Justice,  came  to  England.  In  a  few  years  the 
latter  was  made  Chief  Justice  of  Canada,  with  a  salary 
of  ^1,200  per  annum,  besides  the  emoluments  of  his 
commission.  He  was  also  appointed  one  of  his  Majes- 
ty's Council  for  that  province.  He  now  procured  for 
his  brother  Joshua  so  considerable  an  addition  to  his 
pension  as  enabled  him  to  live  like  a  gentleman  ;  to 
keep  his  horse,  his  dogs,  and  his  mistress  ;  to  frequent 
all  places  of  public  resort,  and  dress  in  the  most  ele- 
gant style.  It  must  be  remarked  that  though  the 
Chief  Justice  and  his  brother  were  so  caressed  in 
England,  and  so  amply  provided  for  by  the  Ministry, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  3S5 

that  neither  of  them  had  ever  been  attainted  in  Ameri- 
ca, nor  their  estates  confiscated,  nor  lost  a  sixpence  in 
consequence  of  the  rebellion  ;  while  hundreds  of  poor 
Loyalists,  who  had  lost  their  all  in  their  attachment  to 
their  Sovereign,  to  the  Constitution  of  Great  Britain, 
and  in  their  attempts  at  the  suppression  of  a  wicked  re- 
bellion, were  left  to  starve,  with  large  families,  upon 
small  trilling  pittances  allowed  them  by  the  Crown  ; 
while  a  number  of  others  who  had  been  in  actual  re- 
bellion, in  arms  against  their  King,  fighting  for  inde- 
pendency, and  endeavouring  to  ruin  the  Constitution, 
were  living  in  splendour  and  enjoying  every  comfort 
in  life,  in  consequence  of  the  large  pensions  granted, 
or  lucrative  offices  conferred  upon  them,  by  the  Minis- 
try of  Great  Britain. 

The  Political  Magazine,  second  vol.,  page  62,  speaks 
of  this  affair  as  follows :  "  When  Major  Andre  went 
"  to  consult  with  General  Arnold,  he  was  carried  to 
"  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Smith,  brother  to  the  Smith 
"  lately  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  New  York,  and 
"  also  brother  to  a  Dr.  Smith  who  went  off  the  morn- 
"  ing  the  soldiers  fired  upon  the  rioters;  his  negro 
"  wench  was  hanged  for  bein<r  concerned  in  the  burn- 
"  ings.  While  Andre  was  communicating  with  Arnold, 
"  he  lived  at  Smith's  house,  and  wore  Smith's  clothes ; 
"  upon  his  return,  Smith  attended  him.  Just  after 
"  Smith  left  him  at  Tarrytown,  he  was  taken,  and 
"  at  that  very  time  had  on  Smith's  old  clothes.  He 
"  was  tried  for  being  concerned  in  Arnold's  conspiracy. 
"  The  trial  turned  out  a  farce.  Smith  was  never 
"  punished.  The  Loyalists  therefore  believe  that 
"  Smith  betrayed  Andre,  and  are  of  opinion  he  never 
"  can  clear  up  his  character  but  under  the  gallows." 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  southward.  Lord  Corn- 
25 


386 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


wallis  having  fortified  Camden,  left  Lord  Rawdon 
there  as  Commander-in-Chief,  and  returned  to  Charles- 
ton. In  August,  1780,  his  Lordship  received  intelli- 
gence that  General  Gates,  with  an  army  of  nearly  6,000 
men,  were  approaching  the  borders  of  South  Carolina, 
with  intent  to  penetrate  into  that  Colony,  and  attempt 
its  recapture.  An  express  was  despatched  to  Charles- 
ton, and  Lord  Cornwallis  in  a  few  days  joined  Lord 
Rawdon.  The  British  army,  when  mustered  at  Cam- 
den, consisted  of  1,400  fighting  men,  some  provincials, 
about  500  militia,  and  a  few  North  Carolina  refugees. 
Lord  Cornwallis  was  determined,  for  many  reasons, 
not  to  wait  for  Gates  at  Camden,  and  getting  informa- 
tion of  the  situation  of  the  rebel  army,  his  Lordship  left 
Camden  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  marched 
with  intent  to  surprise  Gates  in  his  encampment.  It 
is  a  little  remarkable  that  Gates  marched  about  the 
same  time  with  the  like  intent  of  surprising  Lord  Corn- 
wallis at  Camden.  They  accordingly  soon  fell  in  with 
each  other,  to  the  no  small  surprise  of  both.  A  battle 
was  the  consequence.  The  Royal  army  proved  vic- 
torious. As  in  former  times,  by  former  Generals,  a  day 
or  two  was  not  spent  upon  the  field  of  battle,  a  pur- 
suit instantly  took  place,  and  was  continued  for  more 
than  20  miles.  All  the  rebel  artillery,  2,000  small 
arms,  their  military  wagons,  all  their  stores,  baggage, 
provisions,  with  a  number  of  wagons  and  horses,  and 
all  their  standards  and  colors,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
victors ;  900  of  the  rebels  were  slain,  and  more  than 
1,000  taken  prisoners.  The  Baron  De  Kalb,  a 
French  General  in  the  service  of  rebellion,  and  second 
in  command,  was  mortally  wounded  and  taken.  The 
whole  of  the  British  killed,  wounded,  and  missing, 
amounted  to  but  324.    Among  the  slain,  however, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


38/ 


were  some  brave  officers.  After  this  action,  Congress 
never  employed  Gates,  but  dismissed  him  from  their 
service.  The  British  being  returned  to  Camden,  and 
refreshed  for  a  few  days,  Lord  Cornwallis  sent  Colo- 
nel Tarleton  with  350  men  to  surprise  and  attack  the 
rebel  General  Sumpter  who  had  with  him  1,000  men, 
(and  in  his  possession  several  British  prisoners,  with 
their  wagons  and  baggage,  which  he  had  intercepted 
and  taken  on  their  way  to  join  Lord  Cornwallis  prior 
to  the  late  battle)  at  the  Catawba  Falls,  as  he  thought 
in  perfect  security,  considering  the  great  distance  from 
Camden.  Tarleton  proceeded  with  his  usual  rapidity, 
and  before  Sumter  apprehended  an  enemy  in  his 
neighborhood,  he  was  surprised,  and  almost  instantly 
defeated.  In  short  it  was  nothing  more  than  a  slaugh- 
ter and  a  rout,  150  rebels  were  killed  upon  the  spot, 
300  were  taken  prisoners,  2  pieces  of  cannon  with  all 
the  small  arms,  baggage,  and  provisions,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  victors.  Their  military  stores  shared  the 
same  fate,  and  all  the  British  prisoners  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  rebels  were  retaken.  The  unhealthiness, 
and  excessive  heats  of  the  season  in  South  Carolina, 
prevented  the  activity  of  Lord  Cornwallis  after  the  de- 
cisive victory  of  Camden.  Before  his  Lordship's 
march  into  North  Carolina  he  met  with  some  dis- 
appointments, disappointments,  in  his  Lordship's  situ- 
ation, not  easily,  nay  scarcely  possible  to  be  remedied. 
Colonel  Ferguson,  an  active,  zealous  officer,  with  a 
large  detachment  from  the  Royal  army,  was  surprised 
at  the  Hanging  Mountain  upon  the  borders  of  North 
Carolina;  himself  and  150  of  his  men  were  killed  upon 
the  spot,  as  many  wounded,  800  taken  prisoners,  1,500 
stand  of  arms  taken,  with  all  their  baggage,  horses, 
wagons,  and  provisions.    As  for  cannon  they  had 


338 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


none.  This  was  a  most  unlucky  affair.  His  Lordship 
could  illy  spare  the  loss  of  so  many  men,  and  these 
veterans,  inured  to  the  service,  and  accustomed  to  the 
climate.  This  loss  was  in  some  measure,  shortly  after, 
compensated  by  a  second  attack  made  by  Colonel 
Tarleton  upon  the  rebel  General  Sumter,  who  at  the 
head  of  1,000  men  was  again  surprised,  put  to  the 
rout,  totally  defeated,  himself  wounded,  three  of  his 
Colonels  killed,  and  250  of  his  men.  As  many  were 
wounded,  and  equal  numbers  taken  prisoners.  In  this 
surprise  the  rebels  lost  their  baggage,  their  wagons, 
their  horses,  their  provisions,  and  their  cannon. 

About  the  middle  of  October,  1780,  General  Leslie 
was  sent  from  New  York  to  Virginia  with  3,000  men, 
in  hopes  of  finding  and  joining  Lord  Cornwallis  in  that 
province.  But  discovering,  upon  his  arrival  there,  that 
his  Lordship  was  still  in  South  Carolina,  he  left  Virginia, 
sailed  to  Charleston,  landed,  and  soon  after  joined  the 
Earl  at  Camden  with  about  2,000  fresh  troops.  The 
remainder  being  chiefly  invalids  were  left  at  Charles- 
ton. I  shall  now  leave  the  operations  of  the  military 
for  the  year  1780,  and  proceed  to  a  recapitulation  of 
those  in  the  civil  department  on  the  side  of  New  York, 
or  of  such  as  contain  a  kind  of  mixture  of  the  civil  and 
military  lines. 


EDITOR'S  NOTES 

TO  THE 

FIRST  VOLUME 

OP 

JONES'S  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE   T . 

THE  "  INDEPENDENT  REFLECTOR  "  AND  THE  "  WATCH 

TOWER." 

Volume  I.,  page  6. 

The  Independent  Reflector,  edited  and  mainly  written  by 
William  Livingston,  was  published  weekly  for  one  year, 
beginning  November  30,  1752,  and  terminating  November 
22,  1753,  Parker,  its  publisher,  then  refusing  to  print  it 
any  longer  on  account  of  its  violence  and  rancor.  The 
Watch  Tower  was  published  in  the  New  York  Mercury,  num- 
bers 126  to  171,  beginning  November  25,  1754,  and  termi- 
nating November  17,  1755,  and  was  of  the  same  character. 

Mr.  Livingston  endeavored  to  get  printers  in  Philadelphia 
and  in  Boston  to  republish  the  Independent  Reflector ,  but  with- 
out success  on  account  of  its  character.  He  consequently 
reprinted  it  himself,  in  1754,  as  a  volume,  with  a  preface  stat- 
ing these  facts,  putting  on  the  title-page  "  Printed  (until 
tyrannically  suppressed)  in  1/53,"  thus  insinuating  that  it 
was  stopped  by  the  Government,  or  some  one  in  authority, 
whereas  the  only  cause  was  the  refusal  of  the  printers  to  in- 
cur the  risks  of  legal  liability,  or  to  permit  their  presses  to 
be  used  as  the  vehicles  of  Mr.  Livingston's  ambition,  or  of 
his  political  feuds  and  animosities.  Neither  the  Governor 
nor  the  Provincial  authorities  ever  took  any  notice  of  the  In- 
dependent Reflector.1  For  the  origin  and  object  of  the  Watch 
Tower,  see  Note  VII, 


1  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Collections,  iii.,  p.  366,  Letter  of  Hon.  Samuel  Jones. 


392 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  II. 

THE  ACT  OF  1693  FOR  SETTLING  A  MINISTRY,  ETC. — "THE 
VESTRY  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK" — "  THE  VESTRY 
OF  THE  PARISH  OF  TRINITY  CHURCH  " — THE  FIRST 
RECTOR  OF  TRINITY  CHURCH. 

Volume  /,  page  7. 

The  annual  sum  to  be  raised  by  tax  under  this  Act  of  1693, 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  was  £100  currency,  or  $250.  In 
the  other  cities,  counties,  and  precincts,  the  amounts,  some- 
what less  in  proportion,  were  to  be  paid  in  "  country  produce 
at  money  prices,"  as  stated  in  the  second  section  of  the  Act, 
which  is  printed  here  in  exteuso,  as  it  is  not  easily  accessible 
to  the  general  reader.  An  amendatory  Act,  chap.  146  (Van 
Schaack's  Laws,  p.  64)  of  Laws  passed  in  1705,  nine  years 
subsequently,  however,  made  all  the  amounts  payable  in 
money.  The  Act  was  passed  in  the  Assembly  on  September 
22,  1693,  but  not  in  the  Council  till  the  24th  of  March,  1693-4, 
succeeding.  In  Smith  &  Livingston's  Laws,  p.  18,  it  ap- 
pears as  "passed  24  March,  1693,"  that  is,  old  style.  In  1 
Van  Schaack's  Laws,  p.  18,  it  appears  as  "passed  22  Sept. 
"  1693." 

An  A  CT  for  Settling  a  Ministry,  and  Raising  a  Maintenance  for 
them,  in  the  City  of  New- York,  County  of  Richmond,  Westches- 
ter, and  Queen' s-County. 

Pass'd  the  22d  of  September,  1693. 

Whereas  Profaneness  and  Licentiousness  hath  of  late  overspread 
Preamble        tms  Province?  for  Want  of  a  settled  Ministry  through- 
out the  same  :  To  the  End  the  same  may  be  re- 
moved, and  the  Ordinances  of  GOD  duly  administered  ; 

I.  Be  it  Enacted  by  the  Governor,  and  Council,  and  Representa- 
tires  convened  in  General  Assembly,  and  by  the  Authority  of  the  same, 
That  in  each  of  the  respective  Cities  and  Counties 

Protestant  Ministers 

to  be  inducted,  &c.  to  hereafter  mentioned  and  expressed,  there  shall  be 
have  Care  of  Souls  in  called,  inducted,  and  established,  a  good  sufficient 
Protestant  Minister,  to  officiate,  and  have  the  Care 
of  Souls,  within  one  Year  next,  and  after  the  Publication  hereof, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  393 

■* 

that  is  to  sa\  ;  In  the  City  of  New  York,  One  ;  in  the  County  of 
Richmond,  One  ;  in  the  County  of  Westchester,  Two  ;  One  to  have 
the  Care  of  Westchester,  Eastcliester,  Yonkcrs,  and  the  Manor  of 
Pel  ham  ;  the  Other  to  have  the  Care  of  live,  Mamarenock,  and 
Bedford ;  in  Queen's  County,  Two  ;  One  to  have  the  Care  of 
Jamaica,  and  the  adjacent  Towns  and  Farms  ;  the  Other  to  have 
the  Care  of  Hampstead,  and  the  next  adjacent  Towns  and  Farms. 

II.  AND  for  their  respective  Encouragement,  Be  it  further  En- 
acted by  the  Authority  aforesaid,  That  there  shall  be  annually,  and 
once  in  every  Year,  in  every  of  the  respective  Cities  The  respective  Sums 
and  Counties  aforesaid,  assessed,  levied,  collected,  '°  bc  raised  for  thcir 

Maintenance  ; 

and  paid,  for  the  Maintenance  of  each  of  their  re-  cash  to  the  Minis- 
spective  Ministers,  the  respective  Sums  hereafter  tcrs of  N"u  y"ri' 

.  •  ,  ,  But  to  the  Country 

mentioned,  that  is  to  say;  For  the  City  and  County  Ministers  Country 
of  New  York,  One  Hundred  Pounds ;  for  the  two  Produce. 
Precincts  of  Westchester,  One  Hundred  Pounds,  to  each  Fifty 
Pounds,  to  be  paid  in  Country  Produce,  at  Money  Price  ;  for  the 
County  of  Richmond,  Forty  Pounds,  in  Country  Produce,  at  Money 
Price  ;  and  for  the  two  Precincts  of  Queen's  County,  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty  Pounds,  to  each  Sixty  Pounds,  in  Country  Produce,  at 
Money  Price. 

III.  AND  for  the  more  orderly  Raising  the  respec- 
tive Maintenances  for  the  Ministers  aforesaid,  Be  it  .  Th=  mcthdd  of  rais_ 

ing  the  maintenance. 

further  Enacted  by  the  Authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  respective  Justices  of  every  City  and  County  aforesaid,  or  any 
Two  of  them,  shall  every  Year  issue  out  their  Warrants  to  the  Con- 
stables, to  summons  the  Freeholders  of  every  City,  County,  and  Pre- 
cinct aforesaid,  together,  on  the  second  Tuesday  of     _  _„ 

0  J  Vestry-Men  and 

January,  for  the  chusing  of  Ten  Vestry-Men,  and  church  Wardens  to  be 
two  Church-Wardens  ;  and  the  said  Justices  and  choscn- 
Vestry-Men,  or  major  Part  of  them,  are  hereby  impowered,  within 
Ten  Days  after  the  said  Day,  or  any  Day  after,  as 
to  them  shall  seem  convenient,  to  lay  a  reasonable  Who  shallIaJr  a  tax> 
Tax  on  the  said  respective  Cities,  Counties,  Parish,  or  Precincts  for 
the  Maintenance  of  the  Minister  and  Poor  of  their  respective  Places; 
and  if  they  shall  neglect  to  issue  their  Warrants,  so  as  the  Election 
be  not  made  that  Day,  they  shall  respectively  forfeit    _  ,  ; .  „ 

"        *  1         ,     J  Or  forfeit  £s  each. 

Five  Pounds,  current  Money  of  this  Province  :  And 

in  Case  the  said  Freeholders  duly  summoned,  as  aforesaid,  shall  not 


394 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


appear   or  appearing,  do  not  chuse  the  said  Ten  Vestry-Men  and 
„_    ,  „r  ,      two  Church  Wardens,  that  then  in  their  Default,  the 

If  Churchwardens, 

Sic.  are  not  chosen  said  Justices  shall,  within  Ten  Days  after  the  said 
justices  to  lay  the  Tax  secon(j  Tuesday,  or  on  any  Day  after,  as  to  them 
shall  seem  convenient,  lay  the  said  reasonable  Tax, 
on  the  said  respective  Places,  for  the  respective  Maintenances  afore- 
said ;  And  if  the  said  Justices  and  Vestry-Men,  shall  neglect  their 
Duty  herein,  they  shall  respectively  forfeit  Five 
Pounds,  current  Money  aforesaid. 


Forfeit  £5  each. 


IV.  And  be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  Authority  aforesaid,  That 
such  of  the  Justices  and  Vestry-Men,  that  shall  not  be  present  at  the 
Time  appointed,  to  make  the  said  Taxes,  and  therefore  be  convicted, 
by  a  Certificate  under  the  Hands  of  such  as  do  appear,  and  have  no 

Penalty  for  not  ap-  sufficient  Excuse  for  the  same;  shall  respectively 
pearing  to  lay  tax  £s.  forfeit  Five  Pounds,  current  Money  aforesaid  :  And 
1  Roll  of  the  said  Tax  so  made,  shall  be  delivered  into  the  Hands  of 

^   t,  .,   ,  j  ,■    the  respective  Constables  of  the  said  Cities,  Coun- 

Tax  Roll  to  be  deliv-  1 

ered  to  the  Constables  ties  and  Precincts,  with  a  warrant  signed  by  any  two 
to  levy  tax.  Justices  of  the  Peace,  impowering  him  or  them  to 

levy  the  said  Tax  ;  and  upon  Refusal,  to  distrain,  and  sell  by  pub- 
lick  Outcry,  and  pay  the  same  into  the  Hand  of  the  Church  War- 
dens, retaining  to  himself  Twelve  Pence  per  Pound, 
Penalty  for  refusing  for  .      ;      thereof:  And  if  any  Person  shall  refuse 

to  pay  1  axes.  J     0  * 

to  pay  what  he  is  so  assessed,  and  the  said  Con- 
stables do  strain  for  the  same  ;  all  his  Charges  shall  be  paid  him, 
with  such  further  Allowance  for  his  Pains,  as  the  said  Justices,  or 
any  of  them,  shall  judge  reasonable  ;  And  if  the  said  Justice  or  Jus- 
tices, shall  neglect  to  issue  the  said  Warrant,  he  or  they  respectively 
shall  forfeit  Five  Pounds  current  Money  aforesaid ;  and  if  the  said 
Constables,  or  any  of  them  fail  of  their  Duty  herein,  they  shall  re- 
spectively forfeit  Five  Pounds  current  Money  afore- 
And  on  constables  sajd_    An(]  thg  Church  Wardens  so  chosen,  shall  un- 

for  neglect  of  Duty. 

dertake  the  said  Office,  and  receive  and  keep  a  good 
Account  of  the  Monies  or  Goods  levied  by  Virtue  of  this  Act,  and 
the  same  issue  by  Order  from  the  said  Justices  and 
Church  wardens  to  Vestrv  Men  of  the  respective  Cities,  Counties,  Pre- 

keep  Accounts.  ' 

cincts,  and  Parishes  aforesaid,  for  the  Purposes  and 
Intents  aforesaid,  and  not  otherwise :  And  the  Church  Wardens 
shall,  as  often  as  thereunto  required,  yield  and  give  a  just  and  true 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  395 

Account  unto  the  Justices  and  Vestry-Men,  of  all  their  Receipts 
and  Disbursements  ;  And  in  Case  the  said  Church 
Wardens,  or  any  of  them,  shall  neglect  their  Duty  ju^cesA^unt  10  " 
therein,  they  shall  respectively  forfeit  Five  Pounds,    Under  Penalty  of 
current  Money  aforesaid,  for  every  refusal.  ^5  eaeh' 

V.  And  be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  Authority  aforesaid,  That 
the  said  Church  Wardens,  in  their  respective  Precincts  aforesaid, 
shall,  by  Warrant,  as  aforesaid,  pay  unto  the  respec- 
tive Ministers,  the  Maintenance  aforesaid,  by  four  w.       ,0  pay,  At 

J  Ministers  quarterly. 

equal  and  quarterly  Payments,  under  the  Penalty 
and  Forfeitures,  of  Five  Pounds  current  Money  aforesaid,  for  each 
Neglect,  Refusal,  or  Default ;  the  one  half  of  all  which  Forfeitures, 
shall  be  disposed  of  to  the  Use  of  the  Poor,  in  the  respective  Pre- 
cincts where  the  same  doth  arise,  and  the  other  Half  to  him  or  them 
that  shall  prosecute  the  same. 

VI.  Always  provided,  and  be  it  further  Enacted  by  the  Authority 
aforesaid,  That  all  and  every  of  the  respective  Ministers,  that  shall 
be  settled  in  the  respective  Cities,  Counties,  and  Precincts  aforesaid, 
shall  be  called  to  officiate  in  their  respective  Pre- 
cincts, by  the  respective  Vestry-Men,  and  Church  Ministers  to  be 
Wardens  aforesaid.   And,  Always  Provided,  That  all  Men,  &L  " 

the  former  Agreements,  made  with  Ministers  through-  This  a«  not  to  affect 
out  this  Province  shall  continue  and  remain  in  their  ....  „■  ■*sTeements 

with  Ministers. 

full  Force  and  Virtue  ;  any  Thing  contained  herein 
to  the  contrary  hereof,  in  anywise  notwithstanding. 

Under  the  third  section  it  will  be  seen  that  the  freeholders 
were  to  elect  two  Church  Wardens  and  ten  Vestrymen,  col- 
lectively styled  a  Vestry,  to  assess  or  levy  the  tax  "  for  the 
Maintenance  of  the  Minister  and  Poor  of  their  respective 
places."  This  was  not,  however,  the  body  known  as  "  The 
Church  Wardens  and  Vestry-Men  "  of  the  Episcopal  Churches 
in  the  Province,  but  a  Civil,  territorial  organization,  purely 
to  levy  taxes  under  this  act.  These  Civil,  elective,  vestries 
were  composed  of  persons  of  all  denominations,  and  often  of 
no  denomination  at  all,  and  existed  down  to  the  end  of 
the  American  Revolution,  after  which  this  Act  of  1693  was 
repealed  by  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  passed  April  17,  1784     The  Act  of  1693  was  changed 


30 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


by  an  Act  passed  November  29,  1745  (Chap.  812,  1  Van 
Schaack,  267),  enabling  the  freeholders  to  choose  the  Civil 
Vestrymen  by  wards,  and  giving  two  to  each  ward  in  the 
city,  instead  of  electing  the  whole  twelve  from  the  city  gener- 
ally. This  arrangement  continued  till  the  repeal  of  the  Act 
of  1693  by  the  Act  of  1784. 

Very  often  the  same  persons  were  members  of  both  bodies, 
but  the  Ecclesiastical  Church  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  were 
always  persons  belonging,  or  friendly,  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  were  chosen  by  those  only  of  the  inhabitants  who 
belonged  to  the  Church  of  England.  The  Civil  Wardens  and 
Vestrymen  were  elected,  as  above  stated,  from  the  inhabitants 
of  all  denominations  generally,  provided  they  were  "free- 
holders." This  distinction  not  being  usually  known  has 
caused  much  misrepresentation  and  many  mistakes.  The 
Civil  Vestries  were  entirely  the  creatures  of  this  Act,  and 
the  Civil  Vestry  of  New  York  is  referred  to  by  the  author  in 
Chapter  VII.  of  the  second  volume,  treating  of  the  city  funds, 
and  their  misappropriation  and  criminal  waste  by  the  British 
officials  in  the  city  of  New  York  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 

The  first  Civil  Vestry  chosen  by  the  freeholders  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  under  this  Act,  were  elected  at  the  City 
Hall  on  January  9,  1694.  They  were  two  Wardens  and  ten 
Vestrymen,  making  the  Twelve  required  by  the  Act.  Their 
names  were  : 


Nicholas  Bayard, 
John  Kerfbyl, 


First  Church  War 


Robert  Dorkins, 
Robert  Walters, 
William  Jackson, 
Jeremiah  Tothill, 
John  Crooke, 


First  Vestrymen 
of  the 
City  of  Neiv  York. 


John  Spratt, 
Isaac  van  Flack. 
Matthew  Clarkson, 
Isaac  D'Riemer, 
Johannes  De  Peyster, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


397 


The  first  Ecclesiastical  Church  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of 
"The  Parish  Trinity  Church  "  were  appointed  by  its  Charter 
and  named  therein.  The  Charter  was  granted  May  6,  1697, 
three  years  after  the  first  Civil  Vestry  were  elected,  and 
fixed  their  numbers  at  twenty  -  two  ^  that  is,  two  Wardens 
and  twenty  Vestrymen,  precisely  as  they  now  are,  and 
directed  their  successors  to  be  elected  only  by  those  inhabit- 
ants of  New  York  who  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England, 
"  annually,  forever  on  the  Tuesday  in  Easter  week."  Their 
names  were  : 


Thomas  Wenham, 
Robert  Lurting, 


First  Church  War- 
dens of  the 
Parish  of  Trinity 
Church. 


Caleb  Heathcote, 
William  Merret, 
John  Tudor, 
James  Emott, 
William  Morris, 
Thomas  Clarke, 
Ebenezer  Wilson, 
Samuel  Burt, 
James  Evets, 
Nathaniel  Marston, 
Michael  Howden, 
John  Crooke, 
William  Sharpas, 
Lawrence  Read, 
David  Jamison, 
William  Huddleston, 
Gabriel  Ludlow, 
Thomas  Burroughs, 
John  Merrett, 
William  Janeway, 


First  Vestrymen 
of  the 
Parish  of  Trinity 
Church. 


The  Charter   expressly  recited   and   declared   that  the 


398 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  Rector  of  the  Parish  of  Trinity  Church,"  as  it  styles  him, 
was  "  a  good  sufficient  Protestant  Minister  according  to  the 
true  intent"  of  the  Act  of  1693,  and  confirmed  to  him  the 
yearly  £100  directed  to  be  raised  by  that  Act,  and  "  strictly' 
charged  "  the  Civil  Wardens  and  Vestry  created  by  it,  to 
levy  and  collect  the  same,  and  pay  it  over  quarterly  to  the 
"  said  Rector  of  the  Parish  of  Trinity  Church  and  his  suc- 
cessors forever." 

The  first  "  Board  of  City  Vestry,"  as  it  was  styled,  elected  in 

1694,  being  opposed  to  the  Church  of  England,  neither  called 
a  minister  nor  laid  any  tax.    The  second,  chosen  January  8, 

1695,  met  on  the  19th,  and  at  an  adjourned  meeting  on  the 
26th,  "  called  Mr.  William  Vesey  to  officiate  in  the  same 
place,  according  to  the  directions  in  the  said  Act  contained," 
but  laid  no  tax  for  his  "  maintenance." 

Mr.  Vesey,  born  in  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  in  1674,  of  a 
Church  of  England  family,  then,  and  long  after,  residents  of 
that  town,  and  himself  in  early  life  a  communicant  therein,' 
was  educated  at  Harvard  College,  and  graduated  there  in 
1698,  under  Increase  Mather,  whose  principles  he  adopted. 
By  Mr.  Mather  he  was  sent  as  an  Independent  Minister 
to  the  Province  of  New  York,  "to  confirm  the  minds  of 
"  those  who  had  removed  for  their  convenience  from  New 
"  England  to  this  Province,  for  Mr.  Mather  having  advice 
"  that  there  was  a  Minister  of  the  Established  Church  come 
"  over  in  quality  of  Chaplain  of  the  forces,  and  fearing  that 
"  the  Common  Prayer,  and  the  hated  ceremonies  of  our 
"  Church  might  gain  ground,  he  spared  no  pains  or  care 
"  to  spread  the  warmest  of  his  emissaries  through  this 
"Province." — Doc.  Hist.  N.  PI,  vol.  iii.,  p.  438.  Address 
of  Gov.  Hunter's  friends  to  the  Bishop  of  London. 

Mr.  Vesey,  it  is  certain,  was  upon  Long  Island  in  1694.  He 
preached  at  Hempstead  in  1695,  and  became  well  and  favor- 
ably known  in  the  city  of  New  York  as  a  dissenting  minis- 
ter. 

In  1696,  the  Civil  Vestry  elected  that  year,  of  which 

1  Collections  Am.  Colonial  Church,  New  York. 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  399 

Stephanus  van  Cortlandt  and  William  Pinhorne  were  the 
Wardens,  and  Ebenezer  Wilson,  Lawrence  Read,  William 
Morris,  Samuel  Burte,  James  Evetts,  John  Crooke,  Giles 
Gaudincau,  John  van  Cortlandt,  Dirk  van  Der  Burgh,  and 
Nathaniel  Marston,  the  Vestrymen,  met,  made  an  assessment, 
(nothing  having  been  done  by  the  Vestry  of  1695,  except  the 
mere  "  calling  "  of  Mr.  Vesey,  as  above  stated)  and  collected 
the  tax  of  ^100  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Minister.  At  a 
meeting  on  the  2d  November,  in  the  same  year,  inquiries 
about  Mr.  Vesey  having  evidently  been  made  in  New  Eng- 
land, they  called  Mr.  Vesey  a  second  time,  making  this  rec- 
ord of  their  action  : 

"  Wee  ye  Church  Wardens  &  Vestry  men  Elected  by  Vir- 
"  tue  of  yc  said  Act  having  read  a  Certificate  under  the  hands 
"  of  the  Reverend  Mr  Samuel  Myles,  Minister  of  yc  Church  of 
"  England  in  Boston  in  New  England,  and  Mr  Gyles  Dyer 
"  and  Mr  Benjamin  Mountfort,  Church  Wardens  of  yc  said 
"  Church  of  the  Learning  &  Education,  of  the  Pious,  Sober, 
"  &  Religious  behaviour  and  conversation  of  Mr  William 
"  Veazy  and  of  his  often  being  a  Communicant  in  the  Receiv- 
"  mg  yc  most  holy  Sacrament  in  the  said  Church,  have  called 
"  the  said  Mr.  William  Veazy  to  officiate,  and  have  ye  care  of 
u  Souls  in  this  Citty  of  New  Yorke.  And  ye  said  Mr  William 
"  Veazy  being  sent  for,  and  acquainted  with  the  Proceedings 
"  of  this  board,  did  return  them  his  hearty  thanks  for  their 
"  great  favor  &  affections  shewd  unto  him,  &  did  Assure 
"  them  that  he  readily  Accepted  of  their  Call  &  would  with 
"  all  Convenient  Expedition  Repair  to  England,  and  Apply 
"  himselfe  to  the  Bishop  of  London  in  Order  to  be  Ordained 
"  according  to  the  Liturgy  of  ye  Church  of  England,  and 
"  would  return  to  his  Church  here  by  the  first  Convenient 
"  Opportunity." 

Three  days  subsequently,  at  another  meeting  of  the  Justices 
and  Vestry,  on  Nov.  5th,  they  agreed,  by  resolution,  to  lend 
Mr.  Vesey,  on  his  bond,  £95,  the  proceeds  of  the  tax,  to 
pay  his  expenses  to  England  for  ordination,  two  of  the  Board, 
however,  Jacobus  van  Cortlandt  (younger  brother  of  Ste- 
phanus Van  Cortlandt,  the  first  Warden)  and  Brandt  Schuyler, 


4oo 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


dissenting.  On  the  9th  November,  1696,  this  money  was 
paid  to  him. 

Mr.  Vesey,  therefore,  returning  to  the  church  of  which  he 
had  been  originally  a  member,  went  to  England,  and  on  Aug. 
2,  1697,  was  ordained  a  deacon,  and  then  a  priest,  of  the 
Church  of  England,  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  licensed  to 
officiate.  The  license  itself,  bearing  date  2d  Aug.,  1697,  and 
the  usual  subscription  to  the  Act  of  Uniformity  made  by  him, 
are  recorded  in  Liber  II.  of  Wills,  in  the  office  of  the  Surro- 
gate of  New  York. 

Some  eight  months  previous  to  this  action  of  the  Civil  Ves- 
try under  the  Act  of  1693,  in  November,  1696,  the  first  steps 
had  been  taken  to  organize  a  Church  of  England  parish,  and 
build  a  church,  in  New  York,  by  the  presentation  of  a  petition 
on  2ist  March,  1696,  to  the  Governor,  for  leave  to  purchase 
"  a  small  piece  of  land  "  for  an  English  church  in  New  York, 
"  lyeing  without  the  north  gate  of  the  said  Citty  betwixt  the 
"  Kings  Garden  and  the  burrying  Place."  This  was  granted 
the  same  day,  funds  were  collected  under  a  license  dated 
23d  July,  1696,  and  the  erection  of  a  church  begun. — Doc. 
Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  407-8. 

On  the  6th  May,  1697,  Caleb  Heathcote,  William  Merrit, 
John  Tudor,  James  Emott,  Henry  Willson,  Thomas  Wenham, 
James  Evetts,  John  Crooke,  Robert  Lurting,  Samuel  L>urtt, 
William  Morris,  and  Nathaniel  Marston,  styling  themselves 
"  Present  Mannagers  of  the  Affaires  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land in  the  Citty  of  New  York,"  petitioned  Gov.  Fletcher  for 
a  charter,  stating  that  the  church  was  "  built  and  covered," 
and  asked  an  "  incorporation  of  the  same,  and  also  a  grant 
of  the  £100  yearly  Maintenance  provided  by  the  Act  of  1693, 
and  the  land  on  which  the  church  had  been  built." — Doc.  Hist. 
N.  Y.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  409-410.  The  charter  was  accordingly 
granted,  under  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Province,  and  bears  date 
the  same  day  as  the  petition,  May  6,  1697.  It  is  recorded  in 
Lib.  VII.  of  Patents,  in  the  Secretary  of  State's  Office,  at 
Albany,  where  also  is  to  be  seen  the  original  petition  for  it 
in  vol.  xli.  of  Colonial  MSS.,  p.  64. 

Mr.  Vesey  arrived  in  New  York  from  London  in  Decern- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


401 


ber,  1697,  and  on  Christinas  Eve  in  that  year  delivered  to 
the  Civil  "Vestry,  at  their  meeting  at  that  time,  two  letters  of 
recommendation  addressed  to  them  by  Bishop  of  London, 
which,  being  read,  the  Board,  pursuant  to  the  Act  of  1693,  as 
the  record  expresses  it,  "  doc  unanimously  call  the  said  Mr. 
William  Vesey  to  officiate  and  have  the  care  of  Souls  within 
this  Citty  of  New  York."  This  was  the  third  call,  in  fact, 
but  the  first  after  Mr.  Vesey  had  become  a  priest  of  the 
Church  of  England.  Mr.  Vesey,  at  the  same  meeting, 
"  personally  came  before  this  Board  and  informed  them  he 
was  ready  to  execute  the  Function  he  was  called  to  when  he 
shall  be  inducted  into  the  same."  The  Board  adopted  a 
written  petition  to  Governor  Fletcher  to  induct  Mr.  Vesey,  and 
the  next  day  Dec.  25 — Christmas  Day — 1697,  the  ceremony 
of  Induction  took  place,  in  the  Dutch  Church  in  Garden 
Street,  now  Exchange  Place,  the  Governor,  of  course,  officiat- 
ing, by  making  an  address,  and  delivering  the  keys  of  the  yet 
unfinished  Trinity  Church  to  Mr.  Vesey,  as  Rector,  the  two 
Dutch  clergymen  of  the  city — the  Rev.  Henricus  Selyns  and 
the  Rev.  Petrus  Nucella — being  the  witnesses  on  the  occa- 
sion, and  signing,  with  the  two  Church  Wardens  of  Trinity 
Parish,  Thomas  Wenham  and  Robert  Lurting,  the  Latin 
certificate  of  Induction.  This  instrument,  and  Gov.  Flet- 
cher's order  for  the  Induction  under  the  Great  Seal  of  the 
Province,  also  in  Latin,  are  recorded  in  Liber  V.  of  Wills, 
pages  262-3,  m  the  Surrogate's  office  of  New  York. 

Trinity  Church  was  not  completed  until  1698,  and  was 
opened  for  the  first  time  on  Sunday,  13th  March,  1698.'  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Vesey  officiating  morning  and  afternoon,  and  on 
each  occasion,  at  the  close  of  the  prayers,  "  declared  before 
the  congregation  his  unfeigned  assent  and  consent  to  all  and 
everything  contained  in,  and  prescribed  in,  and  by,  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer,"  and  read  the  Bishop  of  London's  certifi- 
cate of  his  declaration  of  conformity  to  the  Church  of  England. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Vesey  thus  became  the  First  Rector  of 
Trinity  Church  in  the  City  of  New  York,  a  position  which  he 


26 


1  Old  Style. 


4-02 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


graced  and  adorned  till  his  death,  on  nth  Julv,  1746,  the 
long  period  of  forty-nine  years,  during  the  last  three-fourths 
of  which  he  was  also  the  Commissary  of  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don in  America. —  Work  and  Materials  for  History,  by  G.  H. 
Moore,  Hist.  Mag.  for  June  and  July,  1867. 


NOTE  III. 

THE  TITLE  OF  TRINITY  CHURCH,  NEW  YORK. 
Volume  I.,  pages  8-10. 

The  following  clear  summary  of  this  title,  and  the  various 
litigations  of  it,  is  taken  from  the  Appendix  to  the  Twentieth 
Conventional  Address  of  the  late  Rt.  Rev.  William  Hcathcote 
de  Lancey,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  delivered  on  the  19th  day 
of  August,  1857,  to  the  Annual  Convention  of  his  Diocese  of 
Western  New  York  (then  comprising  all  of  the  State  of  New 
York  from  Utica  westward),  at  the  City  of  Oswego,  N.  Y. 

In  his  "  Address,"  which  is  the  annual  statement  of  official 
duties  required  of  every  Bishop  by  the  constitution  and 
canons  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  he  says  : 

"  I  was  summoned  to  Albany,  on  the  13th  of  February,1  on 
"  a  requisition  of  a  Committee  of  the  Senate  in  relation  to 
"  the  affairs  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  arraigned  before 
"  the  Legislature  and  threatened  with  an  invasion  of  her  con- 
"  stitutional  rights  in  the  control  of  her  property. 

"  As  this  venerable  Corporation  has  been  often  assailed, 
"  and  as  she  has  applied  her  funds  in  this  Diocese,  as  well  as 
"  throughout  the  State,  most  advantageously  to  the  interests 
"  of  religion  and  education,  and  must  depend  upon  the  intelli- 
"  gence,  integrity,  knowledge  and  just  appreciation  of  legal 
"  and  constitutional  rights  of  the  whole  State,  for  her  pre- 
"  servation  from  the  inroads  of  injustice,  rapacity  and  party, 

1  1857. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  403 

"  it  may  be  well  to  put  on  record,  in  a  note  to  this  Address, 
"  for  information,  a  condensed  view  of  the  groundless  charac- 
"  ter  of  the  assaults  hitherto  made  upon  her  Title,  her  Parish 
"  Character,  and  her  use  of  her  Property." 

The  part  of  the  Bishop's  "  note  "  thus  written,  relating  to 
this  Title,  with  corrections  of  some  slight  typographical  errors, 
and  somewhat  abridged,  is  here  given.  In  the  "Journal  of 
"  the  Twentieth  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of  Western  New 
"  York,"  for  the  year  1857,  and  in  the  "  Episcopal  Address  " 
for  that  year,  printed  separately,  the  whole  note  will  be 
found.  It  was  also  subsequently  reprinted  the  same  year  as 
a  pamphlet  by  itself,  under  the  title  of  "  Anneke  Jans  and 
Trinity  Church." 

TRINITY  CHURCH,  NEW  YORK. 

The  Title  of  this  venerable  Corporation  has  been  assailed  : 

I.  By  the  heirs  of  Anneke  Jans. 
II.  By  the  alleged  claim  of  the  State. 

THE  ANNEKE  JANS  CLAIM. 

I.  Against  the  heirs  of  Anneke  Jans  there  have  been 
decisions,  by  successive  Courts,  both  before  and  since  the 
Revolution  of  1776,  and  always  in  favor  of  Trinity  Church. 

Anneke  Jans  was  the  alleged  original  Dutch  Patentee, 
under  the  States  of  Holland,  of  part  of  this  property.  She 
married  one  Bogardus,  a  Dutch  clergyman,  hence  called 
Dominie  Bogardus.  Under  her,  the  claim  was  set  up  :  and 
her  heirs,  innumerable,  have  since  prosecuted  it.  This 
Anneke  Jans  claim  to  the  property  of  Trinity  Church  was 
founded  on  these  allegations  : 

1.  That  the  title  was  not  in  the  Queen  when,  in  1705,  she 
gave  the  lands  to  Trinity  Church,  but  in  a  private  person. 

2.  That  the  lands  had  been  granted  in  the  time  of  the  Dutch 
to  Anneke  Jans,  the  original  Patentee. 


404 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


3'.  That  all  titles  granted  by  the  Dutch  were  confirmed  to 
the  grantees  by  the  Articles  of  Capitulation,  when  the  Colony 
surrendered  to  the  English. 

4.  That  Cornelius  Brouwer,  a  descendant  of  the  original 
grantee,  was  one  of  the  true  heirs  and  owners  of  the  property. 

FIRST  SUIT. 

1.  This  Cornelius  Brouwer  commenced  an  ejectment  suit 
against  Trinity  Church  in  1750,  after  she  had  possessed  the 
property  about  forty-five  years  ;  and  was  non-suited  for  not 
bringing  cause  to  trial.  He  subsequently  commenced  an- 
other suit,  which,  in  1 760,  was  tried  before  a  special  jury, 
struck  for  the  purpose,  in  the  presence  of  the  parties  and 
their  counsel,  before  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
David  Jones,  Esq.,  of  Fort  Neck,  Queens  County,  who  was 
commissioned  for  the  trial  of  this  very  cause — all  the  other 
Judges  being  members  of  Trinity  Church  and  interested  in 
the  result  of  the  suit.  The  jury  consisted  of  persons  of  credit, 
principally  belonging  to  the  Church  of  Holland.  The  at- 
torney and  counsel  for  Cornelius  Brouwer,  against  Trinity 
Church,  were  the  leading  Presbyterian  members  of  the  bar, 
viz.  :  William  Smith,  Sen.,  William  Smith,  Jr.,  William  Liv- 
ingston, and  John  Morin  Scott. 

The  trial  lasted  two  days  and  almost  two  nights.  The 
titles  on  both  sides  were  fully  canvassed  ;  and  the  jury,  after 
a  charge  by  the  Judge,  and  a  recess  of  half  an  hour,  returned 
with  a  verdict  in  favor  of  Trinity  Church. 

Such  was  the  result  of  the  first  trial. 

2.  Col.  Malcolm  commenced  a  suit  by  writ  of  right  in  the 
Supreme  Court,  to  recover  the  property  of  Trinity  Church, 
or  some  of  it.  The  premises,  the  title  to  which  was  im- 
mediately in  question,  were  located  in  or  near  Chambers 
street.  The  grounds  of  his  claim  are  not  exactly  known  to 
me,  but  it  is  believed  to  have  been  in  some  way  connected 
with  the  Bogardus  pretensions,  probably  as  an  assign  of  one 
or  more  of  the  soi-disant  heirs.    The  cause  was  tried  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  405 

year  1807,  in  the  old  City  Hall,  in  New  York,  by  grand 
assize  1  (an  ancient  and  solemn  mode  of  jury  trial  now  dis- 
used in  this  State),  and  a  verdict  was  found  and  judgment 
entered  for  Trinity  Church. 

3.  Previous  to  1830,  one  Bogardus,  claiming  to  be  an  heir 
of  Annckc  Jans,  commenced  proceedings  in  the  Court  of 
Chancery  against  Trinity  Church,  to  recover  a  part  of  the 
Queen's  Farm. 

The  case  was  elaborately  argued,  and  decided  in  favor  of 
Trinity  Church  by  the  late  Chancellor,  R.  H.  Walworth. 
(See  4th  Paige's  Reports,  178.)  It  was  carried,  by  appeal, 
to  the  Court  for  the  Correction  of  Errors,  where  the  decision 
of  the  Chancellor  was  affirmed. 

4.  Another  suit  was  commenced  in  1834  by  one  Jonas 
Humbert,  also  claiming  as  an  heir  of  Anneke  Jans.  The 
complainant's  bill  was  demurred  to,  and  the  demurrer  was 
sustained  by  the  Chancellor,  and  the  bill  was  dismissed. 
(See  7th  Paige's  Reports,  page  195.)  This  also  was  carried, 
by  appeal,  to  the  Court  for  the  Correction  of  Errors,  and  the 
decision  of  the  Chancellor  was  sustained  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  the  members  of  the  Court.  (See  24th  Wendell's 
Reports,  p.  587.) 

An  issue  of  fact  was  afterwards  made,  in  the  Bogardus 
suit  above  mentioned,  which  was  decided  against  the  com- 
plainant by  the  late  Vice-Chancellor  Sanford,  upon  full  and 
complete  testimony  on  the  part  of  Trinity  Church,  and  no 
appeal  was  taken  from  the  decision.  (See  4th  Sanford's 
Chancery  Reports,  p.  633  ;  Id.,  p.  369.) 

5.  Nine  other  suits  were  brought  in  the  Supreme  Court  by 
another  Cornelius  Brouwer,  in  1847,  claiming  as  an  heir  of 
Anneke  Jans  ;  and,  after  the  causes  were  at  issue,  the  plaintiff 
submitted  to  a  nonsuit. 

6.  In  July,  1 85 1,  an  action  was  commenced  against  Trinity 


1  Black.  Com.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  190,  341,  and  Appendix  p.  vi,  Ed.  by  Christian. 


406 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Church  by  the  same  counsel  in  the  name  of  one  Kiersted,  in 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

7.  And  in  April,  1852,  another  action  was  brought  by  the 
same  counsel,  in  the  name  of  the  same  Kiersted,  in  the 
Supreme  Court,  while  the  action  in  Common  Pleas  was  pend- 
ing. 

The  plaintiff,  Kiersted,  was  compelled  to  elect  between  his 
actions,  and  he  abandoned  that  in  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas. 

The  case  was  heard  in  November,  1854,  and  decided  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1856.    The  bill  was  dismissed  with  costs. 

All  these  suits,  except  those  of  Brouwer  and  Humbert, 
were  commenced  and  conducted  by  the  same  counsel,  George 
Sullivan,  Esq.,  who,  for  twenty-two  years,  had  maintained 
the  litigation  against  Trinity  Church  in  the  name  of  Mr. 
Kiersted  or  others. 

Vice-Chancellor  Sanford,  in  deciding  in  favor  of  Trinity 
Church,  thus  expresses  his  views  : 

"  And  now  that  I  have  been  enabled  to  examine  it  (the  case)  care- 
fully and  with  due  reflection,  I  feel  bound  to  say,  that  a  plainer 
case  has  never  been  presented  to  me  as  Judge.  Were  it  not  for  the 
uncommon  magnitude  of  the  claim,  the  apparent  sincerity  and  zeal 
of  the  counsel  who  supported  it,  and  the  fact  (of  which  I  have  been 
often  admonished  by  personal  application  in  their  behalf),  that  the 
descendants  of  Anneke  Jans  at  this  day  are  hundreds,  if  not  thou- 
sands, in  number,  I  should  not  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  deliver 
a  written  judgment  on  deciding  the  cause." 

THE  STATE  CLAIM. 

II.  In  1854,  Mr.  Rutger  B.  Miller  memorialized  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Land  Office,  alleging  that  he  and  his  asso- 
ciates were  in  possession  of  evidence,  showing  that  the  title 
to  the  property  called  the  King's  Farm,  or  Queen's  Farm,  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  held  by  Trinity  Church,  having  been 
Crown  lands,  and  never  legally  alienated  to  Trinity  Church, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  407 

was  vested  in  the  people  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
offering  to  carry  on  a  suit  of  ejectment  against  Trinity  Church 
at  his  own  expense,  and  recover  the  property  escheated  to 
the  State,  provided  that  one-quarter  of  the  estate  so  recovered 
be  given  to  him. 

An  agreement  was  made  with  Mr.  Miller  by  the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Land  Office,  by  resolutions,  passed  June  10, 

1854,  and  August  31,  1854,  directing  the  Attorney-General 
to  commence  such  a  suit,  on  the  conditions — 

1.  That  the  State  should  be  indemnified  against  incurring 
any  expense  by  the  suit,  by  a  bond  of  indemnity  of  $5,000, 
with  surety  to  be  approved  by  the  Comptroller. 

2.  Provided  that  proper  evidence,  showing  the  title  of  the 
State  to  such  farm,  should  be  first  shown,  and  lodged  with 
the  Attorney-General  of  the  State. 

On  the  22d  January,  1855,  the  Attorney-General  reports  to 
the  Senate,  that  Mr.  Miller  had  not  fulfilled  the  conditions, 
and  that  no  suit  had  been  commenced. 

Subsequently,  it  appears  that  Mr.  Miller  did  comply  with 
some  or  one  of  the  conditions,  gave  the  bond  with  securities, 
and  submitted  his  evidence  of  the  title  of  the  State  to  this 
property  to  the  Attorney-General,  and  through  him  to  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Land  Office,  who  adopted,  March  2, 

1855,  the  following  preamble  and  resolution,  viz.  : 

"  WHiercas,  The  Attorney-General  having  submitted  to  this  Board 
the  testimony  in  regard  to  the  title  of  Trinity  Church  to  the  King's 
Farm,  which  was  furnished  to  him  by  Rutger  B.  Miller,  and  the  same 
being  unsatisfactory, 

"Resolved,  That  the  Resolution  of  June  10,  1854,  directing  the 
commencement  of  a  suit,  and  that  of  August  31,  1854,  in  relation 
to  the  bond,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  rescinded. 

Some  time  afterwards,  in  1855,  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Land  Office,  on  the  urgent  application  of  Mr.  Rutger  B. 
Miller,  renewed  the  authority  and  instructions  to  the  Attorney- 
General,  to  commence  a  suit  to  test  the  title  of  Trinity 


408 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Church,  on  the  terms  proposed  by  Mr.  Miller.  In  January, 
1856,  Trinity  Church  presented  a  memorial  to  the  New  Com- 
missioners of  the  Land  Office,  declaring  that  they  do  not,  in 
any  way,  object  to  a  suit  against  them  to  test  their  title,  but 
praying  that  the  bargain  to  give  Mr.  Miller  a  portion  of  the 
land,  if  recovered  to  the  State,  may  be  annulled,  as  being 
amongst  other  things,  contrary  to  the  Constitution ,  which 
appropriates  all  escheated  lands  to  the  Common  School  Fund, 
and  thus  prohibits  such  payment  to  Mr.  Miller. 

The  bargain,  being  deemed  unconstitutional,  was  aban- 
doned. 

On  the  point  of  the  claim  of  the  State  to  the  property  of 
Trinity  Church,  the  Commissioners  of  the  Land  Office,  in 
1836,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Samuel  Beardsley,  John  A.  Dix, 
A.  C.  Flagg,  A.  Keyser  and  William  Campbell,  put  their 
names  to  the  following  OPINION,  and  establish  the  following 
facts  : 

OPINION. 

1.  That  the  Rector,  Church  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  of  Trinity 
Church  in  the  city  of  New  York,  are  a  valid  corporation,  with  full 
power  to  hold  the  real  estate  which  has  been  referred  to. 

2.  That  it  has  a  valid,  subsisting,  and  absolute  title  to  the  lands 
referred  to. 

3.  That  it  is  entitled  to  the  rents  and  profits  of  said  lands,  without 
any  regard  to  the  amount  of  income  which  they  may  yield. 

FACTS. 

They  establish  the  following  facts  : 

1.  That  in  1  705,  Lord  Cornbury,  Governor  of  the  Province  of  New 
York,  in  the  name,  and  as  the  act  and  deed  of  Queen  Anne,  made  a 
lease,  by  which  the  lands,  called  the  Queen's  Farm  and  the  Queen's 
Garden,  were  granted  and  confirmed  to  the  corporation  of  Trinity 
Church,  and  their  successors  forever,  to  be  holden  in  free  and  com- 
mon socage  paying  the  yearly  rent  of  three  shillings. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  40g 

2.  That  the  power  of  the  Provincial  Governor  to  make  leases  of 
the  Crown  lands  was  unlimited  in  1705,  when  the  lease  in  question 
was  made. 

3.  That  the  lease  was  valid  and  effectual  in  its  inception,  and  was 
so  regarded  during  the  continuance  of  the  Provincial  Government. 

4.  That  the  lease  of  1705,  had  been  regarded  as  a  subsisting  and 
valid  grant,  not  only  by  the  Provincial  Government,  to  as  late  a 
period  as  1750,  when  quit  rent  was  paid  upon  it,  but  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  this  State  in  1786,  when  the  quit  rent  reserved  was  finally 
commuted  and  satisfied. 

5.  That  the  corporation  of  Trinity  Church  has  held  these  lands, 
claiming  an  absolute  and  indefeasible  title  to  them  from  the  time  of 
the  commutation  and  payment  of  said  quit  rent  in  1  786  (then,  in  1836, 
fifty  years,  and  now,  in  1857,  seventy-one  years). 

6.  That  if  the  people  of  the  State  had  then,  in  1786,  a  right  to 
these  lands,  that  right  has  been  lost  by  lapse  of  time,  the  right  of 
suing  for  the  recovery  of  lands  being  limited  to  forty  years  in  this 
State,  and  in  England  and  Provinces  to  sixty  years. 

7.  And  that  the  Legislature  of  the  State  have  repeatedly  recog- 
nized the  corporation  of  Trinity  Church,  as  a  legal,  valid  and  sub- 
sisting corporation.* 

1  The  action  of  ejectment  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  New 
York  to  test  the  title  of  the  State  to  the  property  of  Trinity 
Church,  brought  by  the  Attorney-General  by  direction 
of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Land  Office,  as  above  stated,  in 
1856,  was  decided  against  the  State.  The  decision  was  af- 
firmed on  appeal  by  the  General  Term,  and  re-affirmed  by  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  the  court  of  last  resort,  in  September,  i860, 
on  the  ground  that  the  People  had  failed  to  show  any  title  as 

*  Chief  Justice  Brcmson,  who  had  just  vacated  the  office  of  Attorney-General, 
and  as  such  had  officially  and  fully  considered  the  subject,  is  known  to  have  been 
of  the  same  opinion  as  his  successor,  Mr.  Beardsley. 

1  This  statement  of  the  decision  in  tne  State  suit  in  i860,  of  course  was  not  in 
the  Bishofs  note  written  in  1857,  but  has  been  added  by  the  editor. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


against  the  Church,  and  on  the  further  ground  that  any  such 
acticn  was  barred  by  the  statute  oflimitations.  Chief  Justice 
Comstock  in  delivering  the  opinion  of  the  Court,  says,  "  The 
conclusions  to  which  I  arrive  are  : 

"i.  That  the  Plaintiffs  (the  People)  were  not  entitled  to  re- 
cover on  a  mere  presumption  of  title. 

"  2.  That  the  evidence  failed  to  show  such  title,  and  did 
prove  it  to  be  prima  facie,  in  the  corporation  of  Trinity 
Church. 

"3.  That  the  action  was  barred  by  the  statute  oflimita- 
tions." 

— 22  New  York  Reports,  pp.  44-67. 

The  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church  have  always  maintained  that 
they  hold  the  property  granted  by  Queen  Anne,  not  as  a 
trust  estate,  but  by  a  full,  independent,  bond-fide,  untram- 
melled ownership,  and  that  they  are  not  obliged  by  any  trust 
to  confine  the  application  of  it  exclusively  to  her  own  Parish, 
or  to  the  city  of  New  York,  but  may  extend  it  to  the  country 
churches  and  objects. 

There  are  no  terms  implying  trusteeship  in  the  lease  of  the 
Queen's  Farm,  made  by  Lord  Cornbury,  November  23,  1 705, 
in  the  name  and  as  the  act  and  deed  of  Queen  Anne,  but  the 
lands  "  were  granted  and  confirmed  to  said  corporation,  to 
the  use  of  the  Rector  and  inhabitants  of  the  said  city  of  New 
York  in  communion  with  the  Church  of  England,  as  by  law 
established,  and  their  successors  forever,  to  be  holden  in  free 
and  common  socage,  and  paying  the  yearly  rent  of  three 
shillings."  The  power  of  the  Provincial  Governor  to  make 
leases  of  the  Crown  Lands  was  unlimited  in  1705,  when  the 
lease  in  question  was  made.  This  lease,  therefore,  seems  to 
have  been  valid  and  effectual  in  its  inception,  and  to  have 
been  so  regarded  during  the  continuance  of  the  Provincial 
Government.  And  not  only  by  the  Provincial  Government, 
but  by  the  Government  of  this  State,  in  1786,  when  the  rent 
reserved  was  finally  commuted  and  satisfied. 

The  Charter  of  Trinity  Church  was  granted  in  1697,  when 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  4 1  I 

it  went  into  operation,  and  the  following  persons  constituted 
the  first  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  : 

Wardens. — William  Wcnham,  Col.  Robert  Lurting. 

Vestrymen. — Col.  Caleb  Hcathcote,  William  Merret,  John 
Tudor,  James  Emott,  William  Morris,  Thomas  Clarke, 
Ebenezer  Wilson,  Samuel  Burt,  James  Evets,  Nathaniel 
Marston,  Michael  Howden,  John  Crooke,  William  Sharpas, 
Lawrence  Read,  David  Jamison,  William  Huddleston, 
Gabriel  Ludlow,  Thomas  Burroughs,  William  Janeway,  John 
Merret. 

The  list  of  names  of  those  who  have  since  served  the 
Church  in  the  office  of  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  comprises  six 
Mayors,  seven  Recorders,  nine  Aldermen  of  the  city  ;  three 
Chief  Justices  of  the  State,  five  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
three  Secretaries  of  State,  three  Attorney-Generals,  six  Mem- 
bers of  Congress,  three  Governors  of  the  State,  several  dis- 
tinguished officers  of  the  Army,  sundry  eminent  lawyers, 
physicians,  and  merchants,  and  many  prominent  men  in 
other  lines  of  life. 

The  affairs  of  Trinity  Church  have  been  in  the  hands  of 
such  gentlemen  as  these  for  a  period  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  years,'  amid  every  kind  of  fluctuation — political,  civil, 
and  religious — and  they,  and  their  descendants,  may  safely 
challenge  the  City,  the  State,  and  the  whole  land,  and  the  en- 
tire body  of  the  Church  in  this  country,  to  present  to  our 
view  a  wiser,  safer,  more  judicious,  more  useful,  and  more  un- 
sullied management  of  a  religious  corporation  of  similar  mag- 
nitude and  relations. 

The  Clergy  of  Trinity  Church  have  not  been  pampered  with 
extravagant  salaries. 

The  Wardens  and  Vestrymen  have  not  enriched  themselves 
by  the  management  of  her  property. 

There  has  been  no  unrighteous  speculations  in  the  use  of 
her  means. 

1  Now  (1876)  179  years. 


412 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


There  has  been  no  application  of  her  property  to  objects 
alien  to  her  Charter  or  her  character. 

No  political  intrigues  or  schcmings,  whether  in  the  State  or 
Nation,  have  ever  been  essayed  by  her  means. 

No  Court  of  law  and  no  Legislature  has  ever  sanctioned 
any  of  the  alleged  claims  to  her  property  or  her  franchises 
when  they  were  brought  to  the  calm,  cold  test  of  law,  truth, 
and  fact. 

I  am,  myself,  under  no  personal  obligations  to  the  Rector, 
Wardens,  and  Vestrymen  of  Trinity  Church,  for  honor,  office 
or  emolument.  I  once  served,  when  a  Deacon,  for  three 
months,'  as  a  temporary  assistant  in  the  Parish.  My  own 
official  applications,  as  Bishop,  for  aid  to  feeble  parishes  in 
my  Diocese,  have  not  always  met  with  success. 

My  great-grandfather,  Colonel  Caleb  Heathcote,  heads  the 
list  of  the  first  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  in  1697.  My  grand- 
father, Lieutenant-Governor  De  Lancey,  lies  interred  beneath 
her  walls.3  My  father,  John  Peter  De  Lancey,  and  other  rela- 
tives, have  been  the  friends  and  supporters  of  the  corpora- 
tion.   I  put  on  record  the  declaration,  that  I  have  seen  and 

1  In  1821. 

2  Caleb  Heathcote,  son  of  Gilbert  Heathcote,  Mayor  of  Chesterfield,  Derby- 
shire, England,  born  there  in  1667,  came  to  New  York  in  1691,  was  Colonel  and 
first  Judge  of  the  County  of  Westchester,  Member  of  the  Provincial  Council, 
Alderman,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York,  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Admiralty  of 
the  same,  and  Surveyor-General  of  the  Customs  of  North  America.  He  died  in 
New  York,  March  19,  172 1,  and  was  buried  in  Trinity  churchyard,  beneath  the 
southwesternmost  window  of  the  original  church,  where  also  were  buried  his 
widow,  and  three  daughters  who  died  young. 

The  De  Lancey  family  vault  was  in  the  middle  aisle  of  the  original  church,  at 
the  end  nearest  the  chancel,  which  was  at  the  east  end  of  the  church  nearest 
Broadway,  not  at  the  west  end  as  in  the  second  edifice,  and  in  the  present  Trinity 
Church,  and  contains  the  remains  of  Eticnne  (Stephen)  De  Lancey,  his  wife, 
and  children  and  grandchildren  who  died  before  1776,  Lt.-Gov.  De  Lancey,  some 
of  his  children,  and  all  of  the  family  who  died  in  New  York  previous  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  church  by  the  fire  of  that  year.  Since  that  date  it  has  not  been 
used,  and  is  beneath  the  present  structure. — Ed. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  4 1 3 

0 

heard  nothing  to  destroy  my  confidence  in  the  purity,  in- 
tegrity, fidelity,  and  wisdom  of  the  management  of  her  estate, 
enlarged  not  by  the  wit  or  contrivance  of  man,  but  by  the 
Providence  of  God,  pre-eminently  blessing  the  government, 
State,  and  city  to  which  she  belongs. 

I  have  made  this  compilation  of  facts  and  views,  that  the 
case  of  Trinity  Church  corporation  might  be  understood  in 
Western  New  York  and  elsewhere.  When  this  Church  asks 
the  shelter  of  law,  justice,  and  truth  against  aggression,  a  fair 
statement  of  her  means,  and  a  just  and  righteous  judgment  on 
her  proceedings,  responsibilities,  gifts,  and  labors,  I  am  con- 
strained to  say,  in  view  of  her  past  history,  present  means  and 
opening  opportunities  of  usefulness,  that  I  adopt  not  the 
language  of  distrust,  denunciation,  or  assault,  but  the  cordial 
prayer  of  the  Psalmist  :  "  Peace  be  within  thy  walls,  and 
plenteousness  within  thy  palaces  ;  for  my  brethren  and  com- 
panions' sake  I  will  wish  thec  prosperity ;  yea,  because  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord  our  God,  I  will  seek  to  do  thee  good  " 


NOTE  IV. 

DESCENT    OF    WILLIAM    LIVINGSTON,  AND    THE    WIFE  OF 
WILLIAM  SMITH,  FROM  ANNEKE  JANS. 

Volume  I.,  page  10. 

The  Livingston  descent  from  Anncke  Jans  referred  to  in  the 
text,  thus  appears  from  the  authorities  cited  below  : 

Philip  Livingston,  eldest  son  of  Robert  Livingston  of 
Albany,  the  first  of  the  family  in  America,  the  time  of  whose 
arrival  here  is  unknown,  but  was  "  asearly  as  February,  1676," 
and  father  of  the  William  Livingston  mentioned  in  the  text, 
married,  19th  September,  1707,  at  Albany,  Catherina  Van 
Brugh,  daughter  of  Capt.  Pieter  van  Br  ugh,  or  ver  Brugge, 
as  the  name  was  originally  spelled,  whose  mother  was 
Catrina,  the  second  daughter  of  the  famous  Anneke  Jans, 


4H 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


by  her  first  husband  Roelofife  Jans,  she,  Catrina,  being  at  the 
time  of  her  marriage,  29th  March,  1658,  the  widow  of  Lucas 
Rodenburgh,  who  had  died  about  two  years  before.  This 
Philip  Livingston,  who  was  the  second  lord  of  the  manor  of 
Livingston,  and  a  strong  supporter  of  the  Colonial  Govern- 
ment, had  by  this  lady,  who  died  20th  February,  1756,  aged 
66,  nine  children  (William  mentioned  in  the  text  being  the 
fifth  son),  all  of  whom  were,  of  course,  great-great-grandchil- 
dren of  Anneke  Jans  herself.  His  descent  is  thus  alluded  to 
in  a  letter  to  Baron  van  der  Capellen,  in  1778,  by  William 
Livingston  himself  (Scdgzcick' s  Life  of  Livingston,  p.  312)  : 
"From  my  affection  for  liet  Vadcrland  (political  considera- 
"  tions  apart),  I  could  wish  for  a  friendly  connexion  between 
"  the  Old  and  New  Netherland,  being,  by  parentage  at  least, 
"  three-quarters  of  a  Dutchman  myself." — Genealogies  of 
the  First  Settlers  of  Albany,  "Bogardus,"  "  ver  Brugge," 
"Livingston,"  vol.  iv.,  Munscll 's  Collections  on  the  History 
of  Albany. 

The  wife  of  William  Smith,  Jr.,  was  Janet  Livingston, 
daughter  of  James  Livingston  and  Elizabeth  Kierstcde,  a 
descendant  of  Sarah,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Anneke  Jans, 
who  married  Hans  Kierstede.  Susan  Smith,  sister  of  Wil- 
liam, married  a  brother  of  his  wife,  Robert  J.  Livingston. 
James  Livingston,  father  of  these  two,  was  son  of  a  Robert 
Livingston,  Jr.,  and  Margarita  Schuyler.  This  Robert  Liv- 
ingston, Jr.,  was  the  first  American  ancestor  of  an  entirely 
distinct  family  of  Livingstons,  from  the  Livingstons  of  the 
manor  above  mentioned,  and  came  to  America  in  16S6.  He 
is  said  to  have  been  either  a  cousin  from  Scotland,  or  a 
nephew,  of  the  first  named  Robert,  the  first  of  the  name  in 
America,  and  first  patentee  of  the  manor. — Holgate's  Am. 
Gen.,  159  and  183,  "  Livingston,  Robert,  Jr."  MunselVs 
Col.  Hist.  Alb.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  123. 

In  1760  the  descendants  of  Anneke  Jans  were  compara- 
tively few.  In  a  communication  from  the  Browers  and 
Bogarduscs,  making  their  claim  anew,  in  the  New  York  Packet 
of  February  5,  1784,  twenty-four  years  afterwards,  it  is  stated, 
referring  to  the  action  mentioned  in  the  text,  "  that  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  4 1  5 

"  action  being  instituted  by  the  Browcrs  only,  who  were  col- 
"  laterally,  not  lineally  interested,  a  verdict,  it  is  readily  con- 
"  fessed,  was  given  in  favor  of  the  corporation,  the  lineal  heir- 
"  at-law  not  being  one  of  the  plaintiffs."  It  also  alleges 
that  the  Vestrymen  afterward  virtually  confessed  the  claim 
by  "  offering  a  Mrs.  Livingston,  one  of  the  claimants,  .£1,500 
"  for  her  right,"  but  states  no  evidence  of  the  fact. 


NOTE  V. 

HARSH  INVECTIVE  IN  THE  KINGS  COLLEGE  CONTROVERSY. 
Volume  I.,  page  12. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  one  Presbyterian 
Clergyman  to  another,  quoted  at  full  length  in  an  article  on 
the  Kings  College  Controversy  in  The  New  York  Merctiry 
Newspaper,  No.  43,  for  June  4,  1753,  illustrates  the  remarks 
in  the  text  : 

"  Oh  !  that  the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  your  parts 
"  would  excite  the  People  to  banish  that  rag  of  the  Whore 
"  of  Babylon,  the  Church  of  England,  out  of  your  country." 

The  letter  is  dated  "  New  Jersey,  June  3,  1752,"  and  is  a 
singular  instance  of  the  heated  antagonisms  of  the  college 
charter  controversialists. 


NOTE  VI. 

THE    IRISH    PETITION    AGAINST    THE   CHARTER  OF  KINGS 

COLLEGE. 

Volume  /.,  pages  14,  15. 

The  Independent  Reflector,  No.  40,  of  August  30,  1753, 
closes  with  the  attack  on  Gaine,  here  referred  to.  In  Gainc's 
New  York  Mercury  of  3d  Sept.,  1753,  is  a  communication, 


416 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


signed  "The  Printer,"  which  alludes  to  a  piece  reflecting  on 
a  whole  nation — evidently  the  Irish  Petition — and  contains 
a  letter  dated  April  6,  1753,  which,  however,  is  signed  by 
William  Smith,  Jr.,  and  John  Morin  Scott  only.  Whether 
there  was  any  preceding  publication  of  a  piece  full  of  Irishisms, 
etc.,  cannot  now  be  known  with  certainty,  as  there  is  no 
copy  of  the  New  York  Mercury  extant  prior  to  No.  43,  of 
June  4,  1753,  and  the  incidents  mentioned  occurred  in  the 
preceding  April. 


NOTE  VII. 

THE   KINGS    COLLEGE   CONTROVERSY    AND   THE  "WATCH 

TOWER." 

Volume  I.,  p.  16. 

The  Watch  Tower  was  first  published  on  the  25th  Novem- 
ber, 1754.  in  the  columns  of  the  New  York  Mercury,  and  the 
last  number  appeared  in  that  newspaper  on  the  17th  Novem- 
ber, 1755,  after  the  commencement  of  the  French  war.  "  We 
"  have  at  length,  with  great  trouble,"  writes  William  Living- 
ston to  the  Rev.  Noah  Welles,  the  Presbyterian  clergyman 
of  Stamford,  Conn.,  an  old  friend  and  classmate,  on  Dec.  7> 
x754.  "  g°t  Mr.  Gaine  to  enter  into  an  agreement  with  us  to 
"allot  us  the  first  part  of  his  newspaper  for  the  publication 
"  of  our  thoughts,  which  we  do  under  the  name  of  the  Watch 
"Tower.  *****  The  affair  of  the  college  is  not  yet 
"  settled.  The  Governor'  has  passed  a  charter  for  a  church- 
"  college,  and  the  Assembly  voted  to  print  a  bill,  which  was 
"  brought  in  by  my  brother,"  for  a  free  one,  but  whether  it 
"will  pass  the  House  we  know  not.  At  the  beginning  of 
"  the  session  we  had  a  majority,  but  as  the  Governor  interests 
"  himself  warmly  in  the  matter  to  support  his  charter,  some 
"  of  our  party  began  to  flag  ;  for  which  reason  we  thought 


'  James  Dc  Lancey. 


*  Robert  Livingston,  then  sitting  for  his  own  manor. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  4  I  7 

"  it  most  proper  not  to  run  the  risk  of  a  vote,  but  to  take  it 
"  from  the  committee,  with  a  resolve  to  have  it  printed,  hop- 
"  ing  that  the  public,  by  comparing  the  charter  with  the  bill, 
"  will  give  the  preference  to  the  latter.  So  that  we  intend  to 
"  improve  the  time  between  this  and  the  next  session  to  keep 
"  the  province  warm  in  so  momentous  an  affair.  The  Dutch 
"  begin  to  see,  and  the  designs  of  our  adversaries  give  a  more 
"  general  umbrage  than  ever. 

"  As  almost  all  the  authors  of  the  Watch  Tower  are  men  of 
"  business,  I  hope  you  will  not  refuse  us  your  assistance,  for 
"  we  would  by  no  means  suffer  a  week  to  slip  without  some- 
"  thing,  though  we  could  not  always  furnish  a  paper  on  our 
"public  controversies.  For  if  we  once  drop  it,  it  may  be 
"  difficult  to  get  the  printer  in  the  same  humor.  He  is  a 
"fickle  fellow,  and  easily  intimidated  by  our  opponents. 
"  However,  we  have  entered  into  articles  of  agreement,  in 
"  writing,  which  we  hope  he  will  not  break  through." 

These  violent  efforts  "  to  keep  the  province  warm  "  were 
as  successful  in  raising  its  temperature  as  they  were  unsuc- 
cessful in  defeating  the  college.  It  went  into  operation,  and 
has  continued  to  this  day,  with  a  change  of  name,  as  Colum- 
bia College.  Its  opening  was  described  with  bitter  humor  by 
Livingston  himself,  in  August,  1754. 

"  It  was  opened  last  June,  in  the  vestry-room  of  the  school- 
"  house  belonging  to  Trinity  Church.  It  consists  of  seven 
"  students,  the  majority  of  whom  were  admitted,  though 
"  utterly  unqualified,  in  order  to  make  a  flourish.1  They  meet 
"  for  morning  prayers  in  the  church,  and  are  like  to  make  as 
"  great  progress  in  the  liturgy  as  in  the  sciences.  The 
"  doctor's3  advertisement  promises  stupendous  matters.  He 
"  is  even  to  teach  the  knowledge  of  all  nature  in  the 
"  heavens  above  us.  Whether  he  intends  to  descend  as 
"low  as  he  soars  on  high,  and  conduct  his  disciples  to  the 

*  These  seven  students,  it  may  be  stated,  were  Samuel  Verplanck,  Rudolph 
Ritzema,  Philip  Van  Cortlandt,  Robert  Bayard,  Samuel  Provoost,  Thomas  Mar- 
ston,  Henry  Cruger,  and  Joshua  Bloomer. — Moore's  Hist.  Sketch  Columbia 
College,  p.  20. 

s  The  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  the  President. 
27 


4  iS 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  bottom  of  Tartarus,  he  doth  not  inform  the  public." — Letter 
to  Chaitnccy  Whittelscy ,  at  New  Haven,  Sedgwick's  Life 
of  W.  Livingston,  p.  91.  Letter  to  Rev.  Noah  Welles,  id., 
p.  104. 

In  a  letter  of  March  20,  1759,  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Johnson, 
President  of  Kings  College,  to  Archbishop  Seeker  {Col.  Hist. 
N.  V.,  vii. ,  p.  371),  relative  to  the  Reflector  s  and  Watch 
Tower's  and  Smith's  attacks  (in  his  History  of  New  York) 
on  the  Church  of  England  and  the  Society's  missionaries,  is 
the  following  passage,  throwing  much  light  on  the  subject : 

"  One  book  indeed,  which  has,  I  imagine,  been  a  principal  occa- 
sion of  the  complaints  against  the  Society  and  Missionaries,  is  the 
'  History  of  New  York,'  lately  published  in  London,  which  doubt- 
less Your  Grace  has  seen.  This  was  wrote  by  one  Smith  of  this 
Town,  upon  which  Mr.  Barclay  has  made  some  very  just  remarks, 
which  were  sent  about  two  months  ago,  and  I  hope  are  now  in  the 
Secretary's  hands.  This  Smith  is  a  lawyer  here  of  some  note,  who 
with  two  others  of  the  same  profession,  Livingston  and  Scott,  all  bit- 
ter enemies  to  our  Church  and  College,  were  believed  to  be  the 
Chief  writers  of  the  Reflectors  and  Watch  Towers. — And  I  believe 
one  of  the  leading  occasions  of  his  writing  this  history  was,  that  he 
might  abuse  the  Church,  Society,  and  Missionaries,  as  it  contains  a 
summary  of  what  they  had  before  published  in  those  papers  so  far  as 
religion  is  concerned." 


NOTE  VIII. 

THE  DUTCH  CHURCH,  ITS  INTERNAL  QUARREL  WITH  THE 
ENGLISH  PRESBYTERIAN  PARTY,  AND  ITS  LAWSUIT  OF 
1763. 

Volume  I.,  pp.  21-23. 

THE  first  Dutch  clergyman  in  New  Netherland,  the  Rev. 
Jonas  Michaelius,  arrived  in  New  Amsterdam  April  7,  1628, 
sent  out  by  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  (at  the  instance  of  the 
Dutch  West  India  Company'),  four  of  which  body,  "the  Ven- 
"  erable  Brothers,"  Rudolphus  Petri,  Joannes  Sylvius, 
Dom.  Cloppenburgh,  and  Adrian  Smoutius,  "  were  charged 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  419 

0 

"  with  the  superintendence  of  these  regions."  To  the  last  of 
these  four  Michaclius  addressed  a  letter,  "  from  the  Island  of 
"  Manhatas  in  New  Nethcrland,  this  nth  August,  Anno 
"  1628,"  stating,  among  other  things,  the  organization  of  the 
Dutch  Church  in  New  York,  in  these  words  : 

"  We  have  first  established  the  form  of  a  church  (gemeente) ; 
"and  as  Brother  Bastiaen  Crol  1  very  seldom  comes  down 
"  from  Fort  Orange,  because  the  directorship  of  that  fort  and 
"the  trade  there  is  committed  to  him,  it  has  been  thought  best 
"to  choose  two  elders  for  my  assistance,  and  for  the  proper 
"  consideration  of  all  such  ecclesiastical  matters  as  might  oc- 
"  cur  ;  intending  the  coming  year,  if  the  Lord  permit,  to  let 
"one  of  them  retire,  and  to  choose  another  in  his  place  from 
"  a  double  number  first  lawfully  presented  by  the  congrega- 
"  tion.  One  of  those  whom  we  have  now  chosen  is  the 
"  Honorable  Director  himself,"  and  the  other  is  the  storekeeper 
"  of  the  company,  Jan  Huyghen,  his  brother-in-law  ;  persons 
"  of  very  good  character,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn, 
"having  both  been  formerly  in  office  in  the  church,  the  one 
"  as  deacon,  the  other  as  elder,  in  the  Dutch  and  French 
"  churches  respectively,  at  Wesel. 

"We  have  had,  at  the  first  administration  of  the  Lord's 
"  Supper,  full  fifty  communicants — not  without  great  joy  and 
"  comfort  for  so  many — Walloons  and  Dutch  ;  of  whom  a  por- 
"  tion  made  their  first  confession  of  the  faith  before  us,  and 
"  others  exhibited  their  church  certificates.  Others  had  for- 
"  gotten  to  bring  their  certificates  with  them,  not  thinking  that 
"  a  church  would  be  formed  and  established  here  ;  and  some 
"who  had  brought  them  had  lost  them,  unfortunately,  in  a 
"  general  conflagration  ;  but  they  were  admitted  upon  the 
"  satisfactory  testimony  of  others  to  whom  they  were  known, 
"  and  also  upon  their  daily  good  deportment,  since  we  cannot 
"  observe  strictly  all  the  usual  formalities  in  making  a  begin- 
"  ning  under  such  circumstances. 

1  Sebastian  Jansen  Krol,  or  Crol,  and  Jan  Huyck,  were  the  two  "  Krank- 
besoeckers"  or  consolers  of  the  sick,  "  a  part  of  whose  duty  was  to  read  on  Sundays 
to  the  congregation  some  texts  out  of  the  Scriptures,  together  with  the  creeds." — 
Br>idhtad,  p.  165.  5  Petrus  Minuit. 


420 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"•We  administer  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Lord  once  in 
"  four  months,  provisionally,  until  a  larger  number  of  people 
"  shall  otherwise  require.  The  Walloons  and  French  have  no 
"service  on  Sundays,  otherwise  that'  in  the  Dutch  language, 
"  of  which  they  understand  very  little." — Col.  Doc.  N.  Y.,  iv., 
763-4. 

The  first  house  on  New  York  Island  was  erected  in  1613, 
the  next  year  there  were  four,  and  in  161 5  the  fort  at  the 
south  end  of  the  island  was  built  by  Hendrick  Corstiaensen. 
In  162 1  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  was  chartered.  In 

1624,  Petrus  Minuit,  the  first  Director-General,  arrived.  In 

1625,  Sarah  de  Rapelje,  the  first  native  white  child,  was  born 
at  the  Wallabout,  in  Brooklyn.3  In  1628,  as  stated  above, 
Michaelius,  the  first  clergyman  sent  by  the  Classis  of  Amster- 
dam, arrived,  and  established  the  first  Dutch  Church  in  New 
York,  finding  already  there  fifty  communicants. 

Under  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  the  Dutch  Church  thus 
founded,  continued,  implicitly  obeying  all  its  commands  with 
reverence  and  respect,  and  looking  to  it  for  all  ordinations 
of  clergymen,  until  1763,  when  the  English  Presbyterian  ele- 
ment brought  in  Laidlie,  as  stated  in  the  text,  exactly  150 
years  from  the  foundation  of  the  city  in  161 3.  In  1737,  a 
movement  for  a  local  assembly  of  ministers  and  elders,  to  be 
subordinate  to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  called  a"  Ccetus," 
was  made,  and  a  plan  sent  the  next  year  to  the  Classis  at  Am- 
sterdam for  consideration.  It  was  evidently  not  agreeable,  for 
no  answer  was  returned  till  1747,  nine  years  afterwards,  when 
a  modified  assent  to  its  formation  was  given,  but  permitting 
no  ordinations  without  the  previous  consent  of  the  Classis  01 
Amsterdam.  At  the  close  of  1752  began  the  politico-Presby- 
terian movements  of  Smith,  Livingston,  and  Scott,  to  obtain 
power  and  place,  as  stated  by  the  author.  In  1753,  it  was 
proposed  in  the  "Ccetus"  to  form  a  regular  independent 
Classis.  This  aroused  the  old  Holland  element,  which  com- 
prised the  wealth  and  strength  of  the  Church. 

1  Sic  in  original. 

2  O'Callaglian's  Hist.  New  Netherland,  i.,  69.  Broadhead.  i.,  54.  Holgate's 
Am.  Genealogies,  "  Rapelje." 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  42  I 

To  counteract  the  "  Ccetus  "  radical  party,  they  formed  an 
organization  to  support  the  church  as  it  was  and  the  Classis 
of  Amsterdam,  which  they  called  the  "  Conference." 

These  parties  were  nearly  even  in  numbers,  and  carried  on 
a  contest  for  several  years  with  great  acrimony.  Finally, 
having  obtained  a  preponderance  of  the  deacons  and  ciders 
on  their  side,  the  Ccetus  party,  professedly  on  the  ground  of 
the  growing  disuse  of  the  Dutch  language  in  New  York,  de- 
termined to  call  a  clergyman  who  should  not  be  a  Dutchman, 
and  who  could  preach  in  English.  Later,  in  1763,  they  called 
the  Rev.  Archibald  Laidlic,  or  Laidly,  a  Scotch  Presby- 
terian, born  in  Scotland,  educated  at  Edinburgh,  who  in 
1759,  four  years  before,  had  gone  from  Scotland  to  Holland, 
and  was  then  residing  at  Flushing.  Accepting  the  call,  he 
arrived  in  New  York  in  March,  1764,  and  on  the  15th  of  the 
succeeding  April  he  preached  the  first  English  sermon  ever 
heard  in  a  Dutch  church  in  New  York.  To  conciliate  the 
old  Dutch  party,  he  had,  however,  been  called  through  the 
Classis  of  Amsterdam,  but  without  the  effect  desired.  The  con- 
test now  became  very  hot.  The  old  Dutch  felt  that  the  doc- 
trine, mode  of  worship,  government,  property,  and  name  of 
the  church  were  at  stake,  and  the  English  party  were  deter- 
mined to  succeed  in  effecting  their  ends.  Hence  the  scenes 
so  vividly  depicted  in  the  text.  A  writer  in  the  interest  of 
the  English  party,  in  the  Christian  Magazine,  gives  this 
very  similar  account  of  them:  "The  peace  of  the  churches 
was  destroyed.  Not  only  neighboring  ministers  and  con- 
gregations were  at  variance,  but  in  many  places  the  same 
congregation  was  divided  ;  and  in  those  instances  in  which 
the  numbers,  or  the  influential  characters,  on  different  sides, 
were  nearly  equal,  the  consequences  became  very  deplorable. 
Houses  of  worship  were  locked  by  one  part  of  the  congregation 
against  the  other.  Tumults  on  the  Lord's  Day,  at  the  doors  of 
the  churches,  were  frequent.  Quarrels  respecting  the  services, 
and  the  contending  claims  of  different  ministers  and  people, 
often  took  place.  Preachers  were  sometimes  assaulted  in  the 
pulpits,  and  public  worship  either  disturbed  or  terminated  by 
violence.    In  these  attacks  the  Confercntic  party  were  con- 


422 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


sidere'd  as  the  most  vehement  and  outrageous.  But  on  both 
sides  a  furious  and  intemperate  zeal  prompted  many  to  ex- 
cesses, which  were  a  disgrace  to  the  Christian  name,  and 
threatened  to  bring  into  contempt  that  cause  which  both  pro- 
fessed to  be  desirous  of  supporting."  This  controversy  was 
kept  up  for  about  fifteen  years  with  virulence,  and  its  effects 
lasted  till  near  the  end  of  the  century.  Laidlie  preached  in 
the  North  Dutch  Church,  in  Fulton  Street,  finished  after  his 
arrival,1  and  bitterly  opposed  the  holydays  of  Christmas, 
Easter,  Whitsunday,  etc.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Livingston,  then  a 
young  licentiate,  agreed  with  him  in  this.  "  You  say  they 
are  rather  wicked  or  devilish  days  than  holydays,"  says 
Abraham  Lott,  in  a  letter  to  the  latter  in  November,  1768  ; 
"very  true;  but  would  the  neglect  of  preaching  on  those 
days  lessen  the  wickedness  practised  on  them  ?    I  say  no. 

However  much  I  approve  of  your  consulting  Dr. 
Laidlie,  ...  I  can  by  no  means  approve  of  your  advis- 
ing with  him  in  matters  where  he  stands,  in  my  opinion, 
wrong  affected."  3    Dr.  Laidlie  died  at  Red  Hook  in  1780. 

The  lawsuit  in  the  Supreme  Court  was  entitled,  "  Abel 
Hardenbrook  versus  John  Bogert,  Jr.,  Esq.,  and  others."  It 
began  in  1763,  and  terminated  in  1765,  by  a  trial  on  the  26th 
of  April,  before  a  struck  jury  of  the  following  well-known 
citizens  : 


Samuel  Verplanck., 
John  Harris  Cruger, 
David  Clarkson, 
Robert  Griffin, 
Lawrence  Kortright, 
Beverly  Robinson, 


Thomas  White, 
John  Shoals, 
William  Bedlow, 
John  Provoost,  Esq., 
Lewis  Pintard, 
Walter  Rutherfurd. 


The  Judges  were  Daniel  Horsmanden,  Chief  Justice  ;  David 
Jones,  second  Judge  ;  William  Smith  the  elder,  third  Judge  ; 
ami  Robert  R.  Livingston,  fourth  Judge.     The  plaintiff's 

1  While  these  sheets  were  going  through  the  press,  this  Old  North  Dutch 
Church  was  being  pulled  down  to  build  stores  on  its  site,  a  sacrifice  to  the  needs 
of  trade  and  the  upward  movement  of  dwellings. 

*  Gunn's  Life  of  Livingston,  p.  200. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  423 

counsel  were  the  Attorney-General,  James  Duane,  and  Daniel 
Kissam.  The  defendants'  counsel  were  William  Smith  the 
younger,  Whitehead  Hicks,  William  Livingston,  and  John 
Morin  Scott. 

After  a  trial  of  twenty-one  hours,  the  Court  directed  the  jury 
to  bring  in  a  special  verdict  as  to  the  matters  of  law,  to  be  de- 
termined by  the  Court,  and  to  find  three  matters-of-fact  upon 
the  evidence  adduced  : 

1.  That  the  plaintiff  had  made  a  lawful  demand  to  vote 
at  the  election  in  1763,  and  that  his  vote  had  been  refused. 

2.  That  the  majority  of  the  members  assembled  on  that 
day  appeared  to  have  been  on  the  side  of  the  plaintiff  to 
vote. 

3.  That  the  minister  of  the  Dutch  Church  had  a  vote  in  the 
election  for  elders  and  deacons. 

This  verdict  was  accordingly  given,  and  the  jury  dis- 
charged. 

The  Court  determined  the  law-points,  however,  in  favor  of 
the  dcfcjidaiits,  deciding  that,  in  elections  in  the  Dutch 
Church,  under  the  polity  of  that  Church,  the  Consistory 
elected  the  elders  and  deacons,  and  not  the  body  of  the 
communicants,  as  claimed  on  the  part  of  the  plaintiff,  and 
that,  therefore,  his  vote  was  rightly  rejected.  Justices  Smith, 
Livingston,  and  Jones,  in  the  affirmative  ;  Chief-Justice  Hors- 
manden  dissenting. —  Gunn's  Life  of  Rev.  Dr.  Livingston, 
chapters  iii.  and  iv. 

This  decision  placed  the  entire  control  of  the  Dutch  Church 
and  its  property  in  the  hands  of  the  English  Presbyterian,  or 
Laidlie  party,  who  held  it  when  the  British  took  possession 
of  New  York,  after  the  battle  of  Brooklyn,  in  1776  ;  and  it 
was  really  the  cause  of  Sir  William  Howe's  taking  the  Dutch 
churches  in  that  city  for  hospitals  and  cavalry  training  schools. 
For  finding  this  party  in  possession,  and  that  their  leaders 
were  nearly  all  on  the  American  side,  he  took  possession  of 
these  edifices  as  rebel  property,  and  turned  over  the  revenues 
of  the  estates  to  those  of  the  old  Dutch  party  who  continued 
in  the  city,  assuming  to  set  aside  the  judgment  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  by  virtue  of  his  military  power. 


424 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  following  extract  is  from  a  broadside  in  the  New 
York  Historical  Society's  Library — written  by  William  Liv- 
ingston— relating  to  this  Laidliean  lawsuit  and  its  result. 

"extract  from  'a  wonderful  dream.' 

"*  *  *  Last  Sabbath  Day,  the  Dutch  performed  divine  Worship, 
for  the  last  Time,  in  the  said  New  Dutch  Church,  agreeable  to  an 
Act  passed  last  Sessions,  by  which  it  was,  among  other  Things, 
enacted,  The  said  Church  should  be  governed  by  a  Majority  of  its 
Members  ;  which  last  Week  was  carried,  in  Favour  of  the  present 
glorious  Establishment.  The  whole  Congregation  on  that  Occasion, 
consisted  but  of  80  Persons,  the  rest  being  chiefly  removed  to  Hol- 
land, Coracoa,  and  Surinam. — The  Do/nine  pathetically  bewail'd  the 
Ruin  of  that  once  flourishing  Church,  and  reminded  them  of  their 
past  Folly,  in  having  so  long  been  deluded  by  their  Enemies  ;  first, 
by  admitting  an  English  Minister,  under  pretence  of  being  ordained 
in  Holland,  to  preach  among,  and  infatuate  them,  which  he  then 
undertook,  to  shew,  was  contrived  by  their  Enemies  ;  first,  to  divide 
them,  and  then  to  bring  them  over  to  the  English  Presbyterians, 
i.e.,  Independents,  zdly,  That  they  had  been  basely  imposed  upon, 
and  seduced  hereunto,  by  a  mischievous  Writer  (as  he  said)  who 
with  a  base  Republican  View,  above  20  Years  ago  had  set  up  for  a 
great  Patriot  and  Reformer,  under  the  Title  of  The  Independent  de- 
flector, and  afterwards  that  of  the  Watch-Tower.  3rdly,  Thai,  they 
had,  notwithstanding  repeated  Cautions  to  the  Contrary,  without 
any  Manner  of  Reason,  entertained  Jealousies  of  the  Church  of 
England,  with  whom  they  had  always  before  lived  in  perfect  Har- 
mony and  good  Agreement,  and  might  have  done  to  this  day  and 
flourished  to  the  End  of  Time.  He  added,  We  are  well  assured, 
that  for  several  Years,  the  Gentlemen  of  all  our  best  Families  have 
been  generally  growing  Free-Thinkers,  and  that  of  late,  in  their 
Clubs,  they  have  many  of  them  openly  declared  themselves  downright 
infidels,  and  sometimes  in  their  Cups,  made  a  horrid  Ridicule  of  all 
Religion.    Such  are  the  dying  Groans  of  the  poor  Dutch  Church  ! " 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


425 


NOTE  IX. 

THE  "WATCHMAN'S"  DOCTRINE  IN  POLITICAL  CONTRO- 
VERSY. 

Volume  I.,  p.  23. 

The  reference  on  page  23  is  to  "The  Watchman,  No.  1," 
a  bitter  personal  attack  on  the  De  Lancey  family  and  its 
members  by  name,  dated  February  8,  1 770,  written  by  Wil- 
liam Livingston,  and  published  first  in  a  newspaper  in  Bos- 
ton, and  then  copied  in  Holt's  New  York  Journal ,  and  also 
printed  and  issued  as  "  broadsides  "  or  placards,  one  of  which 
is  preserved  in  the  New  York  Historical  Society's  Library. 
The  dead  person  attacked  was  Gov.  James  De  Lancey,  who 
died  in  office  at  the  head  of  the  Province  in  1760,  ten  years 
before. 

The  Presbyterian  party,  of  which  Mr.  William  Livingston 
was  a  chief  leader,  had  just  been  tremendously  beaten  in  the 
elections  of  1769,  by  the  Church  of  England  party,  of  which 
Capt.  James  De  Lancey,  the  eldest  son  of  Lt.-Gov.  De  Lan- 
cey, was  the  leader.  Hence  this  assault  on  the  first  move- 
ments of  the  latter  in  the  New  Assembly  of  1770.  The  words 
in  the  text  are  not  exactly  given,  the  author  evidently  writ- 
ing from  memory,  though  the  idea  is  perfectly  presented. 
The  actual  language  used  is  this  :  "  It  is  not  only  justifiable  to 
expose  the  public  enemies  of  a  country,  whether  living  or 
dead,  but  it  is  a  duty  which  every  man  that  can  do  it,  oxves 
to  the  public,  to  prevent  and  deter  others  from  attempting  to 
follow  their  malignant  and  domineering  examples." 

A  complete  refutation  of  the  charges  of  the  Watchman , 
very  terse,  thorough,  and  sharp,  by"  Americanus,"  appeared 
in  Holt's  Journal  of  January  15,  1770.  Who  this  writer  was, 
it  is  believed,  is  not  now  known.  The  two  articles  together, 
divested  of  their  personalities,  throw  much  light  upon  the 
history  of  New  York  during  the  old  French  war,  as  well  as 
give  a  vivid  idea  of  the  political  contests  of  the  De  Lanceys 
and  the  Livingstons  under  the  old  regime. 


426 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  X  . 

HOW  THE  POSTING  OF  McDOUGALL'S  LIBELS  WAS  EFFECTED. 

Volume  I.,  p.  24. 

' '  THE  method  lately  used  in  New  York  to  post  up  inflamma- 
tory handbills,  was  the  same  as  used  in  England  at  the  time  of 
the  Pretender.  It  was  done  by  a  man  who  carried  a  little  boy 
in  a  box  like  a  magic  lantern,  and  while  he  leaned  against  the 
wall,  as  if  to  rest  himself,  the  boy  drew  back  the  slide,  pasted 
on  the  paper,  and  shutting  himself  up  again,  the  man  took 
the  proper  occasion  to  walk  off  to  another  resting  place." 
— Park's  Diary,  Moore's  Diary  Am.  Rev.,  vol.  i.,  p.  55. 


NOTE  XI. 

THE  LIBEL  FOR  WHICH  McDOUGALL  WAS  INDICTED. — GOV. 
COLDEN'S  ACCOUNT  OF  HIM  AND  HIS  ARREST,  AND  HIS 
OWN  STATEMENT. 

Volume  I.,  pages  26-33. 

THE  following  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  the  handbill,  attacking 
the  Assembly,  Gov.  Coldcn,  and  the  De  Lancey  family, 
from  one  of  the  originals  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  New 
York  Historical  Society,  which  McDougall  wrote,  and  had 
posted  about  the  city  : 

TO  THE  BETRA  YED  INHABITANTS   OF  THE 
CITY  AND  COLONY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

My  dear  Fellow  Citizens  and  Countrymen. 

In  a  Day  when  the  Minions  of  Tyranny  and  Despot- 
ism in  the  Mother  Country,  and  the  Colonies,  are  indefatiga- 
ble in  laying  every  Snare  that  their  malevolent  and  corrupt 
Hearts  can  suggest,  to  enslave  a  free  People  ;  when  this  un- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  427 

0 

fortunate  Country  has  been  striving  under  many  Disadvan- 
tages for  three  Years  past,  to  preserve  their  Freedom  ;  which 
to  an  Englishman  is  as  dear  as  his  Life, — when  the  Merchants 
of  this  City  and  the  Capital  Towns  on  the  Continents  have 
nobly  and  chearfully  sacrificed  their  private  Interest,  to  the 
publick  Good,  rather  than  to  promote  the  Designs  of  the 
Enemies  of  our  happy  Constitution  :  It  might  justly  be  ex- 
pected, that  in  this  Day  of  Constitutional  Light,  the  Repre- 
sentatives of  this  Colony,  would  not  be  so  hardy,  nor  be  so 
lost  to  all  sense  of  Duty  to  their  Constituents  (especially  after 
the  laudable  Example  of  the  Colonies  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
and  South-Carolina  before  them)  as  to  betray  the  Trust  com- 
mitted to  them.  This  they  have  done,  in  passing  the  Vote  to 
give  the  Troops  a  Thousand  Pounds,  out  of  any  Monies  that 
may  be  in  the  Treasury,  and  another  Thousand  out  of  the 
Money  that  may  be  issued,  to  be  put  out  on  Loan,  which  the 
Colony  will  be  obliged  to  make  good,  whether  the  Bill  for 
that  Purpose  does  or  does  not  obtain  the  Royal  Assent.  And 
that  they  have  betrayed  the  Liberties  of  the  People,  will  ap- 
pear from  the  following  Consideration,  to  wit  :  That  the  Min- 
istry are  waiting  to  see  whether  the  Colonies,  under  their  dis- 
tressed circumstances,  will  divide  on  any  of  the  grand  Points, 
which  they  are  united  in,  and  contending  for  with  the  Mother 
Country,  by  which  they  may  carry  their  Designs  against  the 
Colonies,  and  keep  in  the  Administration.  For  if  this  should 
not  take  place  the  Acts  must  be  repealed  ;  which  will  be  a 
Reflection  on  their  Conduct  and  will  bring  the  Reproach  and 
Clamour  of  the  Nation  on  them,  for  the  Loss  of  Trade  to  the 
Empire  which  their  Mal-conduct  has  occasioned. 

Our  granting  Money  to  the  Troops  is  implicitly  acknowl- 
edging the  Authority  that  enacted  the  Revenue-Acts,  and 
their  being  obligatory  on  us.  As  these  Acts  were  enacted 
for  the  express  Purpose  of  taking  Money  out  of  our  Pockets, 
without  our  Consent  ;  and  to  provide  for  the  Defending  and 
Support  of  Government  in  America  ;  which  Revenue  we  say 
by  our  Grant  of  Money  is  not  sufficient  for  the  Purpose  afore- 
said ;  therefore  we  supply  the  Deficiency. 

This  was  the  Point  of  View  in  which  those  Acts  were  con- 
sidered, by  the  Massachusetts  and  South-Carolina  Assem- 
blies, and  to  prevent  that  dangerous  Construction,  refuted  it. 
On  this  important  Point  we  have  differed  with  these  spirited 
Colonies,  and  do  implicitly  approve  of  all  the  tyrannical  Con- 
duct of  the  Ministry  to  the  Bostonians,  and  by  Implication 
censure  their  laudable  and  patriotic  Denial.  For  if  they  did 
right  ^which  every  sensible  American  thinks  they  did)  in  refus- 


428 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


ing  to  pay  the  Billeting  Money,  surely  we  have  done  wrong 
very  wrong,  in  giving  it.  But  our  Assembly  says,  they  do  their 
Duty,  in  granting  the  Money  to  the  Troops.  Consequently 
the  Massachusetts  Assembly  did  not  do  theirs,  in  not  obeying 
the  Ministerial  Mandate.  If  this  is  not  a  Division  in  this 
grand  Point,  I  know  not  what  is  :  and  I  doubt  not  but  the 
Ministry  will  let  us  know  it  is  to  our  Cost ;  for  it  will  furnish 
them  with  Arguments  and  fresh  Courage.  Is  this  a  grateful 
Retaliation  to  that  brave  and  sensible  People,  for  the  spirited 
and  early  Notice  they  took  of  the  Suspending  Act  ?  No,  it 
is  base  Ingratitude,  and  betraying  the  common  Cause  of 
Liberty. 

To  what  other  Influence  than  the  deserting  the  American 
Cause,  can  the  Ministry  attribute  so  pusillanimous  a  Conduct, 
as  this  of  the  Assembly  ;  so  repugnant  and  subversive  of  all 
the  Means  we  have  used,  and  Opposition  that  has  been  made 
by  this  and  the  other  Colonies,  to  the  tyrannical  Conduct  of 
the  British  Parliament  !  To  no  other.  Can  there  be  a  more 
ridiculous  Farce  to  impose  on  the  People,  than  for  the  Assem- 
bly to  vote  their  Thanks  to  be  given  to  the  Merchants,  for 
entering  into  an  Agreement  not  to  import  Goods  from  Britain, 
until  the  Revenue  Acts  should  be  repealed,  while  they  at  the 
same  Time  counteract  it  by  countenancing  British  Acts,  and 
complying  with  Ministerial  Requisitions,  incompatible  with 
our  Freedom  ?    Surely  there  cannot. 

And  what  makes  the  Assembly's  granting  this  Money  the 
more  grievious  is,  that  it  goes  to  the  Support  of  Troops  kept 
here,  not  to  protect,  but  to  enslave  us.  Has  not  the  Truth 
of  this  Remark  been  lately  exemplified  in  the  audacious, 
domineering  and  inhuman  Maj.  Pullaine,  who  ordered  a 
Guard  to  protect  a  sordid  Miscreant,  that  transgressed  the 
laudable  Non-Importation  Agreement  of  the  Merchants,  in 
order  to  break  that,  which  is  the  only  Means  left  them,  under 
God,  to  baffle  the  Designs  of  their  Fnemies,  to  enslave  this 
Continent.  This  Consideration  alone  ought  to  be  sufficient 
to  induce  a  free  People,  not  to  grant  the  Troops  any  Supply 
whatsoever  if  we  had  no  Dispute  with  the  Mother  Country, 
that  made  it  necessary  not  to  concede  anything  that  might 
destroy  our  Freedom  ;  Reasons  of  CEconomy  and  good 
Policy  suggest,  that  we  ought  not  to  grant  the  Troops  Money. 

Whoever  is  the  least  acquainted  with  the  English  History, 
must  know,  that  Grants  frequently  made  to  the  Crown,  is 
not  to  be  refused,  but  with  some  degree  of  Danger  of  dis- 
turbing the  Repose  of  the  Kingdom  or  Colony.  This  evinces 
the  Expediency  of  our  stopping  these  Grants  now,  while  we 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


4?9 


are  embroiled  with  the  Mother  Country  ;  that  so  \vc  may  not, 
after  the  grand  Controversy  is  settled,  have  a  new  Bone  of 
Contention  about  the  Billeting  Money  ;  which  must  be  the 
case  if  we  do  not  put  an  End  to  it  at  this  Time  :  For  the 
Colony,  in  its  impoverished  State,  cannot  support  a  Charge 
which  amounts  to  near  as  much  per  Annum,  as  all  the  other 
Expences  of  the  Government  besides. 

Hence  it  follows,  that  the  Assembly  have  not  been  atten- 
tive to  the  Liberties  of  the  Continent  nor  to  the  Property  of 
the  good  People  of  this  Colony,  in  particular.  We  must 
therefore  attribute  this  Sacrifice  of  the  public  Interest,  to 
some  corrupt  Source.  This  is  very  manifest  in  the  Guilt  and 
Confusion,  that  covered  the  Faces  of  the  perfidious  Abettors 
of  this  Measure,  when  the  House  was  in  Debate  on  the  Sub- 
ject. Mr.  Colden  knows,  from  the  Nature  of  Things,  that 
he  cannot  have  the  least  Prospect  to  be  in  Administration 
again  ;  and  therefore,  that  he  may  make  Hay  while  the  Sun 
shines,  and  get  a  full  Salary  from  the  Assembly,  flatters  the 
ignorant  Members  of  it,  with  the  Consideration  of  the  Suc- 
cess of  a  Bill  to  emit  a  Paper  Currency,  when  he  and  his 
artful  Coadjutors  must  know,  that  it  is  only  a  snare  to  impose 
on  the  simple  ;  for  it  will  not  obtain  the  Royal  Assent.  But 
while  he  is  solicitous  to  obtain  his  Salary,  he  must  attend  to 
his  Posterity.  And  as  some  of  his  Children  hold  Offices 
under  the  Government,  if  he  did  not  procure  an  Obedience 
to  its  Requisitions,  or  do  his  Duty,  in  case  the  Assembly 
refused  the  Billeting  Money,  by  dissolving  them,  his  Children 
might  be  in  danger  of  losing  their  Offices.  If  he  dissolved 
the  Assembly,  they  would  not  give  him  his  Salary. 

The  De  Lancey  Family  knowing  the  Ascendency  they  have 
in  the  present  House  of  Assembly  and  how  useful  that  Influ- 
ence will  be  to  their  ambitious  Designs,  to  manage  a  new 
Government,  have  left  no  Stone  unturned  to  prevent  a  Dis- 
solution. The  Assembly,  conscious  to  themselves,  of  having 
trampled  on  the  Liberties  of  the  People,  and  fearing  their 
just  Resentments  on  such  an  Event,  are  equally  carcfull  to 
preserve  their  Seats,  expecting  that  if  they  can  do  it  at  this 
critical  Juncture,  as  its  imagined  the  grand  Controversy  will 
be  settled  this  Winter,  they  will  serve  for  seven  Years ;  in 
which  Time  they  hope  the  People  will  forget  the  present  Inju- 
ries done  them.  To  secure  these  several  Objects,  the  De 
Lancey  Family,  like  true  Politicians,  altho'  they  were  to  all 
Appearance,  at  mortal  Odds  with  Mr.  Colden,  and  repre 
sented  him  in  all  Companies,  as  an  Enemy  to  his  Country  ; 
yet  a  Coalition  is  now  formed,  in  order  to  secure  to  them  the 


43Q 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Sovereign  Lordship  of  this  Colony.  The  Effect  of  which, 
has  given  Birth  to  the  abominable  Vote,  by  which  the  Liber- 
ties of  the  People  are  betrayed.  In  short,  they  have  brought 
Matters  to  such  a  Pass,  that  all  the  Checks  resulting  from  the 
Form  of  our  happy  Constitution,  are  destroyed.  The  As- 
sembly might  as  well  invite  the  Council,  to  save  the  Trouble 
of  Formalities,  to  take  their  Seats  in  the  House  of  Assembly, 
and  place  the  Lieutenant  Governor  in  the  Speaker's  Chair, 
and  then  there  would  be  no  Waste  of  Time  in  going  from 
House  to  House,  and  his  Honour  would  have  the  Pleasure  to 
see  how  zealous  his  former  Enemies  are  in  promoting  his 
Interest  to  serve  themselves.  Is  this  a  State  to  be  rested  in, 
when  our  all  is  at  Stake  ?  No  my  Countrymen,  Rouse  !  imi- 
tate the  noble  Example  of  the  Friends  of  Liberty  in  England, 
who  rather  than  be  enslaved,  contend  for  their  right  with 
K  g.  Lords  and  Commons.  And  will  you  sufferyour  Liber- 
ties to  be  torn  from  you  by  your  own  Representatives?  Tell 
it  not  in  Boston  ;  publish  it  not  in  the  Streets  of  Charles- 
town  !  You  have  means  yet  left  to  preserve  Unanimity  with 
the  brave  Bostonians  and  Carolinians  ;  and  to  prevent  the 
Accomplishment  of  the  Designs  of  Tyrants.  The  House  was 
so  nearly  divided  on  the  Subject  of  granting  the  Money  in 
the  Way  the  Vote  passed,  that  one  would  have  prevented  it ; 
you  have  therefore  a  respectable  Minority.  What  I  would 
advise  to  be  done,  is,  to  assemble  in  the  Fields,  on  Monday 
next,  where  your  Sense  ought  to  be  taken  on  this  important 
Point ;  notwithstanding  the  Impudence  of  Mr.  Jauncey,  in 
his  declaring  in  the  House,  that  he  had  consulted  his  Con- 
stituents, and  that  they  were  for  giving  Money.  After  this 
is  done,  go  in  a  Body  to  your  Members,  and  insist  on  their 
joining  with  the  Minority  to  oppose  the  Bill  ;  if  they  dare 
refuse  your  just  Requisition, — appoint  a  Committee  to  draw 
up  a  State  of  the  whole  Matter,  and  send  it  to  the  Speakers 
of  the  several  Houses  of  Assembly  on  the  Continent,  and  to 
the  Friends  of  our  Cause  in  England,  and  publish  it  in  the 
News-Papers,  that  the  whole  World  may  know  your  Senti- 
ments on  this  Matter,  in  the  only  Way  your  Circumstances 
will  admit :  And  I  am  confident  it  will  spirit  the  Friends  of 
our  Cause,  and  chagrin  our  Enemies.  Let  the  Notification 
to  call  the  People,  be  so  expressed,  that  whoever  absents 
himself,  will  be  considered  as  agreeing  to  what  may  be  done 
by  such  as  shall  meet. — And  that  you  may  succeed,  is  the 
unfeigned  Desire  of, 

A  Son  of  Liberty. 

New  York,  Dec.  16/A,  1769. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


431 


GOVERNOR  COLDEN'S  ACCOUNT  OF  MTIOUGALL'S  ACTS  AND  AR- 
REST IN  HIS  DESPATCH  TO  LORD  HILLSBOROUGH  OF  2 1ST  FEB- 
RUARV,    I  770. 

Col.  //is/.  N.  Y.,  viii.,  208. 

"  My  Lord,  it  is  my  duty  to  inform  your  Lord  that  a  violent  party, 
continue  their  assiduous  endeavours  to  disturb  the  Govern1,  by 
working  on  the  passions  of  the  populace,  and  exciting  riots,  who  in 
every  attempt  they  have  hitherto  been  unsuccessful.  The  last,  might 
have  been  of  fatal  consequence,  if  not  prevented  by  the  prudent  con- 
duct of  the  Magistrates  and  Officers  of  the  Army.  An  ill  humor  had 
been  artfully  worked  up  between  the  Towns  people  and  Soldiers, 
which  produced  several  affrays,  and  daily,  by  means  of  wicked  incen- 
diaries, grew  more  serious.  At  last  some  Towns  people  began  to  arm, 
and  the  Soldiers  rushed  from  their  Barracks  to  support  their  fellow 
Soldiers.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  interposition  of  the  Magistrates, 
and  of  the  most  respectable  Inhabitants,  and  of  the  Officers  of  the 
Army,  it  had  become  a  very  dangerous  affair — as  it  was,  only  a  few 
wounds  and  bruises  were  received  on  both  sides.  A  very  respectable 
number  of  the  principal  Citizens  publicly  met  together,  and  sent 
42  of  their  number  to  the  Mayor,  to  assure  the  Magistrates  of 
their  assistance,  in  preserving  the  peace  of  the  Town  ;  and  the  Offi- 
cers of  the  Army  were  no  less  assiduous  in  quieting  the  minds 
of  the  Soldiers,  and  in  guarding  against  every  accident,  which 
might  renew  any  dispute  with  the  Towns  people — since  which,  the 
place  has  remained  quiet.  It  is  not  doubted  here,  that  these  dis- 
turbances were  promoted  by  the  Enemy  of  Govern',  in  order  to 
raise  an  indignation  against  the  Assembly  (then  sitting)  for  granting 
money  to  the  Soldiers,  who  were  represented  as  ready  to  cut  the 
throats  of  the  Citizens. 

The  persons  who  appear  on  these  occasions  are  of  inferior  rank, 
but  it  is  not  doubted  they  are  directed  by  some  persons  of  distinction 
in  this  place.  It  is  likewise  thought,  they  are  encouraged  by  some 
persons  of  note  in  England.  They  consist  chiefly  of  Dissenters,  who 
are  very  numerous,  especially  in  the  Country,  and  have  a  great  in- 
fluence over  the  Country  Members  of  Assembly.  The  most  Active 
among  them  are  independents  from  New  England,  or  educated  there, 
and  of  Republican  principles.  The  friends  of  the  administration,  are 
of  the  Church  of  England,  the  Lutherans,  and  the  old  Dutch  congre- 


43  2 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


gation,  with  several  Presbyterians.  From  this,  the  reason  will  ap- 
pear of  some  bills  having  passed  the  House  of  Assembly  in  favour 
of  the  Dissenters,  and  in  prejudice  to  the  few  ministers  of  the  Church 
of  England,  who  have  stipends  by  a  law  of  this  Prov".  There 
was  less  opposition  to  them  in  that  House,  from  the  confidence  they 
had,  that  they  would  not  be  passed  by  the  Council — they  were  ac- 
cordingly rejected  there.  I  must  leave  it  to  your  Lord's  judgement, 
whether  these  things  deserve  His  Maj,ys  attention,  and  I  transmit 
to  the  Plantation  Board  a  printed  copy  of  the  journal  of  the  Assem- 
bly to  enable  you  to  form  your  judgem'  thereon. 

In  my  letter  of  January  6th,  No.  8,  I  inclosed  a  printed  copy  of  a 
libel  directed  :  "  To  the  Betrayed  Inhabitants  of  the  City  and 
Colony  of  New  York  "  with  a  proclamation  I  issued,  with  the  advice 
of  the  Council,  and  on  an  address  of  the  Assembly,  offering  a  reward 
of  ^"ioo  for  the  discovery  of  the  author.  One  Alexander  McDougall 
is  now  in  Jail ;  committed  on  the  oath  of  the  Printer  and  his  Journey 
Men,  as  the  author  and  publisher  of  that  Libel.  He  is  a  person  of 
some  fortune,  and  could  easily  have  found  the  Bail  required  of  him, 
but  he  choose  to  go  to  Jail,  and  lyes  there  immitating  Mr.  Wilkes  in 
everything  he  can.  When  he  comes  to  his  Tryal  it  will  appear  what 
dependence  we  may  have  on  a  Jury  of  this  place  ;  the  most  respec- 
table persons  in  the  place,  openly  declare  their  opinion,  that  he 
highly  deserves  punishment." 

mcdougall's  own  account. 

After  McDougall  was  imprisoned  he  published  in  Holt's 
Journal  a  paper  on  his  arrest,  addressed  "  To  the  Freeholders, 
Freemen  and  Inhabitants  of  the  Colony  of  New  York  ;  and 
to  all  the  friends  of  liberty  in  North  America,"  and  dated, 
"  from  the  New  Gaol,1  February  9,  1 770,"  in  which  he  gives 
the  following  account  of  the  affair  : 

It  is  supposed  on  good  grounds,  that  one  Cummins,  a  young 
Strippling,  from  Cork,  then  a  Journey- Man  to  James  Parker,  one  of 
the  Printers  of  this  City,  but  afterwards  discharged  forbad  Behaviour, 
allured  by  the  proffered  Reward,  lodged  a  Complaint  against  him 
as  the  Printer  of  the  above-mentioned  Paper  :  For  on  Wednesday 
the  7th  Instant,  the  Sheriff  took  him  into  Custody  on  a  Warrant 


1  Now  the  Hall  of  Records,  in  the  Park. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  433 

issued  by  his  Honour  the  Chief  Justice,  in  which,  as  I  am  informed, 
he  was  charged  as  the  Printer  of  that  Paper,  and  made  amenable 
before  the  Lieut.  Governor  and  Council,  to  be  examined  concerning 
the  Premises.  This  Process  was  in  all  Things  strictly  executed. 
While  he  was  detained  in  a  Course  of  Examination  in  the  Fort, 
before  the  Lieut.  Governor  and  the  Council,  the  Sheriff  returned  to 
Mr.  Parkers  House,  and  took  all  his  Apprentices  into  Custody,  and 
immediately  conducted  them  to  the  Fort.  Upon  their  Entrance, 
their  Master,  who  had  not  the  least  Opportunity  of  seeing  them  after 
he  was  arrested,  was  ordered  into  another  Appartment,  under  the 
Custody  of  the  Sheriff,  and  by  that  Means  was  absent  at  their  Ex- 
amination. The  eldest,  as  he  declares,  was  first  examined,  and  the 
Paper  in  Question,  being  produced  to  him,  he  was  asked  whether  he 
had  seen  it  before  ?  To  which  he  answered,  that  he  had  frequently 
seen  it,  as  many  others  had,  for  that  printed  Copies  of  it  had  been 
dispersed  about  the  City  :  He  further  alledges,  that  tho'  repeatedly 
pressed  to  declare  whether  it  was  printed  at  his  Master's  Office  he 
refused  to  make  any  such  Declaration  ;  but  that  at  Length  being 
threatened  with  a  Commitment,  he  confessed  that  it  was  printed  by 
Mr.  Parker,  and  at  the  same  Time  assured  the  Lieut.  Governor  and 
Council,  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  Author.  The  younger  Appren- 
tices, after  his  Example,  charged  the  Printing  of  the  Paper  on  their 
Master;  after  which  they  were  all  dismissed.  Further  Proof  being 
thus  procured  against  Mr.  Parker,  he  was  again  brought  before  the 
Lieut.  Governor  and  the  Council,  and  re-examined  on  the  subject  ; 
and  tho'  he  repeatedly  refused  to  discover  the  Author,  yet  being  at 
length  wrought  upon  by  Threats  that  Application  would  be  made  to 
his  Superiors,  to  procure  his  Dismission  from  his  Employment  in  the 
Post-Office,  and  that  he  must  either  give  Bail  or  be  committed,  unless 
he  would  discover  the  Author;  and  not  having  had  it  in  his  Power 
to  consult  with  the  Publisher  about  an  Indemnification  from  him.  he  re- 
solved to  make  the  Discovery,  provided  he  could  procure  the  Engage- 
ment of  the  Government,  that  he  should  not  be  prosecuted.  This 
Engagement  his  Honour  and  the  Council,  after  some  Consideration, 
thought  proper  to  make.  Upon  which  he  submitted  to  an  Examina- 
tion on  Oath,  and  then  was  discharged  on  his  single  Recognizance, 
to  appear  and  give  Evidence  against  the  Person  whom  he  charged  as 
the  Publisher  of  the  Paper. — Early  the  next  Morning  the  Sheriff 
came  to  my  House  and  took  me  into  Custody,  on  a  Bench  Warrant 
issued  by  his  Honour  the  Chief  Justice,  wherein  I  was  charged  with 
28 


434 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


causing  the  Paper  to  be  printed,  which  in  the  Warrant  is  ~,aid  to  be  a 
false,  seditious  and  infamous  Libel ;  and  the  Sheriff,  according  to  the 
Command  of  the  Precept,  conducted  me  to  the  Chief  Justice's 
Chamber,  to  be  examined  concerning  the  Premises,  and  to  be  dealt 
with  according  to  Law.  Tho'  no  Questions  were  put  to  me  upon 
my  being  presented  to  the  Chief  Justice,  yet  immediately  on  my 
Entrance  into  his  Chamber,  his  Honour  said  to  me  "  So  you  have 
brought  yourself  into  a  pretty  Scrape." 

To  which  I  replied,  "  May  it  please  your  Honour,  that  must  be 
judged  by  my  Peers."  He  then  told  me,  that  there  was  full  Proof, 
that  I  was  the  Author  or  "  Publisher  of  the  above  mentioned  Paper," 
which  he  called  a  false,  vile,  and  scandalous  Libel.  I  replied  again, 
"  this  must  also  be  tried  by  my  Peers." 

His  Honour  thereupon  informed  me,  that  I  must  either  give  Bail 
or  go  to  Gaol.  I  answered,  "Sir,  I  will  give  no  Bail."  He  was 
then  pleased  to  order  the  Sheriff  to  take  me  to  Gaol,  and  made  out 
a  Mittimus,  charging  me  as  the  Author  and  Publisher  of  a  "  certain 
false,  scandalous,  seditious,  and  infamous  Paper,  addressed,  directed 
to  the  betrayed  Inhabitants  of  the  City  and  Colony  of  New-York, 
and  subscribed  a  Son  of  Liberty  ;  and  commanding  the  Sheriff  there- 
with to  receive  me,  and  safely  keep  me  in  Gaol-,  until  I  shall  thence 
be  delivered  by  due  course  of  Law." 

New  York  Journal,  or  the  General  Advertiser,  of  Feb.  15,  1770, 
No.  1415,  pp.  2  and  3. 

McDOUGALL'S  SECOND  LETTER. 

On  Feb.  24,  1770,  sixteen  days  after  his  arrest,  McDougall 
published  in  the  same  newspaper  another  letter  to  the  public, 
addressed  similarly  to  the  first,  giving  his  views  of  the  poli- 
tics of  the  Province  from  1766,  which  he  closes  in  the  follow- 
ing words  : 

"  To  our  Sovereign  and  his  illustrious  House  all  America  professes^ 
and  seriously  professes,  the  most  inviolate  attachment  ;  and  surely 
with  a  gracious  King  upon  the  Throne,  the  Exercise  of  our  Consti- 
tional  Right  of  refusing  Aids  subversive  of  our  Security,  can  bring  no 
just  Impeachment  upon  our  Loyalty  and  Affection.  'Tis  this  Right 
that  constitutes  Britain  a  free  State  ;  and  that  Americans  may  en- 
joy British  Liberties  and  British  Securities  to  the  latest  Posterity  is 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  435 

the  ardent  Prayer  and  (when  delivered  from  his  imprisonment)  shall 
be  the  strenuous  Endeavours  of  the  Public's  most 
"  Obedient  humble  Servant, 

"Alex.  McDougall." 

McDougall's  course  was  an  imitation  of  that  of  the 
famous  "  Jack  Wilkes  "  in  England  in  1763.  "  No.  45  "  was 
the  number  of  Wilkes'  North  Briton  declared  by  the  House 
of  Commons,  by  a  vote  of  273  to  1 1 1 ,  to  be  "  a  false,  scan- 
dalous, and  seditious  libel,  containing  expressions  of  the  most 
unexampled  insolence  and  contumely  towards  his  Majesty, 
the  gravest  aspersions  upon  both  houses  of  Parliament,  and  the 
most  audacious  defiance  of  the  authority  of  the  whole  Legisla- 
ture, and  most  manifestly  tending  to  alienate  the  affections  of 
the  people  from  his  Majesty,  to  withdraw  them  from  their 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  realm,  and  to  excite  them  to 
traitorous  insurrections."  There  were  in  the  hands  of  Mc- 
Dougall and  his  friends  a  full  and  detailed  account  of  the 
Wilkes  transactions,  termed  "  The  History  of  the  late  Minority, 
exhibiting  the  Conduct,  Principles,  and  Vicivs  of  that  party 
during-  the  years  1762,  1763,  1764,  and  1765,"  a  pamphlet 
privately  printed  in  London  in  1765,  the  first  edition  being 
limited  to  twelve  copies  only.  About  the  1st  of  June,  in  the 
next  year,  1766,  a  large  edition  was  issued,  and  a  third  about 
the  middle  of  the  same  month. 

The  work  referred  to,  a  bound  pamphlet,  is  not  very  rare, 
and  the  copy  used  by  the  editor,  purchased  in  New  York, 
formerly  belonged  to  Philip  Livingston,  and  has  his  autograph 
and  book  plate  of  the  Livingston  arms. 

The  Presbyterian  party  here  simply  re-enacted  on  the 
smaller  stage  of  New  York  what  had  already  been  performed 
by  Wilkes's  party  on  the  larger  one  of  London. 

In  Holt's  New  York  Journal  of  22d  March  and  29th 
March,  1770,  and  Gaine's  N.  V.  Gazette  of  19th  Feb.,  1770, 
are  contained  accounts  of  the  visits  of  the  "45  ladies  "  and 
the  "45  gentlemen"  to  McDougall,  mentioned  in  the  text. 

The  name  of  the  journeyman  printer  referred  to  was  Cum- 
nungs. 


436 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


James  Parker,  the  printer,  died  on  Monday,  July  2d,  1770, 
while  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Hollingshead,  in  Burlington,  New 
Jersey.  He  was  probably  on  a  visit,  as  his  home  was  at 
Woodbridge,  of  which  he  was  a  native,  and  where  he  was 
buried.  His  age  was  $6.  His  health  had  been  failing 
previous  to  his  death. — Holt's  Journal,  5th  July,  1770.  Col. 
Hist.  N.  Y.,  viii.,  221. 


NOTE  XII. 

AUTHORSHIP  OF  THE  PAMPHLET,  "  A  REVIEW  OF  THE  MILI- 
TARY OPERATIONS,"  ETC.,  IN  A  LETTER  TO  A  NOBLE 
LORD. 

Volume  I.,  p.  29. 

This  pamphlet,  the  full  title  of  which  is,  A  Review  of  the 
Military  Operations  in  North  America,  from  the  Commence- 
ment of  the  French  Hostilities  on  the  Frontiers  of  Virginia,  in 
1753,  to  the  Surrender  of  Oswego,  on  the  14th  August,  1756, 
in  a  Letter  to  a  Noble  Man,  was  published  anonymously.  It 
was  printed  in  England,  under  the  superintendence  of  Wil- 
liam Alexander,  who  there  assumed  the  title  of  Earl  of 
Stirling.  He  was,  during  the  French  war,  an  aid  to  Gov. 
Shirley,  of  Massachusetts,  by  whom  he  was  taken  to  Eng- 
land at  its  close,  and  remained  there  from  the  autumn  of 
1756  to  some  time  in  1 761 .  It  was,  and  usually  has  been, 
ascribed  to  Mr.  William  Livingston,  and  Sedgwick,  in  his 
Life  of  Livingston  (note  on  p.  448),  enumerates  it  in  a  list  of 
his  writings.  But  this  appears  to  be  a  mistake.  He  doubt- 
less was  cognizant  of  it,  but  the  real  writer  was  most  probably 
William  Smith,  son  of  the  historian,  subsequently  chief-justice 
of  Canada.  The  author  of  this  work  evidently  believed  Liv- 
ingston wrote  it  ;  but  the  Hon.  Samuel  Jones,  his  cousin,  who 
was,  at  the  time  the  pamphlet  came  out,  a  clerk  in  the  office  of 
William  Smith,  in  a  letter  to  John  Pintard,  Recording  Secretary 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  437 

of  the  N.  Y.  Historical  Society,  dated  24th  Nov.,  1 8 1 7,  says  : 
"  This  pamphlet  was  written  in  New  York  ;  and  it  is  believed, 
from  circumstances,  that  William  Smith,  afterwards  chief- 
justice  of  Canada,  was  the  author  ;  that  he  copied  it  himself, 
never  permitting  cither  of  his  clerks  to  see  a  word  of  it  ;  that 
the  manuscript  was  carefully  nailed  up  in  a  box  prepared  for 
the  purpose,  and  sent  to  London  to  be  printed.  The  pamph- 
lets, when  received  from  London,  were  not  publicly  dis- 
tributed ;  and  only  a  few  of  them  were  given  to  particular  in- 
dividuals. But  it  soon  became  known  in  the  city  that  such  a 
pamphlet  existed.  I  was  then  a  clerk  in  Smith's  office,  and 
wished  to  procure  one  of  the  pamphlets,  but  all  my  endeav- 
ors were  fruitless  ;  and  I  never  got  one  until  some  time  during 
the  Revolutionary  War,  when  I  met  with  one  at  an  auction  in 
New  York,  and  purchased  it." 

Mr.  Pintard  subsequently  replied  on  the  10th  Dec,  and 
on  the  20th  Dec,  1817,  Mr.  Jones  says,  in  a  second  letter, 
apparently  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  of  Pintard's  :  "  The 
pamphlet  entitled  A  Letter  to  a  Noble  Lord,  could  not  have 
been  the  joint  production  of  Smith,  Livingston  and  Alexander, 
as  Mr.  Alexander  was  then  in  England  soliciting  the  payment 
of  a  large  balance  due  from  the  Crown  to  the  New  York  con- 
tractors for  the  army.  He  remained  there  from  some  time  in 
the  autumn  of  1756  until  some  time  in  1761.  During  that 
period  he  assumed  the  title  of  nobility.  The  manuscript  was 
probably  sent  to  him  to  get  it  printed  ;  or  he  might  have  been 
furnished  with  the  matter  by  Smith,  or  Livingston,  or  both, 
and  procured  it  to  be  written  and  printed  in  London.  The 
last  time  I  saw  Judge  Benson,  he  told  me  that  some  person  in 
New  York,  whom  he  named,  but  whose  name  I  do  not  recol- 
lect, was  possessed  of  the  manuscript.  If  I  could  see  it,  I  think 
I  could  ascertain  whether  it  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Smith, 
Livingston,  or  Alexander." — A'T.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  iii.,  p. 
361,  and  p.  348.  Col.  Hist.  N.  V. ,  vi.,  959,  and  vii.,  909. 
Smith's  Hist.  N.  Y.,  ii.,  pp.  255-56. 


438 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  XIII. 

THE  COMMITTEES  OF  "  FIFTY  "  AND  "  FIFTY-ONE  "  OF  177 A, 
AND  THEIR  ORIGIN. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  34. 

The  author's  statement  of  the  origin  of  the  Committees  of 
"  Fifty  "  and  "  Fifty-one,"  in  the  first  paragraph  of  chapter 
II.,  is  somewhat  confused.  The  committee  which  was  "  dis- 
solved "  was  not  the  Committee  of  "  Fifty,"  nor  that  of 
"  Fifty-one,"  but  the  old  non-importation  committee,  or 
"  Committee  of  Inspection,"  as  it  was  called,  appointed  in 
1768,  to  see  that  the  agreement  of  non-importation  was  duly 
kept.  This  was  the  agreement,  made  August  27th,  1768,  to 
import  nothing  from  Great  Britain,  Hamburgh,  or  Holland, 
until  the  Act  of  Parliament,  passed  after  the  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  in  1766,  imposing  duties  on  paper,  glass,  etc., 
should  be  repealed.'  This  committee,  of  which  Isaac  Low 
was  chairman,  continued  until  1774,  and  its  members  were  : 


James  Desbrosses,  Jr., 
John  Alsop, 
John  Broome, 
William  Neilson, 
Theodoras  Van  VVyck, 
Walter  Franklin, 
John  Murray, 
Jacob  Watson, 
Theophilact  Bache, 
Thomas  Franklin,  Jr., 
Samuel  Verplanck, 
Isaac  Sears, 


Peter  Van  de  Voort, 
Isaac  Low, 

Thomas  William  Moore, 
Henry  Remsen,  Jr., 
John  Harris  Cruger, 
John  Thurman,  Jr., 
Thomas  Walton, 
Peter  T.  Curtenius, 
Hubert  Van  Wagenen, 
Joseph  Bull, 
Edward  Laight, 
Charles  McEvers. 


On  Monday,  May  16,  1774,  pursuant  to  a  public  advertise- 
ment, at  a  meeting  "  of  a  very  respectable  and  large  number 
of  the  Merchants  and  other  inhabitants  "  at  the  Exchange  5 

1  Holt's  Journal  of  Sept.  8,  1768. 

2  "  The  Exchange,"  a  building  on  arches,  stood  at  the  foot  of  Broad  Street,  in 
the  street  itself. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


439 


(to  which  it  adjourned  from  Fraunccs's  Tavern,1  where  it  was 
called,  on  account  of  the  great  attendance),  of  which  Isaac 
Low  was  chosen  chairman,  a  committee  of  Fifty,  "  to  corre- 
spond with  the  neighbouring  colonies  on  the  present  important 
crisis,"  was  "  nominated  "  "  for  the  approbation  of  the  Public, 
by  a  great  majority." 

At  this  meeting  it  was  proposed  that  the  new  committee, 
instead  of  "  Fifty"  should  be  "Twenty  five"  and  a  list  of 
twenty-five,  stated  in  its  caption  to  be  "  nominated  by  a 
Number  of  respectable  Merchants  and  the  Body  of  Mechanics 
of  this  city,"  was  presented  for  adoption  as  such  Committee. 

This  proposition  was  voted  down,  and  "  Fifty"  determined 
on  as  the  number  of  the  new  Committee. 

On  Tuesday,  the  17th,  a  notice  was  placarded,  calling  "a 
general  meeting"  "at  the  Coffee  House"11  on  Thursday,  the 
19th,  "to  declare  the  universal  assent"  to  the  Fifty  persons 
nominated  on  the  16th,  and  to  confirm  them,  or  make  other 
nominations. 

On  the  evening  of  this  same  day  an  express  arrived  from 
Boston  with  the  news  of  the  reception  there,  on  the  10th,  of 
the  Boston  Port  Bill,  closing  that  port,  and  removing  the 
capital  to  Salem.  This  news  created  great  excitement.  Mr. 
Francis  Lewis,  who,  a  short  time  previously,  had  been  sus- 
pected of  offering  to  furnish  the  British  army  in  Boston  with 
supplies,  and  whose  name  was  not  among  the  "  Fifty,"  but 
was  in  the  list  of  "  Twenty-five,"  insisted  that  there  should 
be  another  name  added  to  the  former  list,  that  the  Committee 
might  consist  of  an  odd,  and  not  an  even  number,  and  was 
active  in  urging  this  view. 

The  exciting  news  from  Boston  caused  a  large  attendance 
at  the  Coffee  House  on  the  19th.  Mr.  Low  was  in  the  chair, 
and  made  a  strong  speech;  the  "  Fifty  "  nominated  on  the 
16th  were  confirmed,  and  Mr.  Francis  Lewis  was  chosen  an 
additional  member,  thus  making  the  new  Committee  a  "  Com- 
mittee of  "Fifty-one."    In  the  words  of  the  record,  "The 

'  Fraunces's  Tavern,  the  old  De  Lancey  Mansion,  still  stands  on  the  southeasl 
corner  of  Broad  and  Pearl  Streets,  and  nearly  faced  the  Exchange. 
*  At  southeast  corner  of  Wall  and  Pearl  Streets. 


44° 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


nomination  of  the  Fifty  Gentlemen,  made  at  the  Exchange  on 
the  16th  inst. ,  was  then  submitted  by  Mr.  Low,  and  confirmed 
by  the  Meeting,  and  Mr.  Francis  Lewis  was  added  to  th2 
number  by  unanimous  consent." 

On  the  30th  of  May,  Joseph  Allicocke  was  appointed 
Secretary  of  the  Committee,  but  he  resigned  on  the  20th  of 
June  succeeding,  when  John  Blagge  was  unanimously  ap- 
pointed in  his  place. — Proceedings  of  the  Committee,  broad- 
sides in  the  Hist.  Soc.  Library,  1  Force's  Am.  Archives,  293- 
330.    Jones'  Hist.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  360. 

"  The  Committee  of  Fifty-one"  thus  formed  was  therefore 
the  only  Committee  of  Correspondence  appointed,  that  of 
"  Fifty  "  and  that  of  "  Twenty-five  "  being  merely  nomina- 
tions. And  it  was  this  Committee  of  Fifty-one  alone  which 
acted  in  New  York  until  its  dissolution  on  Nov.  22,  1774, 
as  hereafter  stated. 

It  will  be  observed  that  it  was  not  elected  by  the  people. 
Nobody  ever  proposed  any  such  election  of  any  Committee, 
of  any  number.  The  "  Merchants  and  Inhabitants"  made  out 
their  list  of  fifty,  and  the  "  Mechanics  "  made  out  their  list  of 
twenty-five,  and  all  that  either  party  ever  proposed  that  the 
people  should  do,  and  all  that  the  people  ever  were  asked  to 
do,  and  all  that  the  people  ever  did  do,  was  merely  to  "  con- 
firm," by  a  viva  voce  vote,  a  pre-arranged  list  of  names. 
Finding  themselves  unable  to  effect  their  object,  the  proposers 
of  the  "Twenty-five"  gave  up  their  opposition  to,  and 
acquiesced  in,  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one.  No  formal 
action  seems  to  have  been  taken,  but  the  following  appears  in 
the  news  columns  of  the  paper  in  which  they  published  their 
notices,  Holt's  Nezv  York  Journal,  of  26th  of  May,  1774  : 

"  Since  the  Meeting  at  the  Coffee  House  on  Thursday  last,  the 
Merchants  and  Mechanics,  who  were  opposed  to  the  Committee  of 
Correspondence,  consisting  of  Fifty-one  Persons,  have,  for  the  Sahi- 
tary  Purpose  of  Union  among  ourselves,  agreed  to  that  Number ;  and 
that  the  Gentlemen  whose  names  were  published  in  Mr.  Gaine's  last 
Paper,  be  the  Committee  for  this  city." 

The  Committee  of  "  Fifty-one"  existed  until  22d  Nov., 
1774,  when,  under  its  own  resolution  of  15th  November,  1774, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


44I 


it  dissolved,  and  was  superseded  by  a  "  Committee  of Sixty ," 
chosen  in  consequence  of  the  "  Association  "  or  agreement, 
adopted  by  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  24th  of 
October,  1774.  The  eleventh  article  of  this  "Association" 
provided  for  the  choosing  by  the  legally  qualified  voters  of 
every  county,  city  and  town,  of  a  Committee  "  whose  Busi- 
ness it  shall  be,"  in  the  words  of  the  resolution,  "  atten- 
tively to  observe  the  Conduct  of  all  persons  touching  this 
Association,  and  when  it  shall  be  made  to  appear,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  a  Majority  of  any  such  Committee,  that  any 
person  within  the  limits  of  their  Appointment  has  violated 
this  Association,  that  such  Majority  do  forthwith  cause  the 
Truth  of  the  case  to  be  published  in  the  Gazette  ;  to  the  end 
that  all  such  Foes  to  the  Rights  of  British  America  may 
be  publicly  known,  and  universally  contemned  as  the  ene- 
mies of  American  Liberty  ;  and  thenceforth  we  respectively 
will  break  oft"  all  Dealings  with  him  or  her." — Journals  of 
Congress,  1774,  p.  35. 

The  following  documents,  giving  the  names  of  the  two  sets 
of  nominees,  and  the  first  letter  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one, 
are  copies  of  the  original  "  Broadsides  "  in  the  Library  of  the 
N.  Y.  Historical  Society: 


The  following  are  nominated  by  a  Number  of  respectable  Mer- 
chants and  the  Body  of  Mechanics  of  this  City,  to  be  a  Committee 
of  Correspondence  for  it,  with  the  Neighbouring  Colonies. 


A  Committee  of  Twenty-Five. 


10. 


1 1. 


12. 


3- 
4- 
5- 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 


2. 


1. 


John  Alsop, 
Theophilact  Bache, 
Peter  V.  B.  Livingston, 
Isaac  Sears, 
David  Johnston, 
Alexander  McDougall, 
Thomas  Randall, 
Leonard  Lispenard, 
Jacobus  Van  Zandt, 
Thomas  Pearsall, 
Richard  Yates, 
John  Broome, 


23 
24 

2  "J. 


J  I 


*3 
14. 

16. 

17 

18, 
19. 


22 


Nicholas  Hoffman, 
Abraham  Walton, 
Henry  Remsen, 
George  Bowne, 
Peter  T.  Curtenius, 
Abraham  P.  Pott, 
John  Aspinwall, 
Gerrard  W.  Beekman, 
Abraham  Duryee, 
Joseph  Bull, 
Richard  Sharp, 
Thomas  Marston, 
Francis  Lewis. 


442 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Af  a  Meeting  at  the  Exchange,  16th  May,  1774,  Isaac  Low  chosen 
Chairman. 

1st.  Question  put,  Whether  it  is  necessary,  for  the  present,  to  ap- 
point a  Committee  to  correspond  with  the  neighbouring  Colonies  on 
the  present  important  Crisis?  Carried  in  the  Affirmative  by  a  great 
Majority. 

2d.  Whether  a  Committee  be  nominated  this  Evening  for  the 
Approbation  of  the  Public?  Carried  in  the  Affirmative  by  a  great 
Majority. 

3d.  Whether  the  Committee  of  50  be  appointed,  or  25? — Carried 
for  50,  by  a  great  Majority. 


The  following  Persons  were  nominated . 


John  Alsop, 
William  Bayard, 
Theopylact  Bache, 
Peter  V.  B.  Livingston, 
Philip  Livingston, 
Isaac  Sears, 
David  Johnston, 
Charles  McEvers, 
Charles  Nichol, 
Alexander  McDougall, 
Capt.  Thomas  Randal, 
John  Moore, 
Isaac  Low, 
Leonard  Lispenard, 
Jacobus  Van  Zand:, 
James  Duane, 
Edward  Laight, 
Thomas  Pearsal, 
Elias  Desbrosses, 
William  Walton, 
Richard  Yates, 
John  De  Lancey, 
Miles  Sherbrook, 
John  Thurman, 
John  Jay, 


Benjamin  Booth, 
Joseph  Hallet, 
Charles  Shaw, 
Alexander  Wallace, 
James  Jauncey, 
Gabriel  H.  Ludlow, 
Nicholas  Hoffman, 
Abraham  Walton, 
Gerardus  Duvckinck, 
Peter  Van  Schaick, 
Henry  Remsen, 
Hamilton  Young, 
George  Bowne, 
John  Broom, 
Peter  T.  Curtenius, 
Peter  Goelet, 
Abraham  Brasher, 
Abraham  P.  Lott, 
David  V  an  Home, 
Gerardus  W.  Beekman, 
Abraham  Duryee, 
Joseph  Bull, 
William  McAdam, 
Richard  Sharpe, 
Thomas  Marston, 
Erancis  Lewis. 


This  Committee  was  the  first  body  organized  in  New  York 
to  oppose  those  Acts  of  Parliament,  passed  subsequently  to 
January  I,  1767,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  the  British 
Colonies  and  the  establishment  of  American  independence. 

Their  first  action  (on  23d  May,  1774)  was  to  reply  to  a  com- 


HISTORY  Ol'"  NEW  YORK. 


443 


munication,  inclosing  the  vote  of  Boston  on  the  13th,  and  a 
letter  of  the  Boston  Committee  of  Correspondence,  delivered  to 
them  by  the  express,  Paul  Revere.  A  Sub-committee,  consist- 
ing of  John  Jay,  Isaac  Low,  James  Duane,  and  Alexander  Mc- 
Dougall,  reported  the  following  letter — probably  written  by 
John  Jay — which  contains  the  first  proposal  of  a  Congress  of 
all  the  Colonies  for  the  security  of  their  common  rights.  It 
was  adopted,  and  sent  to  Boston  by  Paul  Revere. 

The  First  Letter  wrote  by  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one  to  Boston. 

New  York,  May  23,  1774. 

Gentlemen, 

The  alarming  measures  of  the  British  Parliament  relative  to 
your  ancient  and  respectable  town,  which  has  so  long  been  the  seat 
of  freedom,  fill  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  with  inexpressible  concern. 
As  a  sister  colony  suffering  in  defence  of  the  rights  of  America,  we 
consider  your  injuries  as  a  common  cause  ;  to  the  redress  of  which, 
it  is  equally  our  duty  and  our  interest  to  contribute.  But  what  ought 
to  be  done  in  a  situation  so  truly  critical,  while  it  employs  the  anxious 
thoughts  of  every  generous  mind,  is  very  hard  to  be  determined. 
Our  citizens  have  thought  it  necessary  to  appoint  a  large  committee, 
consisting  of  fifty-one  persons,  to  correspond  with  our  sister  colonies, 
on  this  and  every  other  matter  of  public  moment;  and,  at  ten  o'clock 
this  forenoon  we  were  first  assembled.  Your  letter,  enclosing  the 
vote  of  the  town  of  Boston,  and  the  letter  of  your  Committee  of 
Correspondence  were  immediately  taken  into  consideration.  While 
we  think  you  justly  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  your  sister  colonies,  for 
asking  their  advice  on  a  case  of  such  extensive  consequences  ;  we 
lament  our  inability  to  relieve  your  anxiety  by  a  decisive  opinion. 
The  cause  is  general  and  concerns  a  whole  continent,  who  are  equally 
interested  with  you  and  us  :  And  we  foresee,  that  no  remedy  can  be 
of  avail,  unless  it  proceeds  from  the  joint  act  and  approbation  of  ail. 
From  a  virtuous  and  spirited  union,  much  may  be  expected,  while 
the  feeble  efforts  of  a  few,  will  only  be  attended  with  mischief  and 
disappointments  to  themselves,  and  triumph  to  the  adversaries  of  our 
liberty.  Upon  these  reasons  we  conclude,  that  a  Congress  of  Depu- 
ties from  the  colonies  in  general,  is  of  the  utmost  moment ;  that  it 
ought  to  be  assembled  without  delay,  and  some  unanimous  resolu- 
tions formed  in  this  fatal  emergency,  not  only  respecting  your  deplor- 
able circumstances,  but  the  security  of  our  common  rights.  Such 
being  our  sentiments,  it  must  be  premature  to  pronounce  any  judg- 
ment on  the  expedient  which  you  have  suggested.  We  beg,  how- 
ever, that  you  will  do  us  the  justice  to  believe,  that  we  shall  continue 
to  act  with  a  firm  and  becoming  regard  to  American  freedom,  and  to 


444 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


co  operate  with  our  sister  colonies  in  every  measure  which  shall  be 
thought  salutary  and  conducive  to  the  public  good.  We  have  noth- 
ing to  add,  but  that  we  sincerely  condole  with  you  in  your  unex- 
ampled distresses,  and  to  request  your  speedy  opinion  of  the  proposed 
Congress,  that  if  it  should  meet  with  your  approbation,  we  may  exert 
our  utmost  endeavours  to  carry  it  into  execution. 

By  Order  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence, 

Isaac  Low,  Chairman. 

Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris,  who  was  present  at  the  meeting 
of  the  16th  May  at  the  Exchange,  in  a  letter1  to  Mr.  Penn, 
of  Philadelphia,  written  four  days  afterwards,  thus  vividly 
describes  the  appointment  of  the  Committee,  and  the  state  of 
men  and  affairs  in  New  York  in  1774: 

'New  York,  May  20th,  1774. 

'  Dear  Sir, 

You  have  heard,  and  you  will  hear,  a  great  deal  about  politics, 
and  in  the  heap  of  chaff  you  may  find  some  grains  of  good  sense. 
Believe  me,  Sir,  freedom  and  religion  are  only  watch  words.  We 
have  appointed  a  Committee,  or  rather  we  have  nominated  one. 
Let  me  give  you  the  history  of  it.  It  is  needless  to  premise,  that  the 
lower  orders  of  mankind  are  more  easily  led  by  specious  appearances, 
than  those  of  a  more  exalted  station.  This  and  many  similar  propo- 
sitions you  know  better  than  your  humble  servant. 

'The  troubles  in  America  during  Grenville's  administration  put 
our  gentry  upon  this  finesse.  They  stimulated  some  daring  cox- 
combs to  rouse  the  mob  into  an  attack  upon  the  bounds  of  order  and 
decency.  These  fellows  became  the  Jack  Cades  of  the  day,  the 
leaders  in  all  riots,  the  belwethers  of  the  Hock.2  The  reason  of  the 
manoeuvre  in  those,  who  wished  to  keep  fair  with  government,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  receive  the  incense  of  popular  applause,  you 
will  readily  perceive.  On  the  whole,  the  shepherds  were  not  much 
to  blame  in  a  politic  point  of  view.  The  belwethers  jingled  merrily, 
and  roared  out  liberty,  and  property,  and  religion,  and  a  multitude 
of  cant  terms,  which  every  one  thought  he  understood,  and  was 
egregiously  mistaken.  For  you  must  know  the  shepherds  kept  the 
dictionary  of  the  day,  and  like  the  mysteries  of  the  ancient  mythol- 

1  Sparks' s  Life  of  Gouv.  Morris,  vol.  i.,  p.  23. 

5  The  principal  "belwethers,"  otherwise  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  were  Isaac  Sears, 
John  Lamb,  Gershom  Mott,  William  Wiley,  and  Thomas  Robinson,  who  at  the 
first  meeting  which  passed  resolves  to  oppose  the  distribution  of  stamps  under  the 
Stamp  Act  on  the  31st  of  October,  1765,  volunteered,  after  the  "shepherds" — the 
leading  Merchants  of  the  city—  had  declined, to  be  a  Committee  of  Correspondence 
with  other  Colonies  to  give  effect  to  the  resolves.  Vide  Holt's  Journal  of  -jlh 
Nov.,  1765. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  445 

ogy,  it  was  not  for  profane  eyes  or  ears.  This  answered  many  pur- 
poses ;  the  simple  flock  put  themselves  entirely  under  the  protection 
of  these  most  excellent  shepherds.  By  and  bye  behold  a  great  meta- 
morphosis, without  the  help  of  Ovid  or  his  divinities,  but  entirely 
effectuated  by  two  modern  genii,  the  god  of  ambition  and  the  god- 
dess of  faction.  The  first  of  these  prompted  the  shepherds  to  shear 
some  of  their  flock,  and  then,  in  conjunction  with  die  other,  con- 
verted the  belwethers  into  shepherds.  That  we  have  been  in  hot 
water  with  the  British  Parliament  ever  since,  every  body  knows. 
Consequently  these  new  shepherds  had  their  hands  full  of  employ- 
ment. The  old  ones  kept  themselves  least  in  sight,  and  a  want  of 
confidence  in  each  other  was  not  the  least  evil  which  followed.  The 
port  of  Boston  has  been  shut  up.  These  sheep,  simple  as  they  are, 
cannot  be  gulled  as  heretofore.  In  short,  there  is  no  ruling  them  ; 
and  now,  to  leave  the  metaphor,  the  heads  of  the  mobility  grow  dan- 
gerous to  the  gentry,  and  how  to  keep  them  down  is  the  question. 
While  they  correspond  with  the  other  colonies,  call  and  dismiss  pop- 
ular assemblies,  make  resolves  to  bind  the  consciences  of  the  rest  of 
mankind,  bully  poor  printers,  and  exert  with  full  force  all  their  other 
tribunitial  powers,  it  is  impossible  to  curb  them. 

'  But  art  sometimes  goes  farther  than  force,  and  therefore  to  trick 
them  handsomely  a  committee  of  patricians  was  to  be  nominated, 
and  into  their  hands  was  to  be  committed  the  majesty  of  the  people, 
and  the  highest  trust  was  to  be  reposed  in  them  by  a  mandate,  that 
they  should  take  care,  quod  respublica  non  capiat  injuriam.  The 
tribunes,  through  want  of  a  good  legerdemain  in  the  senatorial  order, 
perceived  the  finesse,  and  yesterday  I  was  present  at  a  grand  divi- 
sion of  the  city,  and  there  I  beheld  my  fellow  citizens  very  accurately 
counting  all  their  chickens,  not  only  before  any  of  them  were  hatched, 
but  before  above  one-half  of  the  eggs  were  laid.  In  short,  they 
fairly  contended  about  the  future  forms  of  our  government,  whether 
it  should  be  founded  upon  Aristocratic  or  Democratic  principles. 

'  I  stood  in  the  balcony,  and  on  my  right  hand  were  ranged  all 
the  people  of  property,  with  some  few  poor  dependants,  and  on  the 
other  all  the  tradesmen,  &c.  who  thought  it  worth  their  while  to  leave 
daily  labor  for  the  good  of  the  country.  The  spirit  of  the  English 
Constitution  has  yet  a  little  influence  left,  and  but  a  little.  The  re- 
mains of  it,  however,  will  give  the  wealthy  people  a  superiority  this 
time,  but  would  they  secure  it,  they  must  banish  all  schoolmasters, 
and  confine  all  knowledge  to  themselves.  This  cannot  be.  The 
mob  begin  to  think  and  to  reason.  Poor  reptiles  !  it  is  with  them  a 
vernal  morning,  they  are  struggling  to  cast  off  their  winter's  slough, 
they  bask  in  the  sunshine,  and  ere  noon  they  will  bite,  depend  upon 
it.  The  gentry  begin  to  fear  this.  Their  committee  will  be  appoint- 
ed, they  will  deceive  the  people,  and  again  forfeit  a  share  of  their 
confidence.  And  if  these  instances  of  what  with  one  side  is  policy, 
with  the  other  perfidy,  shall  continue  to  increase,  and  become  more 
frequent,  farewell  aristocracy.  I  see,  and  I  see  it  with  fear  and 
trembling,  that  if  the  disputes  with  Britain  continue,  we  shall  be 


446 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


under,  the  worst  of  all  possible  dominions.  We  shall  be  under  the 
domination  of  a  riotous  mob. 

'  It  is  the  interest  of  all  men,  therefore,  to  seek  for  reunion  with 
the  parent  state.  A  safe  compact  seems  in  my  poor  opinion  to  be 
now  tendered.  Internal  taxation  to  be  left  with  ourselves.  The 
right  of  regulating  trade  to  be  vested  in  Britain,  where  alone  is  found 
the  power  of  protecting  it.  I  trust  you  will  agree  with  me,  that  this 
is  the  only  possible  mode  of  union.  Men  by  nature  are  free  as 
the  air.  When  they  enter  into  society,  there  is,  there  must  be,  an 
implied  compact,  for  there  never  yet  was  an  express  one,  that  a  part 
of  this  freedom  shall  be  given  up  for  the  security  of  the  remainder. 
Hut  what  part  ?  The  answer  is  plain.  The  least  possible,  consider- 
ing the  circumstances  of  the  society,  which  constitute  what  may  be 
called  its  political  necessity.  And  what  does  this  political  necessity 
require  in  the  present  instance?  Not  that  Britain  should  lav  imposts 
upon  us  for  the  support  of  government,  nor  for  its  defence.  Not 
that  she  should  regulate  our  internal  police.  These  things  affect  us 
only.  She  can  have  no  right  to  interfere.  To  these  things  we  our- 
selves are  competent.  But  can  it  be  said,  that  we  are  competent  to 
■the  regulating  of  trade?  The  position  is  absurd,  for  this  affects 
every  part  of  the  British  Empire,  every  part  of  the  habitable  earth. 
If  Great  Britain,  if  Ireland,  if  America,  if  all  of  them,  are  to  make 
laws  of  trade,  there  must  be  a  collision  of  these  different  authorities, 
and  then  who  is  to  decide  the  vis  major?  To  recur  to  this,  if  possi- 
ble to  be  avoided,  is  the  greatest  of  all  great  absuidities. 

'  Political  necessity  therefore  requires,  that  this  power  should  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  one  pa,rt  of  the  empire.  Is  it  a  question 
which  part  ?  Let  me  answer  by  asking  another.  Pray  which  part 
of  the  empire  protects  trade  ?  Which  part  of  the  empire  receives 
almost  immense  sums  to  guard  the  rest  ?  And  what  danger  is  in  the 
trust  ?  Some  men  object,  that  England  will  draw  all  the  profits  of 
our  trade  into  her  coffers.  All  that  she  can,  undoubtedly.  But  un- 
less a  reasonable  compensation  for  his  trouble  be  left  to  the  merchant 
here,  she  destroys  the  trade,  and  then  she  will  receive  no  profit 
from  it. 

'  If  I  remember,  in  one  of  those  kind  letters  with  which  you  have 
honoured  me,  you  desire  my  thoughts  on  matters  as  they  rise.  How 
much  pleasure  I  take  in  complying  with  your  requests  let  my  present 
letter  convince  you.  If  I  am  faulty  in  telling  things,  which  you 
know  better  than  I  do,  you  must  excuse  this  fault,  and  a  thousand 
others  for  which  I  can  make  no  apology.    1  am,  Sir,  &c. 

'  GoUVKRNEUR  MORRIS.' 

The  following  extract  from  an  official  despatch  of  Gov. 
Colden  to  the  Minister  in  England,  narrates  the  facts  as  to 
the  appointment  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one,  and  their 
action.  —  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  viii.,  p.  433. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  447 
Lieutenant-Governor  Colclen  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 


New  York,  1st  June,  1774. 

*         *         *         *  * 

The  Act  of  Parliament  shutting  up  the  Port  of  Boston,  was 
brought  to  this  Place  by  a  Merch'  Vessell,  a  few  Days  before  I  re- 
ceived it  from  your  Lordship's  Office.  The  Act  was  immediately 
publish' d  in  all  our  News  Papers,  and  was  the  subject  of  all  Conver- 
sation. I  knew  that  People  universally  in  this  Colony  had  received 
such  Ideas  of  being  taxed  at  the  Pleasure  of  Parliament,  that  I  was 
particularly  anxious,  upon  this  occasion,  to  discover  the  Sentiments 
of  those  who  might  have  most  Influence  over  others,  and  was  assured 
by  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Council,  and  others  of  weight  in  the  City, 
that  no  means  would  be  omitted,  to  prevent  the  hot  headed  People 
takeing  any  measures  that  might  endanger  the  Peace  and  Quiet  of  the 
Colony. 

The  Men  who  at  that  time  call'd  themselves  the  Committee — who 
dictated,  and  acted  in  the  name  of  the  People,  were  many  of  them, 
of  the  lower  Rank  and  all,  the  warmest  zealots  of  those  call'd  the 
Sons  of  Liberty.1 — The  more  considerable  Merchants  &  Citizens  sel- 
dom or  never  appeared  among  them  ;  but  I  believe  were  not  dis- 
pleased with  the  Clamour  and  Opposition  that  was  shewn  against  in- 
ternal Taxation  by  Parliament. — The  Principal  Inhabitants  being 
now  afraid  that  these  hot  headed  men  might  run  the  City  into  dan- 
gerous measures,  appealed  in  a  considerable  body,  at  the  first  Meet- 
ing of  the  People  after  the  Boston  Port  Act  was  publish' d  here. — 
They  dissolved  the  former  Committee,  and  appointed  a  new  one  of 
51  Persons,  in  which  care  was  taken  to  have  a  number  of  the  most 
prudent  and  considerate  People  of  the  Place,  some  of  them  have  not 
before  join'd  in  the  Public  proceedings  of  the  Opposition,  and  were 
induced  to  appear  in  what  they  are  sensible  is  an  illegal  character, 
from  a  Consideration  that  if  they  did  not,  the  business  would  be  left 
in  the  same  rash  hands  as  before. 

Letters  had  been  received  from  Boston  with  an  Invitation  from 
that  Town  to  the  Sister  Colonies  immediately  to  come  into  a  Reso- 
lution to  refrain  from  any  Commerce  with  Great  Britain  and  the  West 
India  Islands,  till  the  Act  for  shutting  up  the  Port  of  Boston  was 
repealed.    A  printed  Hand  Bill  of  this  Proposal  is  inclosed. 

I  am  inform' d  that  the  New  Committee,  in  their  Answer  to  Boston, 
have  given  them  no  reason  to  expect  that  the  Merchants  of  this 

1  Who.  or  how  many,  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty"  in  New  York  really  were,  is  not 
certain,  as,  it  is  believed,  they  issued  no  "proceedings"  nor  "lists"  of  names. 
In  the  Home  Journal  of  January  7th,  1848,  was  published  an  article  giving  lists 
for  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York  on  1st  March,  1766.  The 
names  there  given  for  New  York  City  were  John  Lamb,  Isaac  Sears,  William 
Wiley,  Eclwaid  Laight,  Thomas  Robinson,  Flores  Bancker,  Charles  Mcoll, 
Joseph  Allicocke,  and  Gershom  Mott. 


d48 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Place  will  adopt  so  extravagant  a  measure.  And  People  with  whom 
I  converse  assure  me,  that  they  think  it  cannot  be  brought  about  by 
the  most  zealous  advocates  of  Opposition. — As  yet  no  Resolutions 
have  been  taken  by  the  People  of  this  Colony,  and  the  cool  prudent 
men  will  endeavour  to  keep  Measures  in  suspense  till  they  have  an 
opportunity  of  adopting  the  best. — I  am  told  that  they  have  proposed 
that  the  Colonies  be  invited  to  send  Deputies  to  meet  together,  in 
order  to  Petition  the  King  for  Redress  of  Grievances,  and  to  delib- 
erate upon  some  Plan  whereby  the  Jealousies  between  Great  Britain 
&  her  Colonies  may  be  removed. 

It  is  allowed  by  the  intelligent  among  them,  that  these  Assemblies 
of  the  People,  without  Authority  of  Government,  are  illegal  and  may 
be  dangerous ;  but  they  deny  that  they  are  unconstitutional  when  a 
national  grievance  cannot  otherwise  be  removed. 

What  Resolutions  will  be  taken  I  cannot  as  yet  say. — The  Gov- 
ernment of  this  Province  has  no  coercive  Power  over  these  Assem- 
blies of  the  People,  but  the  authority  of  the  Magistrates  in  all  other 
cases,  is  submitted  to  as  usual. 

James  Rivington,  the  printer  and  publisher  of  New  York, 
wrote  a  letter,  in  June,  1774,  to  Henry  Knox,  a  bookseller  in 
Boston,  afterwards  General  Knox  of  the  American  army,  and 
Secretary  of  War  from  1785  to  1794,  in  which  he  says  :  "  You 
may  rest  assured  that  no  non-im-,  nor  non-ex-portation,  will 
be  agreed  upon  either  here  or  at  Philadelphia.  The  power 
over  our  crowd,  is  no  longer  in  the  hands  of  Sears,  Lamb, 
and  such  unimportant  persons,  who  have  for  six  years  flast, 
been  the  demagogues  of  a  very  turbulent  faction  in  this  city  ; 
but  their  power  and  mischievous  capacity  expired  instantly 
upon  the  election  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one,  in  which 
there  is  a  majority  of  inflexibly  honest,  loyal,  and  prudent 
citizens." — MS.  Letter  of  Thomas  Young,  in  Lamb  Papers, 
in  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  44y 

NOTE  XIV. 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  CORRESPONDENCE 
OF  "FIFTY-ONE,"  AND  APPOINTMENT  OF  DELEGATES 
TO  THE  CONGRESS  OF  1 774. 

Volume  II.,  page  35. 

The  Committee  of  Fifty-one  met  on  the  evening  of  the 
27th  of  June  at  the  Exchange,  to  consider  the  "  most 
eligible  mode  of  appointing  Deputies  to  attend  the  ensuing 
general  Congress."  The  subject  was  discussed,  and  post- 
poned, first  to  the  29th  June,  and  then  to  July  4th.  At  the 
meeting  on  the  29th  of  June,  a  motion  of  McDougall,  "That 
this  Committee  proceed  immediately  to  nominate  five  Depu- 
ties for  the  City  and  County  of  New  York,"  "  and  that  their 
names  be  sent  to  the  Committee  of  Mechanics  for  concurrence  ; 
to  be  proposed  on  Tuesday  '  next  to  the  freeholders  and  free- 
men of  this  City  and  County  for  their  approbation "  was 
postponed  to  Monday,  July  4th. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  evening  of  July  4th,  after  some 
routine  business,  the  following  extract  from  the  record  shews 
what  was  done,  and  how  the  five  gentlemen  named  in  the 
text  were  nominated  : 

'New  York  July  4,  1774 
The  Committee  met  by  adjournment  at  the  Exchange  at  6  o'clock 

this  evening :  Present  Isaac  Low  Chairman,  (and  thirtyseven  other 

Members). 

After  the  reception  of  five  letters 

"  Mr.  Bache  moved  and  was  seconded  by  Mr.  DeLancey  :  3 
"That  this  Committee  proceed  to  nominate  five  persons  to  meet 
in  a  General  Congress,  at  the  time  and  place,  which  shall  be  agreed 
on  by  the  other  colonies  and  that  the  freeholders  and  freemen  of  the 
City  and  County  of  JVera  York  be  summoned  to  appear  at  a  conve- 
nient place  to  approve  or  disapprove  of  such  persons  for  this  salu- 
tary purpose  ;  also  that  this  Committee  write  Circular  Letters  to  the 
Supervisors  of  the  several  Counties  informing  them  what  we  have 

1  July  6th. 

*  Broadsides  vol.  i.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 

*  John  De  Lancey,  second  son  of  Peter  De  Lancey,  and  grand?on  of  Gov. 
Colden. 

29 


45°  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

done, -and  to  request  them  to  send  such  Delegates  as  they  may  choose 
to  represent  them  in  Congress." 

Captain  Sears  moved,  and  was  seconded  by  Mr.  P.  V.  B.  Living- 
ston : 

"  That  Messrs  Isaac  Low  James  Duane  Philip  Livingston,  John 
Morin  Scott,  and  Alexander  McDougall,  be  nominated  agreeable  to 
the  question  now  carried." 

The  previous  question  being  on  Captain  Sears's  motion,  it  was 
carried  as  follows  :  {here  follow  the  names,  being  25  "  Affirmatives  " 
and  12  "Dissentients.") 

Mr.  De  Lancey  moved  and  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Booth  : 

That  this  Committee  immediately  proceed  to  nominate  five  per- 
sons to  be  held  up  to  this  City  and  County  as  proper  persons  to 
serve  them  as  Delegates  in  a  General  Congress. 

When  the  following  gentlemen  had  the  greatest  number  of  voices 
for  their  nomination,  viz  Philip  Livingston,  John  Alsop,  Isaac  Low, 
James  Duane,  and  John  Jay. 

Ordered,  That  an  advertisement,  signed  by  the  Chairman,  be  pub- 
lished requesting  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  and  County  to  meet  at 
the  City  Hall,  on  Thursday  the  7th  instant  at  12  o'clock  to  concur 
in  the  nomination  of  the  foregoing  five  persons,  or  to  choose  such 
others  in  their  stead  as  in  their  wisdom  shall  seem  meet. 

The  Committee  then  adjourned  until  6  o'clock,  on  Thursday  even- 
ing, the  7th  instant,  then  to  meet  at  the  Exchange. 

ADVERTISEMENT.1 

The  Committee  of  Coirespondence  in  New  York,  having  on  Mon- 
day Night  last  proceeded  to  the  Nomination  of  five  Persons  to  go  as 
Delegates  for  the  said  City  and  County,  on  the  proposed  General 
Congress  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  1st  of  September  next  ;  the  five 
following  Persons  were  nominated  for  that  Purpose, 

Philip  Livingston, 
James  Duane. 
John  Alsop, 
John  Jay, 
Isaac  Low. 

The  Inhabitants,  therefore,  of  this  City  and  County,  are  requested 
to  meet  at  the  City  Hall,  on  Thursday3  next,  at  12  o'Clock,  in  order 
to  approve  of  the  said  five  Persons  as  Delegates,  or  to  choose  such 
ether  in  their  Stead,  as  to  their  Wisdom  shall  seem  meet. 

By  Order  of  the  Committee, 

Isaac  Low,  Chairman. 

Tuesday  5th 
July,  1774. 

1  Broadsides  vol.  L  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc 
5  July  7th. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  45  I 

-* 

Immediately,  and  on  the  same  day,  the  fifth,  the  following 
anonymous  handbill  appeared,  calling  a  meeting  "  in  the 
Fields,"  (the  present  Park)  for  the  evening  of  the  sixth,  the 
day  before  that  appointed  for  passing  on  the  above  nominees 
by  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one  : 

ADVERTISEMENT.1 

The  Enemies  of  the  Liberty  of  America,  being  unwearied  in  mis- 
representing the  Attachment  of  the  Inhabitants  of  this  City,  to  the 
common  Cause  of  this  Country,  to  the  neighbouring  Colonies,  a 
Number  of  the  Citizens  think  it  highly  necessary  to  conveen '  the 
good  People  of  this  Metropolis  in  the  Fields  on  Wednesday  next, 
which  will  be  the  6th  Instant,  at  Six  o'Clock  in  the  Evening ; 
where  every  Friend  to  the  true  Interest  of  this  distressed  Country,  is 
earnestly  requested  to  attend — when  Matters  of  the  utmost  Import- 
ance to  their  Reputation  and  Security,  as  Freemen,  will  be  com- 
municated. 

Tuesday,  July  5th,  1774. 

This  call  resulted  in  a  meeting  on  the  6th.  "  in  the  Fields," 
at  which  McDougall  presided,  and  several  speeches  were 
made,  one  of  the  speakers,  it  is  said,  being  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton, then  a  college  boy  of  seventeen.  Nine  resolutions  were 
passed  sympathizing  with,  and  promising  aid  to,  Boston,  and 
(which  were  the  important  ones)  insisting  on  a  non-importa- 
tion from,  and  a  non-exportation  to,  Great  Britain,  from  all 
the  Colonies,  and  instructing  the  delegates  who  shall  repre- 
sent New  York  to  engage  in  an  agreement  to  that  effect.3 

The  next  day.  the  7th,  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one  met, 
and  took  the  action,  of  which  the  following  is  the  record,  dis- 
avowing the  meeting  in  the  Fields  and  its  resolutions-: 

New  York,  Committee-Chamber,  July  7th,  1774. 

The  follotving  Motion  was  made  by  Mr.  Thurman,  and  seconded  by 
Mr.  McEvers. 

Mr.  Chairman, 

An  Advertisement  appeared  Yesterday  in  the  following  Words,  viz. 
"The  Enemies  of  the  Liberty  of  America,  being  unwearied  in  mis- 
representing the  Attachment  of  the  Inhabitants  of  this  City,  to  the 


1  Broadsides  vol.  i.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 

'  Rivington's  Gazetteer  of  14th  July,  1774. 


Sic  in  original. 


452 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


common  Cause  of  this  Country,  to  the  neighbouring  Colonies,  a 
Number  of  the  Citizens  think  it  highly  necessary  to  convene  the 
good  People  of  this  Metropolis  in  the  Fields,  on  Wednesday  next, 
which  will  be  the  6th  Instant,  at  6  o'Clock  in  the  Evening,  where 
every  Friend  to  the  true  Interest  of  this  distressed  Country,  is  ear- 
nestly requested  to  attend; — when  Matters  of  the  utmost  Importance 
to  their  Reputation  and  Security,  as  Freemen,  will  be  communicated. 
Tuesday,  5th  July,  1774." 

The  above  Advertisement  is  conceived  in  such  mystic  and  ambig- 
uous Terms,  that  no  Person  out  of  the  Secret  could  imagine  from 
whence  it  could  proceed  ;  much  surprized  therefore  was  I  to  learn 
that  a  Member  of  this  Committee  1  acted  as  Chairman  to  the  Promo- 
ters of  the  said  Advertisement. 

I  conceive  Mr.  Chairman  that  no  Individual  whatever,  especially 
a  Member  of  this  Committee,  had  a  right  to  call  a  Meeting  of  this 
City  by  an  anonymous  Advertisement,  much  less  to  Exhibit  a  Set  of 
Resolves  calculated  for  particular  Purposes  ;  no  Motion  having  ever 
been  made  for  Resolves  in  this  Committee  ;  and  that  no  Resolves 
whatsoever  should  have  been  entered  into,  until  well  digested  by  this 
Committee,  and  held  up  to  the  Public  for  their  Consideration  : 

I  therefore  move  that  this  Committee  disavow  all  such  Proceed- 
ings, evidently  calculated  to  throw  an  Odium  on  this  Committee,  and 
to  create  groundless  Jealousies  and  Suspicions  of  their  Conduct,  as 
well  as  Disunion  among  our  Fellow  Citizens. 

Mr.  McDougall  moved  and  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Lispenard,  that 
the  previous  Question  be  put  on  Mr.  John  Thurman's  Motion  dis- 
avowing of  the  Proceedings  in  the  Fields  on  the  6th  Instant.  Carried 
in  the  negative. 


AFFIRMATIVES. 

Mr.  Lewis, 

Mr.  P.  V.  P.  Livingston, 

Mr.  Lispenard, 

Capt.  Sears, 

Capt.  Randall, 

Mr.  C.urtenius, 

Mr.  McDougall, 

Mr.  Lott, 

Mr.  Hallet, 

Mr.  Bull, 

Mr.  Remsen. 


NEGATIVES. 


Mr.  Alsop, 

Mr. 

Laight, 

Mr.  McEvers, 

Mr. 

Walton, 

Mr.  Beckman, 

Mr. 

Shaw, 

Mr.  Sharpe, 

Mr. 

(ioelet, 

Mr.  Young, 

Mr. 

Moore, 

Mr.  Booth, 

Mr. 

Hoffman, 

Mr.  Wallace, 

Mr. 

Sherbrook, 

Mr.  Thurman, 

Mr. 

Bayard, 

Mr.  Nicoll, 

Mr. 

I  .udlow. 

Mr.  Bache, 

Mr.  Thurman's  Motion  being  then  put,  it  was  carried  in  the  Afhr 
mative. 


1  Alexander  McDougall. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


453 


AFFIRMATIVES. 


NEGATIVES. 

Mr.  Lewis, 

Mr.  P.  V.  15.  Livingston, 
Mr.  Lispenard, 
Capt.  Sears, 
Capt.  Randall. 
Mr.  Curtenius, 
Mr.  McDougall, 
Mr.  Lott, 
Mr.  Hallet. 


Mr.  Alsop,  Mr.  Walton, 

Mr.  McKvers,         Mr.  Shaw, 
Mr.  Beckman,        Mr.  Goelet, 
Mr.  Sharpe,  Mr.  Moore. 

Mr.  Young,  Mr.  Hoffman, 

Mr.  Booth,  Mr.  Sherbrook, 

Mr.  Wallace,  Mr.  Bayard, 

Mr.  Thurman,        Mr.  Ludlow, 
Mr.  Nicoll,  Mr.  Bull, 

Mr.  Bache,  Mr.  Renisen. 

Mr.  Laight, 

Resolved  therefore,  that  such  Proceedings  are  evidently  calculated 
to  throw  an  Odium  on  this  Committee,  and  to  cause  groundless 
Jealousies  and  suspicions  of  their  Conduct,  as  well  as  Disunion 
among  our  fellow  Citizens. 

Mr.  Lewis  moved,  and  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Curtenius,  that  a 
Committee  be  appointed  to  draw  and  report,  without  delay,  a  Set  of 
Resolutions,  to  be  proposed  to  the  City,  expressing  their  Sense  of 
the  Boston  Port-Act,  and  our  Concurrence  with  such  of  the  neigh- 
bouring Colonies  as  have  declared  what  may  be  proper  to  be  done 
for  the  Relief  of  the  Town  of  Boston,  and  the  Redress  of  American 
Grievances. 

Ordered,  unanimously  that  the  seven  following  Persons  be  a  Com- 
mittee for  that  Purpose,  viz.  :  Mr.  Low,  Mr.  Lewis,  Mr.  Moore, 
Capt.  Sears,  Mr.  Remsen,  Mr.  Shaw,  Mr.  McDougall. 

Mr.  McEvers  moved,  and  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Booth,  that  Mr. 
Thurman' s  Motion  of  this  Evening,  with  the  Resolves  thereon,  be 
immediately  printed  at  large,  which  was  carried  as  follows: 


Mr. 

AFFIRMATIVES. 

McEvers, 

NEGATIVES. 

Mr.  Curtenius, 

Mr. 

Beckman, 

Mr.  McDougall, 

Mr. 

Sherbrook, 

Mr.  Randall, 

Mr. 

Alsop, 

Mr.  Lott, 

Mr. 

Shaw, 

Mr.  Hallet, 

Mr. 

Goelet, 

Mr.  Bull, 

Mr. 

Moore. 

Mr.  Lispenard, 

Mr. 

Walton, 

Mr.  P.  V.  B.  Livingston, 

Mr. 

Laight, 

Capt.  Sears. 

Mr. 

Bache, 

Mr. 

Nicoll, 

Mr. 

Thurman, 

Mr. 

Booth. 

I  have  compared  the  above  Proceedings  of  the  Committee  with 
the  Originals,  and  find  them  to  be  truly  copied. 

Isaac  Low,  Chairman.' 


1  Broadsides  vol.  i.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 


454 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


On  the  night  previous,  July  6th,  the  following  call,  to  vote 
an  opposition  ticket  to  that  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one, 
was  posted  by  a  "  Committee  of  Mechanics,"  as  they  style 
themselves. 

ADVERTISEMENT. 

At  a  general  Meeting  of  the  Committee  of  Mechanicks,  at  the 
House  of  Edward  Bardin,  yesterday  Evening,1  the  Nomination  of 
the  Committee  of  Merchants,  of  Delegates  to  serve  at  the  General 
Congress,  was  taken  into  Consideration,  and  the  Names  of  the  Per- 
sons respectively  read  for  their  Concurrence  ;  when  a  Negative  was 
put  upon  Mess.  Duane  and  Alsop,  and  Mr.  Leonard  Lispenard  and 
Mr.  Alexander  McDougall  were  nominated  in  their  Stead  :  And  as 
the  Committee  of  Merchants  did  refuse  the  Mechanicks  a  Representa- 
tion in  their  Body,  or  to  consult  with  their  Committee,  or  offer  the 
Names  of  the  Persons  nominated  to  them  for  their  Concurrence,  the 
Mechanicks  of  this  City  and  County,  and  every  other  Friend  to  the 
Liberties  of  his  Country,  are  most  earnestly  requested  to  attend  at 
the  General  Meeting,  at  the  City  Hall,  to-morrow,  (being  Thursday) 
at  12  o'Clock,  agreeable  to  the  Time  proposed  by  the  Committee  of 
Merchants,  to  give  their  Voices  for  the  five  following  Persons,  or  to 
choose  such  others  as  they  may  think  proper. 

Isaac  Low, 
Philip  Livingston, 
John  Jay, 

Leonard  Lispenard, 
Alex.  McDougall.* 

Wednesday,  July  6,  1774. 

On  the  8th  of  July,  eleven  members  of  the  Committee  of 
Fifty-one  issued  the  following  "  address,"  withdrawing  their 
names  "  out  of  the  List  of  the  Committee,"  as  they  ex- 
press it. 

To  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Citv  and  County  of  New  York. 
Gentlemen, 

The  Trust  you  were  pleased  to  repose  in  us,  in  appointing  us 
Members  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  renders  it  necessary 
to  inform  you  of  the  above  Proceedings,  as  well  as  to  justify  our  Con- 
duct upon  the  Points  on  which  we  divided.    We  voted  against  Mr. 


July  5th. 


s  Broadsides  vol.  i.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


455 


Thurman's  Motion,  because  the  People  have  an  undoubted  Right  to 
convene  themselves,  and  come  into  whatever  Resolutions  they  shall 
think  proper,  if  they  be  not  contrary  to  law.  And  although  the 
Manner  of  calling  them  might  not  be  deemed  so  regular  as  might  be 
wished,  though  practiced  heretofore  in  the  Debates  on  the  Stamp- 
Act, — yet,  considering  that  a  respectable  Number  of  our  Fellow- 
Citizens  did  meet,  and  did  no  Acts  but  what  were  conformable  to  the 
general  Spirit  of  all  the  Colonies  in  this  alarming  State  of  our  Public 
Affairs,  we  therefore  conceived  that  our  disavowing  their  Conduct 
would  naturally  tend  to  hold  up  the  Idea  of  a  Division,  if  not  a  Dis- 
approbation of  the  Resolutions.  And  as  the  Resolutions  do  not  so 
much  as  insinuate  that  they  came  from  the  Committee,  no  Charge 
could  lie  against  them  for  any  Matter  contained  in  them.  For  these 
Reasons  also  we  voted  against  Mr.  McEvers's  Motion  to  publish  the 
Proceedings,  and  because  he  declared,  before  the  Question  was  put, 
that  these  Proceedings  should  be  published,  in  Order  that  they  might 
be  sent  Home  by  the  Packet.  This  Declaration,  from  a  Member  of 
the  Committee,  has,  in  our  Opinion,  such  a  Tendency  to  hold  up  a 
Disunion  amongst  us,  which  must  impede  the  Public  Business,  and 
retard  a  Redress  of  our  Crievances,  especially  as  the  Gentlemen  who 
voted  for  his  Motion  heard  the  Reasons  offered  against  their  being 
published,  that  we  conceive  we  cannot,  with  such  a  Majority,  answer 
the  End  of  our  Appointment  :  And  therefore,  in  Justice  to  our- 
selves, and  from  a  Regard  to  the  Public  Interest,  we  desired  that  our 
Names  may  be  erased  out  of  the  List  of  the  Committee.  And  we  are 
humbly  of  Opinion  that  the  Temper  manifested  by  the  Majority  for 
publishing  Mr.  McEvers's  Motion  is  destructive  to,  and  subversive 
of,  the  End  for  which  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  was  ap- 
pointed ;  all  which  is  nevertheless,  humbly  submitted  to  you. 
July  8th,  1774. 

Francis  Lewis, 
Joseph  Hallet, 
Alexander  McDougall, 
P.  V.  B.  Livingston, 
Isaac  Sears, 
Thomas  Randall, 
Abraham  P.  Lott, 
Leonard  Lispenard. 

We  whose  Names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  though  not  present  at 
the  Debates,  do  likewise  request  our  Names  may  be  struck  out  of 
the  List  of  the  Committee. 

John  Broome, 
Abraham  Brasher, 
Jacobus  Van  Zandt. 

N.B.  It  may  be  proper  to  inform  the  Reader  that  printing  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Committee  has  been  agitated  several  Times,  and 


45^ 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


judged  inexpedient;  because  every  Citizen,  by  the  Rules  of  the 
Board,  may  have  access  to  them,  in  the  Presence  of  one  of  the  Mem- 
bers. That  Mr.  McEvers's  Motion  was  made  after  the  Committee 
adjourned  to  Monday  next,  and  some  of  the  members  were  gone,  and 
one  going  down  Stairs.1 

On  the  9th  of  July  McDougall  issued  the  following  placard, 
explaining  the  method  of  voting,  and  withdrawing  his  name 
as  a  candidate  for  "  Deputy  "  to  Philadelphia. 

To  the  Freeholders,  Freemen,  and  Inhabitants  of  the  City  and 
County  of  New  York. 

Gentlemen  : 

The  favourable  sentiments  many  of  you  were  pleased  to 
entertain  of  me,  in  nominating  me  one  of  your  deputies  for  this  City 
and  County,  lay  me  under  great  obligations  ;  and  you  may  rest 
assured,  my  future  conduct  will  evince  the  grateful  sense  I  have  of 
this  mark  of  your  esteem.  Put,  when  I  consider  the  manner  in 
which  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  have  determined  to  carry 
the  Resolutions  at  the  City-Hall  into  execution,  I  conceive  your  votes 
cannot  be  properly  taken,  and  consequently  the  sense  of  the  inhabi- 
tants will  not  be  known.  They  have  determined,  that  the  papers 
containing  the  names  of  the  Five  Persons  nominated  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence,  and  the  Five  nominated  by  the  Committee 
of  Mechanics,  shall  be  presented  to  the  voters,  and  that  they  must 
vote  for  one  or  the  other  of  the  Five  on  each  of  the  papers,  or  not  be 
allowed  to  vote  at  all.  This  deprives  the  people  of  voting  for  any 
Five  of  the  Seven  nominated,  and  is,  in  my  opinion,  an  infringement 
of  their  Liberty. 

The  spirit  of  the  determination  at  the  Hall,  I  conceive,  was  to 
confine  the  Electors  to  vote  for  Five  of  the  Seven  nominated. 
Agreeable  to  this,  and  friendly  to  Freedom,  was  the  manner  proposed 
by  the  Committee  of  Mechanics,  in  their  letter  to  the  Committee  of 
Correspondence  that  seven  columns  should  be  ruled,  one  for  each 
of  the  persons  nominated  and  that  the  Elector's  name  should  be  put 
down,  and  the  persons,  in  the  respective  columns,  for  whom  they 
should  vote.  As  this  is  not  adopted,  and  the  other  is  unfriendly  to 
liberty,  I  cannot  in  justice  to  that  cause,  pursue  it  in  a  manner  that 
I  saps  its  very  foundation  ;  for,  if  a  pole"  is  necessary,  it  must  be  to  ob- 
tain the  general  sense  of  the  people  ;  and  the  mode  now  to  be  pur- 
sued will  not  do  that,  as  many  of  them  will  not  vote  for  any  of  the 
nomination,  unless  they  can  vote  for  those  they  choose.  For  these 
reasons,  and  to  end  a  contest  which  at  present  may  be  injurious  to 


1  Broadsides  vol.  i.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 


!  Sic  in  original. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


457 


us,  I  cannot  think  of  putting  you  to  the  trouble  of  an  uncertain  pole, 
without  answering  any  valuable  end ;  and  therefore  I  decline  the 
nomination  of  a  Deputy.  Hut  whenever  you  may  judge  my  poor 
abilities  can  promote  the  weal  of  my  country,  I  shall  always  be  ready 
to  serve  you  to  the  utmost  of  my  power. 

1  am  Gentlemen, 

Your  grateful  and  much  obliged 
humble  servant 

Alexr.  McDougall.' 

New  York, 

July  9.  1774. 

On  the  13th  of  July,  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one  adopted 
resolutions,  expressing  their  views,  and  the  proper  course  to 
be  adopted,  of  which  the  following  is  the  record,  and  called  a 
meeting  at  the  Coffee  House  for  the  19th  of  July,  to  pass  upon 
them. 

Proceedings  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  in  New 

York.. 

Committee- Chamber,  July  13,  1774. 


Present. 


Mr.  Goelet, 

Mr. 

Nicoll, 

Mr.  Wallace, 

Mr.  Jay, 

Mr. 

G.  H.  Ludlow, 

Mr.  Sharpe, 

Mr.  G.  W.  Beekman, 

Mr.  \V.  Bayard, 

Mr. 

W.  Walton, 

Mr.  Curtenius, 

Mr. 

Ham.  Young, 

Mr.  John  De  Lancey, 

Mr.  Remsen, 

Mr. 

R.  Yates, 

Mr.  Hoffman. 

Mr.  Booth, 

Mr. 

Duvckinck, 

Mr.  Sherbrook, 

Mr.  Laight, 

Mr. 

Shaw, 

Mr.  McAdam, 

Mr.  Thurman, 

Mr. 

Moore, 

Mr.  Alsop, 

Mr.  Bache, 

Mr. 

Bull, 

Mr.  McEvers, 

Isaac  Low,  Chairman. 


The  Persons  appointed  at  the  last  Meeting  of  this  Committee,  to 
draw  up  a  Set  of  Resolves,  met  for  that  Purpose,  but  Doubts  arising, 
Whether  those  Gentlemen  who  had  refused  further  Attendance  on 
this  Committee,  could  consistently  enter  upon  that  Business,  it  was 
agreed  to  submit  the  same  to  the  Consideration  of  the  whole  Com- 
mittee, at  their  next  Meeting  ;  but  none  of  those  Gentlemen  appear- 
ing, though  regularly  served  with  Notices,  Mr.  Bache  moved,  and  was 
seconded  by  Mr.  Nicoll.  That  another  Committee  be  appointed  to 

1  Broadsides  vol.  i.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 


453 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


draw  up  Resolves  for  the  Consideration  of  this  Comn.ittee,  which 
being  unanimously  agreed  to, 

Ordered, 

That,  the  following  seven  Persons  be  a  Committee  for  that  Pur- 
pose, viz.  Mr.  Low,  Mr.  Jay,  Mr.  Thurman,  Mr.  Curtenius,  Mr. 
Moore,  Mr.  Shaw,  Mr.  Bache,  and  that  they  proceed  immediately  on 
the  aforesaid  business. 

Mr.  Curtenius  reported  a  series  of  resolves,  which  were  read  and 
unanimously  agreed  to,  and  it  was  then 

Ordered, 

That  the  same  be  forthwith  printed,  and  distributed  in  Hand-bills, 
for  the  Consideration  of  the  Public,  7uho  are  requested  to  attend  at  the 
Coffee  House  on  Tuesday  next,1  at  Twelve  o'clock  in  the  Morn- 
ing, to  signify  their  sense  of  the  said  Resolves. 

Mr.  Laight  moved,  and  was  seconded  by  Mr.  McEvers,  that  the 
five  Gentlemen  nominated  by  this  Committee,  as  Delegates  to  attend 
the  General  Congress,  viz.,  Mr.  Duane,  Mr.  Philip  Livingston,  Mr. 
John  Alsop,  Mr.  Isaac  Low,  and  Mr.  John  Jay,  be  proposed  to  the 
Citizens  for  their  Approbation,  at  the  same  Time  and  Place,  which 
being  also  unanimously  agreed  to, 

Ordered, 

That  printed  Notices  thereof  be  immediately  dispersed. 
By  Order  of  the  Committee, 

Isaac  Low,  Chairman.' 

The  resolutions  above  referred  to,  slightly  amended,  and 
adopted  by  the  Committee,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  meet- 
ing on  the  19th  of  July,  are  as  follows  : 

Committee-Chamber,  July  19,  1 774. 

Proceedings  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence. 

The  Resolves  proposed  by  this  Board  to  the  Inhabitants  of  this" 
City,  having  been  published  and  dispersed  through  the  Town  several 
Days  previous  to  this  Meeting,  and  every  person  thereby  furnished 
with  an  Opportunity  of  considering  them  with  due  Deliberation  : 
And  as  only  a  small  Proportion  of  the  Citizens  attending  the  Meeting 


July  19th. 


*  Broadsides  vol.  i.,  in  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Libiary. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


459 


at  the  Coffee-House,  to  signify  their  Sense  of  the  same,  and  the 
Sentiments  of  the  Majority  still  remaining  uncertain  ;  therefore,  to 
remove  all  Doubts  and  Uneasiness  on  that  Head,  it  is  ordered  that 
certain  Amendments  be  made  to  the  said  Resolves,  and  that  two  or 
more  Persons  be  appointed  in  each  Ward  to  take  the  Sense  of  the 
Freeholders,  Freemen,  and  such  others  who  pay  Taxes,  respecting 
the  said  Resolutions  so  amended  ;  as  also  of  the  Delegates  nomi- 
nated by  this  Committee  to  attend  the  Congress. — But  in  the  mean 
Time,  altho'  the  said  Resolves  cannot  with  Certainty  be  said  to  cor- 
respond with  the  Sentiments  of  the  major  Part  of  the  Citizens,  tho'  in 
all  Probability  they  do,  yet,  as  they  contain  our  Sentiments,  it  is 
further  ordered,  that  they  be  immediately  published  as  such  ;  leaving 
those  who  may  dissent  from  us,  to  declare  their  Opinions  in  such 
other  Phrases  or  Modes  of  Expression,  as  they  shall  think  proper. 

First.  RESOLVED,  That  his  most  sacred  Majesty  George  the 
Third,  King  of  Great  Britain,  is  our  liege,  lawful  and  rightful 
Sovereign,  and  that  it  is  our  indispensable  Duty  to  the  utmost  of  our 
Power,  by  all  constitutional  Means  to  maintain  and  support  his 
Crown  and  Dignity.  That  it  is  our  greatest  Happiness  and  Glory  to 
have  been  born  British  Subjects  ;  and,  that  we  wish  nothing  more 
ardently  than  to  live  and  die  as  such.  That  we  are  one  people,  con- 
nected by  the  strongest  Ties  of  Affection,  Duty,  and  Interest,  and 
that  we  lament  as  the  greatest  Misfortune,  every  Occurrence  which 
has  the  least  Tendency  to  alienate  or  disturb  that  mutual  Harmony 
and  Confidence,  which,  if  properly  cultivated  could  not  fail  render- 
ing the  British  Empire  the  Admiration  and  Envy  of  all  the  World. 
That  we  therefore  view  with  inexpressible  Concern  and  Grief,  some 
late  Acts  of  the  British  Parliament,  claiming  Rights  and  exercising 
Powers  which  we  humbly  conceive  are  replete  with  Destruction,  and 
may  be  attended  with  the  most  fatal  Consequences  to  the  Colonies 
and  their  parent  State. 

Second.  RESOLVED,  That  all  Acts  of  the  British  Parliament, 
imposing  Taxes  on  the  Colonies,  are  unjust  and  unconstitutional,  and 
particularly  that  the  Act  for  blocking  up  the  Port  of  Boston  is,  in  the 
highest  Degree  arbitrary  in  its  Principles,  oppressive  in  its  Opera- 
tion, unparallelled  in  its  Rigour,  indefinite  in  its  Exactions,  and 
subversive  of  every  Idea  of  British  Liberty  ;  and  therefore  justly  to  be 
abhorred  and  detested  by  all  good  Men. 

Third.  RESOLVED,  That  the  Destruction  of  the  Tea  at  Boston 
was  not  the  only  Motive  for  bringing  such  unexampled  Distress  on 
that  People,  because  the  alternative  of  suffering  it,  or  paying  for  the 
Tea  had  otherwise  been  left  in  their  Option  ;  but  we  truly  lament 
that  the  enforcing  the  Right  of  Taxation  over  the  Colonies  seems 
to  have  been  the  main  Design  of  the  said  Act  of  Parliament. 

Fourth.  RESOLVED,  That  Vengeance  separately  directed,  has 
a  more  dangerous  Tendency,  and  is  more  destructive  of  the  Liberties 
of  America,  than  conjunctively  ;  and  that  therefore  it  is  the  indis- 
pensable Duty  of  all  the  Colonies,  according  to  their  different  Cir- 
cumstances, to  afford  every  reasonable  Assistance  to  a  Sister  Colony 


460 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


in  Distress  ;  especially  when  that  Distress  is  evidently  calculated  to 
intimidate  others  from  contributing  what  may  be  in  their  Power,  to 
procure  the  desired  Relief. 

Fifth.  RESOLVED,  That  the  proposed  Congress  of  Delegates 
from  the  different  Colonies,  to  consult  on  the  Mode  of  procuring  Re- 
lief from  our  Difficulties,  is  the  most  prudent  measure  that  could  have 
been  devised  at  this  Alarming  Crisis. 

Sixth.  RESOLVED,  That  as  the  Wisdom  of  the  Colonies  will,  in 
all  Probability,  be  collected  at  the  proposed  Congress,  it  would  be 
premature  in  any  Colony  to  anticipate  their  Conduct,  by  resolving 
what  ought  to  be  done  ;  but  that  it  should  be  left  to  their  joint 
Councils  to  determine  on  the  Mode  which  shall  appear  most  salutary 
and  effectual  to  answer  the  good  Purposes  for  which  they  are  con- 
vened. 

Seventh.  RESOLVED,  That  nothing  less  than  dire  Necessity 
can  justify,  or  ought  to  induce  the  Colonies  to  unite  in  any  Measure 
that  might  materially  injure  our  Brethren  the  Manufacturers,  Traders, 
and  Merchants  in  Great-Britain  :  But  that  the  Preservation  of  our 
inestimable  Rights  and  Liberties,  as  enjoyed  and  exercised,  and 
handed  down  to  us  by  our  Ancestors,  ought  to  supercede  all  other 
Considerations  ;  and  that  therefore  we  doubt  not  the  cool,  dispas- 
sionate People  of  England,  whose  Friendship  on  former  Occasions 
we  have  experienced,  will,  on  mature  Consideration,  not  only  Ap- 
plaud our  Motives,  but  co  operate  with  us  in  all  constitutional 
Measures,  for  carrying  these  virtuous  Resolutions  into  execution,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  desired  and  just  Redress  of  our  Grievances. 

Eighth.  RESOLVED,  That  if  a  Non-Importation  Agreement  of 
Goods  from  Great  Britain  should  be  adopted  by  the  Congress,  it 
ought  to  be  very  general  and  faithfully  adhered  to  ;  and  that  a  Non- 
Importation  partially  observed,  like  the  last,  would  answer  no  good 
Purpose  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  only  serve  to  expose  all  the  Colonies 
to  further  Injuries. 

Ninth.  RESOLVED,  therefore,  That  the  Delegates  to  the  Con- 
gress, ought  to  be  so  chosen,  or  instructed,  that  they  may  "be  able 
not  only  to  speak  the  Sentiments,  but  to  pledge  themselves  for  the  good 
Conduct  of  the  People  of  the  Colonies,  they  respectively  represent!' 

Tenth.  RESOLVED,  That  the  Tribute  of  our  most  grateful 
Thanks,  is  justly  due  to  all  the  Friends  of  the  Colonies  in  Great- 
Britain,  who  are  opposed  to  the  severe  Measures  now  exerting  against 
them  ;  and  particularly  to  those  illustrious  Patriots  who  so  ably  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  in  opposing 
Laws,  which,  at  the  same  Time  that  they  subvert  the  Liberties  of 
America,  have  a  manifest  Tendency  to  injure  those  of  the  Mother  ' 
Country,  and  may  eventually  entirely  overthrow  their  once  excellent 
Constitution, 

The  following  Motion  was  made  by  Mr.  Jay,  and  seconded  by 
Mr.  Laight, — That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  take  the  Distresses 
of  the  Poor  of  the  Town  of  Boston,  and  Ways  and  Means  for  their 
Relief,  into  Consideration ;  and  make  their  Report  with  all  conve- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  46 1 

_  ■* 

nient  Speed.  — Ordered,  That  Mr.  Alsop,  Mr.  Jay,  Mr.  Curtenius, 
Mr.  Laight,  Mr.  Duyckinck,  and  Mr.  De  Lancey,  be  a  Committee 
for  that  1'urpose. 

By  Order  of  the  Committee, 

Isaac  Low,  Chairman.' 

The  next  day,  the  20th,  the  two  following  notices  were 
issued  as  placards  by  the  gentlemen  who  sign  them. 

To  the  Respectable  Publick. 

Certain  Resolves  having  been  proposed  by  the  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence, to  a  Number  of  Citizens  assembled  at  the  Coffee- 
House  Yesterday,  and  rejected  ;  and  instead  of  desiring  that  Amend- 
ments or  Additions  might  be  made,  or  a  new  Set  drawn  up  by  the 
said  Committee,  more  agreeable  to  their  Sentiments,  they  proceeded 
to  nominate  a  new  Committee  for  the  purpose,  and  appointed  us  the 
Subscribers  on  it  ;  and  being  summoned  this  Morning  to  attend  their 
Meeting,  thought  it  incumbent  on  us  to  return  the  following  Answer. 

Gentlemen, 

We  have  received  your  Notice  to  attend  the  Committee  ap- 
pointed Yesterday  to  draw  up  Resolves  for  this  City.  When  we  con- 
sider that  the  Appointment  of  this  Committee  was  proposed  and 
carried  without  any  previous  Notice  of  such  Design  having  been 
given  to  the  Inhabitants,  and  made  no  Part  of  the  Business  for  which 
they  were  requested  to  assemble,  we  think  our  Election  too  irregular 
to  assume  any  Authority  in  Consequence  of  it  to  draw  Resolves  for 
the  Town  ;  especially  as  the  Nomination  of  this  Committee  seems 
to  cast  an  invidious  Reflection  on  the  Committee  of  Correspond- 
ence, and  manifestly  tends  to  divide  the  Citizens  into  Factions  and 
Parties,  at  a  Time  when  they  should  be  distinguished  by  Concord 
and  Unanimity. — Besides,  we  conceive  our  Attendance  could  answer 
no  Purpose,  nor  afford  you  any  Assistance  :  The  Resolves  read 
Yesterday,  with  a  few  Amendments,  contain  our  Sentiments  ;  as 
such  they  will  be  published,  and  (some  seemingly  exceptionable  Parts 
being  omitted)  offered  to  the  Consideration  of  the  Public. 
We  are, 

Gentlemen, 

Your  most  obedient  Servants 
Isaac  Low, 
Henry  Remsen, 
John  .Moore, 

New  York,  July  20,  1774.  John  Jay. 

To  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee 
at  Mr.  Doran's." 

1  Broadsides  vol.  i.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc 
*  Broadsides  vol.  i.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc 


462 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


To  the  Respectable  Public. 


We  conceive  the  sense  of  our  fellow  citizens  relative  to  the  dele- 
gates to  represent  them  at  the  proposed  congress  (notwithstanding 
the  proceeding  of  yesterday  at  the  Coffee  House)  remains  so  uncer- 
tain, that  until  the  sentiments  of  the  town  are  ascertained  with  greater 
precision,  we  can  by  no  means  consider  ourselves,  or  any  others 
nominated  as  delegates,  duly  chosen  or  authorized,  to  act  in  so  hon- 
orable and  important  a  station. 

John  Alsop, 
Isaac  Low, 
John  Jay.' 

New  York,  July  20,  1774. 

The  next  action  of  the  Committee  was  on  July  25th,  and  is 
as  follows  : 

Committee-Chamber,  New  York  July  25,  1774. 
Proceedings  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence. — 

Mr.  Henry  Remsen,  seconded  by  Mr.  Abraham  Duryee,  made  a 
motion  in  the  words  following  : 

Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  a  Poll  be  opened  at  the  usual  places  of  election 
in  each  ward  in  this  city  on  Thursday  the  28th  instant  at  9  o'ciock 
in  the  morning  to  elect  five  Deputies  for  the  city  and  county  of  New 
York  to  meet  in  Congress  at  Philadelphia  on  the  1st  September  next, 
and  in  order  that  the  same  may  be  conducted  in  the  most  unexcep- 
tionable manner,  I  further  move,  that  this  Committee  request  the  favor 
of  the  Aldermen,  Common  Council,  and  Vestry  a  in  each  ward,  to 
superintend  the  same  ;  and  that  the  Committee  of  Mechanics  be  also 
recpiested  to  appoint  two  persons  in  each  ward  to  attend  with  two 
of  this  Committee  for  the  same  purpose  that  not  only  the  freeholders 
and  freemen,  but  all  persons  who  pay  taxes,  be  deemed  qualified  to 
vote. 

Which  being  unanimously  agreed  to, 
Ordered, 

That  the  same  be  forthwith  carried  into  execution,  and  pub 
lie  notice  thereof  immediately  given  by  printed  handbills. 

1  Broadsides  vol.  i.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 

•  The  Civil  Vestry  under  the  Act  of  1693,  see  Note  II.  ante. 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  463 

The  next  day,  the  26th,  the  Committee  met  and  took  notice 
of  an  error  of  the  printer  in  Gaine's  account  of  the  action  at 
the  meeting  of  the  19th,  and  to  correct  it  ordered  the  follow- 
ing proceedings  published,  which  are  taken  from  Holt's  Jour- 
nal of  Aug.  4th,  1774. 

New  York — 26th  July,  1774. 

"  Gentlemen 

As  you  are  upon  the  nomination  of  Delegates  to  represent 
the  city  and  county  of  New  York  at  the  proposed  Congress ;  in 
order  to  avoid  the  inconveniences  that  may  arise  from  a  contested 
election,  we  are  requested  as  a  Committee  from  a  number  of  Citi- 
zens to  ask  you  whether  on  your  part  you  will  engage  to  use  your 
utmost  endeavours  at  the  proposed  Congress,  that  an  agreement  not 
to  import  goods  from  Great  Britain,  until  the  American  grievances 
be  redressed,  be  entered  into  by  the  Colonies,  there  to  be  represent- 
ed. If  you  will  so  engage,  the  body  by  whom  we  are  nominated  will 
support  you,  if  not,  that  body  have  a  set  of  Candidates  who  will  com- 
ply with  the  proposed  engagement. 
Presented  by  Messrs. 

Abraham  Brasher 

Theophilus  Anthony 

Francis  Van  Dyck 

Jeremiah  Piatt 

Christopher  Duyckinck" 

"  New  York  July  26.  1774. 

"Gentlemen, 

Should  we  become  your  Delegates  we  beg  leave  to  assure  you 
that  we  will  use  our  utmost  endeavours  to  carry  every  measure  into 
execution  at  the  proposed  Congress,  that  may  then  be  thought  con- 
ducive to  the  general  interest  of  the  Colonies  ;  and  at  present  are  of 
opinion  that  a  general  non-importation  agreement  faithfully  observed 
would  prove  the  most  efficacious  means  to  procure  a  redress  of  our 
grievances.  Permit  us  to  add  that  we  are  led  to  make  this  declara- 
tion of  our  sentiments  because  we  think  it  right  and  not  as  an  induce- 
ment to  be  favoured  with  your  votes — nor  have  we  the  least  objec- 
tion to  your  electing  any  Gentlemen  as  your  Delegates  in  whom  you 
think  you  can  repose  greater  confidence  than  in,  Gentlemen, 
Your  humble  Servants 

Philip  Livingston 

John  Alsop 

Isaac  Low 

John  Jay." 

Received  the  following  in  Answer  to  the  above. 


464 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  At  a  meeting  of  a  number  of  citizens  convened  at  fhe  house  of 
Mr.  Mariner,  it  is  unanimously  agreed,  that  they  acquiesce  in  the 
nomination  of  the  following  gentlemen  as  delegates  to  represent  the 
city  and  county  of  New  York,  at  the  ensuing  Congress,  to  be  held  at 
Philadelphia  the  1st  of  September  next. 

Messrs.  Philip  Livingston 
New  York,  27th  )  John  Alsop 

Ju,y  '774    )  Isaac  Low 

James  Duane 
John  Jay 

Presented  by  Messrs. 
Abraham  Brasher 
Theophilus  Anthony 
Jeremiah  Piatt 
Francis  Van  Dyck 
Christopher  Duyckinck  " 

The  Gentlemen  of  this  Committee  appointed  to  attend  the  Poll 
held  in  the  different  wards  of  this  City  for  the  election  of  five  dele- 
gates to  represent  this  city  and  county  at  the  ensuing  Congress,  de- 
livered the  Poll  lists  taken  at  the  said  elections  in  each  ward  of  this 
city,  subscribed  by  the  magistrates  and  others  under  whose  Superin- 
tendence the  same  was  held  ;  which  said  several  Poll  lists  being  read 
and  examined,  it  appears  that  John  Philip  Livingston,  Isaac  Low. 
John  Alsop,  James  Duane,  and  John  Jay,  the  persons  nominated  by 
this  Committee,  were  unanimously  elected  Delegates  for  the  afore- 
said purpose. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  take  the  distresses  of  the  poor  of  the 
town  of  Boston  and  ways  and  means  for  their  relief  into  considera- 
tion, report,  That  they  have  entered  upon  that  enquiry,  and  will 
make  a  full  report  upon  the  matters  submitted  to  them  at  the  next 
meeting  of  this  Committee. 

By  order  of  the  Committee 

Isaac  Low, 

Chairman. 

In  this  manner,  as  shown  by  these  official  records,  was  the 
body  created  which  first  proposed  the  Congress  of  1774,  and 
the  "  deputies  "  or  delegates  from  New  York,  nominated,  and 
chosen  to  that  Congress. 

The  originals  of  the  foregoing  documents  are  preserved 
in  the  Library  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  from 
which,  and  the  Colonial  Newspapers  in  the  same  Library, 
Mr.  Peter  Force  printed  most  of  them  in  the  first  volume 
of  his  American  Archives,  a  United  States  Government 
work  not  accessible  to  the  general  reader.     As  they  have 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


465 


never  been  printed  elsewhere,  they  are  given  in  this  note 
at  the  risk  of  its  being  thought  prolix.' 

This  pasquinade,  which  appeared  just  after  the  election  of 
the  delegates,  as  above  stated,  though  a  little  coarse,  illus- 
trates the  state  of  the  parties  to  the  controversy.  It  is  from 
the  original  "  broadside  "  in  the  Library  of  the  N.  Y.  Histori- 
cal Society.' 

At  a  meeting  of  the  True  Sons  of  Liberty,  in  the  City  of  New 
York,  July  27.  1774,  properly  convened  ; 
Present 

John  Calvin,  John  Knox,  Roger  Rumpus,  &c  &c  &c. 

1.  Resolved,  That  in  this  general  Time  of  resolving,  we  have  as 
good  a  right  to  resolve  as  the  most  resolute. 

2.  Resolved,  That  we  have  the  whole  Sense  of  the  City,  County, 
Province,  and  all  the  Colonies,  concentrated  in  our  own 
Persons. 

3.  Resolved,  Therefore,  that  a  general  Congress  (saving  Appear- 
ances) would  be  unnecessary  and  useless. 

4.  Resolved,  That  the  Distresses  of  our  Brethren — in — the — 
Lord,  of  Boston,  are  unprecedented,  illegal,  [and  diabjolical  ; 
the  People  of  Massachusetts- Bay 'being  thereby  required  to  make 
Reparation  for  Damages  [and  tres]  passes  by  them  done  and 
committed,  only  in  Support  of  their  own  proper  and  avowed 
Purposes  to  [establish]  one  Grand  Republic  throughout  this 
ill  governed  Continent  ;  of  which,  and  for  the  sole  [use]  and 
Benefit  of  the  whole,  the  Massachusites  only  propose  them- 
selves as  the  Heads  and  Directors  ;  in  [order  that]  the  said 
Continent,  for  the  future,  may  be  more  justly  and  equitably 
ruled,  directed,  and  protected. 

5.  Resolved,  Therefore,  that  we  will  concur  with  them  in  every 
Measure  for  effectuating  the  [said]  salutary  Purpose  ;  being  con- 
vinced, as  were  their  and  our  Forefathers,  that  this  is  the  only 
[way]  whereby  an  effectual  Stop  may  be  put  to  the  alarming 
Growth  of  Prelacy,  Quakerism,  and  Liberty  of  Conscience  ; 
to  all  of  which,  by  the  most  obliging  Methods  of  prosecuting, 
persecuting,  [and]  hanging,  or  drowning,  both  they  and  ive  have 
ever  been  sworn  Enemies  ;  and  so  will  continue,  //'//  the  End 
of  Time — be  it  ever  so  endless. 

1  In  1810,  John  Blagge,  the  Secretary  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one,  gave  to 
the  N.  Y.  Historical  Society  the  original  MS.  minutes  of  that  Committee,  a  fools- 
cap document  of  fifty-four  pages,  perfect  except  four  pages  of  resolutions,  which 
appear  in  the  newspapers.  As  the  "broadsides"  which  were  issued  at  the  time 
affected  the  action  then  taken,  they  are  reprinted  here.    They  agree  with  the  MSS. 

8  The  words  in  square  brackets  in  this  copy  are  nearly  illegible,  and  in  some 
ca.ses  effaced,  in  the  original. 

SO 


466  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

6.  Resolved,  That  the  fittest  Persons  to  carry  on  this  great,  good, 
necessary  and  godly  Work,  are  [those  whom]  the  Freeholders,  in 
their  respective  Counties  and  Colonies,  have  elected  to  be  their 
Representatives  [They  are]  supposed  to  be  Men  of  Conscience 
and  Understanding — but  such  only  as  Ourselves  ;  who  have 
[no  claim]  to  Speculation  and  Refinement  ;  but  simply  fitted, 
by  our  Lives  and  Conversation,  for  right  [fu\  do]ings  ;  which 
are  the  only  Doings,  in  these  distressful  Times,  that  ought  to  go 
right  forward. 

7.  Resolved,  with  our  Brethren  of  this  City,  that  these  Resolves, 
and  any  we  may  afterwards  see  [fit]  to  promulgate,  shall  be 
approved  by  all  sensible  and  good  Men  in  our  Parent  Country  ; 
and  that  [they  shall]  even  make  that  ungracious  Varlet  Lord 
NORTH  shake  in  his  Shoes,  (when  he  sees  them)  and  [split]  his 
Breeches. 

8  Resolved,  with  our  Brethren  of  South-Carolina,  that  we  will 
pay  the  Expence  of  printing  these  [resolves]. 

9  Resolved,  According  to  the  third  Resolve  of  our  Brethren  of 
New  Brunswick  that  any  Act  or  [Acts]  of  Parliament  which  pre- 
vent the  Colonies  from  triumphing  over  the  Liberties,  sporting 
with  the  [goods]  or  at  Will  claiming  the  Properties  of  the  Min- 
istry, is  a  cruel  Oppression  in  which  all  the  Colonies  [are]  inti- 
mately concerned. 

10  Resolved,  with  our  Brethren  of  Annapolis  that  the  Non-Pay- 
ment of  Debts  contracted  with  [England]  is  the  only  Way  to 
save  the  Credit  of  those,  who  have  got  no  Money  to  pay  their 
Debts  with. 

11  Resolved,  That  a  strict  Adherence  to  a  Non-Importation  and 
Non-Exportation  Agreement,  which  was  so  easily  effected,  and 
so  faithfully  observed,  in  the  Time  of  the  Stamp  Act,  is  the  only 
certain  [way]  of  coming  at  the  naked  Truth  ;  without  which  we 
shall  never  be  able  to  unveil  the  covert,  and  close,  [and  wicked] 
Designs  of  the  d  d  Ministry,  to  ruin  us. 

12  Resolved,  That  because  Boston  is  undeservedly  chastised,  all 
the  other  Colonies  ought  to  be  deservedly. 

13  Resolved,  That  it  is  a  General  Mark  of  Patriotism,  to  eat  the 
King's  Bread,  and  abuse  him  for  [it]. 

14  Resolved,  That  the  best  Way  of  approving  our  Loyalty,  is  to 
spit  in  the  said  King's  face  ;  as  the  means  of  opening  his  Eyes. 

15  Resolved,  lastly,  That  every  Man,  Woman,  or  Child,  who 
doth  not  agree  with  our  Sentiments,  whether  he,  she,  or  they, 
understand  them  or  not,  is  an  Enemy  to  his  Country,  whereso- 
ever he  was  born,  and  a  Jacobite  in  Principle,  whatever  he  may 
think  of  it ;  and  that  he  ought  at  least  to  be  tarred  and  feathered, 
if  not  hanged,  drawn  and  quartered  ;  all  Statutes,  Laws,  and 
Ordinances  whatsoever  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

By  Order  of  the  Meeting 

Ebenezer  Snurfle,  Secretary. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


467 


The  following  statement  of  the  characteristics  of  those  who 
opposed  the  formation  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one  at  the 
meeting  of  16th  May,  1774,  written  a  fortnight  after  that  meet- 
ing by  a  gentleman  in  New  York  (now  unknown),  appeared 
in  the  London  Morning  Post  of  July  26th,  1774,  and  was  re- 
published in  New  York,  in  Holt's  Journal  of  August  25th  fol- 
lowing, in  a  supplement,  from  which  it  is  here  reproduced. 

"Extract  of  a  letter  to  a  Gentleman  in  London"  written  from 
New  York  31  May  1774. 

"  It  is  true  the  Presbyterian  junto,  or  self-constituted  Committee 
of  the  Sons  of  Liberty  for  the  city  of  New  York  (as  they  style  them- 
selves) which  had  stood  ever  since  the  time  of  the  Stamp  Act,  had 
taken  upon  them  to  write  letters  to  Boston  to  their  brethren  there, 
assuring  them  that  the  City  of  New  York  would  "  heartily  join  them 
against  the  cruel  and  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  British  Parliament," 
&c,  which  as  soon  as  the  gentlemen  of  property  in  this  city  knew, 
they  were  very  justly  alarmed,  and  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was 
desired  at  the  Coffee  House,  when  in  spite  of  all  that  could  be  done 
by  the  old  Committee,  which  consisted  of  eight  or  ten  flaming  patriots 
without  property,  or  anything  else  but  impudence,  a  new  committee 
was  chosen,  consisting  of  fifty  members,  most  of  them  men  of  sense 
coolness  and  property ;  and  I  understand  that  nearly  the  same  thing 
was  done  at  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  Peter  van  Schaack,  a  member  of  the  Committee  of 
Fifty-one,  writing  on  the  21st  of  May,  1774,  five  days  after  its 
appointment,  to  Mr.  Peter  Silvester,  well  defines  the  feelings 
and  sentiments  then  rife  in  New  York  : 

"  People  in  town  are  somewhat  divided  in  sentiments  as  to  what 
steps  it  will  be  most  expedient  to  take.  A  non-importation  agree- 
ment has  been  mentioned,  and  some  have  even  gone  so  far  as  to 
propose  entirely  to  stop  our  exports  to  the  West  Indies :  these 
measures  are  chiefly  espoused  by  the  Mechanics. 

The  Merchants  insist  that  we  ought  not  precipitately  to  enter  into 
either  of  these  plans:  that  a  nonimportation  will  draw  down  the 
vengeance  of  Great  Britain  upon  us,  and  that  will  probably  bring 
about  the  shutting  up  of  our  own  port.  *  *  *  *  It  has  been 
proposed  that  British  debts  should  not  be  paid,  but,  this,  from  the 
apparent  injustice  of  it  is  dropped! 

Some  think  there  should  be  a  Congress  of  deputies  from  all  the 
Colonies  to  consider  of  some  general  plan  of  Measures. 

Upon  the  whole,  it  has  been  thought  advisable  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee of  fifty  persons  to  consult  upon  the  present  state  of  affairs,  to 
correspond  with  the  Neighboring  colonies,  &c." — Life  of  P.  ran 
Sc/iaark,  p.  16. 


468 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  XV. 

THE  ACTION  OF  NEW  YORK  AND  THE  CONGRESS  OF  1774 
— HOW  VIEWED  BY  THE  GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK  AND 
THE  BRITISH  MINISTRY — THE  DINNER  GIVEN  TO  THE 
CONGRESS  AT  THE  STATE  HOUSE  IN  PHILADELPHIA, 
AND  THE  TOASTS  DRANK. 

Volume  /.,  page  36. 

The  following  striking  and  interesting  Correspondence 
between  Gov.  Colden  of  New  York  and  the  Earl  of  Dart- 
mouth— the  Minister — taken  from  the  official  despatches  in  the 
eighth  volume  of  the  Colonial  History  of  New  York,  shows 
how  the  Colonial  and  British  authorities  viewed  affairs  in  New 
York  in  1774  and  the  aims  and  results  of  the  Congress  at 
Philadelphia  in  that  year. 

Lieutenant-  Governor  Colden  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  VIII.,  p.  469. 

New  York  6th  July  1774. 

My  Lord, 

In  my  letter  of  June  the  1st  I  inform' d  your  Lordship  Mat 
the  People  of  this  City  had  chosen  a  Committee  of  51  Persons,  to 
correspond  with  the  Sister  Colonies  on  the  present  political  Affairs 
that  many  of  this  Committee  were  of  the  most  considerable  Mer- 
chants, and  Men  of  Cool  Tempers,  who  would  endeavour  to  avoid 
all  extravagant  and  dangerous  Measures.  They  have  had  a  contin- 
ual struggle  with  those  of  a  different  Disposition  :  and  having  for 
several  Weeks  succeeded  in  suspending  any  Resolutions,  I  was  in 
hopes  they  would  have  maintained  the  only  Conduct  which  can  ex- 
cuse them.  But  accounts  repeatedly  coming  to  hand,  from  different 
Parts  of  the  Continent,  of  the  Appointment  of  Deputies  to  meet  in 
general  Congress,  this  Measure  was  so  strenuously  push'd  that  it  was 
carried  in  the  Committee  of  51,  on  Monday  last  ;  and  five  Persons 
were  named  for  the  Deputies  from  this  Province. — The  Persons 
named  are  James  Duane  and  John  Jay,  two  eminent  Lawyers,  Isaac 
Low,  Philip  Livingston  and  John  Alsop,  Merchants. — I  am  told  a 
violent  Effort  was  made  in  the  Committee  to  have  John  Scott,  an 
eminent  Lawyer,  and  Alexr  McDougal,  the  Wilkes  of  New  York, 
named,  in  place  of  Jay  and  Alsop. — It  is  said  the  People  are  to  be 
invited  to  meet  on  Thursday  to  approve  of  the  Deputies  named  by 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


469 


the  Committee. — These  Transactions  are  dangerous,  my  Lord,  and 
illegal ;  but  by  what  means  shall  Government  prevent  them  ?  An 
Attempt  by  the  Power  of  the  Civil  Magistrate,  would  only  shew  their 
weakness,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  say  upon  what  foundation  a  Military 
Aid  should  be  called  in. — Such  a  Measure  would  involve  us  in 
Troubles,  which  it  is  thought  much  more  prudent  to  avoid  ;  and  to 
shun  all  Extreams,  while  it  is  yet  possible. — Things  may  take  a 
favourable  turn. — The  Purpose  of  the  Congress,  it  is  said,  is  to  Peti- 
tion for  a  redress  of  Grievances,  and  to  consider  of  a  Plan  for  set- 
tling the  Controversy  with  Great  Britain.  But  no  Instructions  for 
the  Deputies  have  yet  appear'd  that  I  know  of. 

The  present  Political  zeal  and  frenzy  is  almost  entirely  confined 
to  the  City  of  New  York.  The  People  in  the  Counties  are  no  ways 
disposed  to  become  active,  or  to  bear  any  Part  in  what  is  proposed 
by  the  Citizens.  I  am  told  all  the  Counties,  but  one,  have  declined 
an  Invitation,  sent  to  them  from  New  York,  to  appoint  Committees 
of  Correspondence.  This  Province  is  everywhere,  my  Lord,  except 
in  the  City  of  New  York,  perfectly  quiet  and  in  good  Order  :  and  in 
New  York  a  much  greater  freedom  of  Speech  prevails  now,  than  has 
done  heretofore.  An  Opposition  has  been  declared  to  the  vile  Prac- 
tice of  exhibiting  Erfigies,  which  I  hope  will  prevent  it  for  the  future. 

I  believe  your  Lordship  will  expect  a  particular  Account  of  the 
state  of  the  Province  from  Me,  which  I  hope  will  be  a  sufficient 
Excuse  for  my  troubling  you  with  such  minute  Transactions.     I  am 
anxious  to  perform  my  Duty,  and  to  merrit  your  Protection  of  being 
My  Lord 

Your  Lordship's  most  faithfull 

and  obedient  Servant. 

R'  Honble  Earl  of  Dartmouth.  Cadwallader  Colden. 


Lieutenant-Governor  Colden  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.,  VIII.,  p.  485. 

New  York  2nd  August  1774. 

*        *        *        *  * 

In  my  letter  No.  3.  I  submitted  to  your  Lordship  my  Opinion, 
that  Government  here,  cannot  prevent  the  frequent  Meetings  of  the 
People,  which  have  become  common  everywhere  ;  and  I  am  now 
convinced  that  if  Government  had  interfer'd,  the  most  violent  men 
would  have  gained  great  Advantage,  and  would  have  prevented  the 
acquiescence  in  the  nomination  of  moderate  Men,  which  has  now 
taken  place,  to  meet  at  the  general  Congress  of  Deputies  from  all 
the  Colonies  proposed  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  next  Month. 

The  Meeting  of  the  Deligates,  I  am  of  opinion,  cannot  be  pre- 
vented. If  they  pursue  only  such  prudent  measures  as  are  calcu- 
lated to  remove  the  distinctive  Dissentions  which  subsist  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies,  the  meetings  tho'  illegal,  it  may  be 


47o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


hoped,  will  produce  some  good.  Great  pains  has  been  taken  in  the 
several  Counties  of  this  Province,  to  induce  the  People  to  enter  into 
Resolves  ;  and  to  send  Committees  to  join  the  City  Committee  ;  but 
they  have  only  prevailed  in  Suffolk  County,  in  the  East  End  of 
Long  Island,  which  was  settled  from  Connecticut,  and  the  Inhabit- 
ants still  retain  a  great  similarity  of  manners  and  sentiments. 

From  a  view  of  the  numerous  Resolves  of  the  People  in  all  the 
Colonies,  which  appear  in  every  news  Paper,  your  Lordship  might 
be  led  to  think  a  stupid,  fatal  hardiness  intoxicated  the  whole.  But 
there  are  every  where  many  People  who  are  seriously  alarm'd  at  the 
critical  Posture  of  the  contention  between  Great  Britain  and  her 
Colonies.  They  look  forward  with  deepest  anxiety,  and  would  re- 
joice in  any  prudent  Plan  for  restoring  Harmony  and  Security. — 
Could  it  be  thought  consistent  with  the  wisdom  of  Parliament  to  lay 
aside  the  right  of  raising  money  on  the  Subjects  in  America  ;  and  in 
lieu  thereof,  that  the  several  American  Assemblies,  should  grant  and 
secure  to  the  Crown,  a  sufficient  and  permanent  supply  to  pay  all 
the  Officers  and  ordinary  Expenses  of  Government  ;  They  are  of 
Opinion  this  would  be  a  ground  work  upon  which  a  happy  reconcilia- 
tion might  be  effected. — The  Dependance  of  the  Colonies  on  Great 
Britain  secured. — Government  maintained  and  this  Destructive  Con- 
test amicably  terminated.  For  this  purpose  they  hope  an  Address 
to  his  Majesty  will  be  form'd  at  the  general  Congress. 

1  am  with  the  greatest  respect  &  submission 
My  Lord, 

Your  most  obedient  &  faithful  servant 

R'  HonbIe  Earl  of  Dartmouth.  Cadwallader  Colden. 


Earl  of  Dartmouth  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Colden. 
Col.  Hist.,  VIII.,  p.  487. 

Whitehall  7th  Septr  1774. 

Sir, 

I  have  received  your  letters  of  the  6th  of  July  &  2d  Augt  No  3 
&  4.  and  have  laid  them  before  the  King. 

You  certainly  are  right  in  thinking  that  it  is  your  Duty  to  transmit 
a  particular  Account  of  all  public  Occurrences  in  the  Province  under 
your  Government,  &  you  will  not  fail  to  embrace  every  opportunity 
that  offers  of  writing  to  me. 

The  King  has  seen  with  concern  that  His  Subjects  in  the  different 
Colonies  in  North  America  have  been  induced  upon  the  ground' 
stated  in  their  different  Resolutions  to  nominate  Deputies  to  meet  in 
general  Congress  at  Philadelphia. 

If  the  object  of  this  Congress  be  humbly  to  represent  to  the  King 
any  Grievances  they  may  have  to  complain  of,  or  any  propositions 
they  may  have  to  make  on  the  present  state  of  America,  such  Rep- 
resentations would  certainly  have  come  from  each  Colony  with 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


4/1 


greater  Weight  in  its  separate  Capacity,  than  in  a  channel,  of  the 
Propriety  and  Legality  of  which  there  may  be  much  doubt. 

I  fear  however  the  measure  lias  gone  too  far  to  encourage  any 
hope  that  it  has  been  retracted,  and  1  can  only  express  my  wish  that 
the  result  of  their  proceedings  may  be  such  as  may  not  cut  off  all 
hope  of  that  union  with  the  Mother  Country,  which  is  so  essential  to 
the  happiness  of  both. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Col  den  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.,  VIII.,  p.  488. 

New  York  7th  September  1774. 

***** 

The  Populace  are  now  directed  by  Men  of  different  Principles, 
and  who  have  much  at  stake.  Many  papers  have  been  published  in 
this  City,  to  expose  the  Measures  which  had  been  proposed  by  the 
former  Demagogues,  in  opposition  to  Government. — Men  now  speak 
and  publish  Sentiments,  in  favour  of  Government,  and  argue  upon 
the  political  subjects  of  the  Times,  with  much  greater  freedom  and 
security  than  has  been  known  here  for  some  years  past,  which  I  hope 
is  a  sign,  that  the  licentious  spirit  which  has  govern'd  the  People  to 
their  great  disgrace,  is  check'd. — We  have  no  more  burning  of 
Flfigies,  or  pitting  cut-throat  papers  under  Peoples  Doors.  I  hope 
1  am  not  deceived  in  thinking  that  the  l'eople  of  this  Province  will 
cautiously  avoid  giving  any  new  offence  to  the  Parliament,  but  great 
Numbers,  are  so  fluctuating,  that  some  unexpected  Incident  may 
produce  bad  effects. 

The  Five  Gentlemen  whom  I  formerly  inform'd  your  Lordship, 
were  appointed  by  this  City  to  be  their  Deligates  at  the  general  Con- 
gress, went  to  Philadelphia,  the  place  of  meeting  last  Week. — Seven 
Counties  of  this  Province,  neither  appointed  Deligates  for  themselves 
nor  concurM  in  the  choise  made  by  the  City  ;  and  two  Counties  have 
sent  Deligates  of  their  own. —  I  found  the  City  Deligates  were  em- 
barrassed by  this  Dissention  of  the  People. 

4c  >f*  «fc  s|(  ifc  s|c  -t*  (l 


Lieutenant-Governor  Colden  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.,  VIII.,  492. 

New  York  5th  October,  1774. 

By  my  letter  of  the  71I1  of  September,  your  Lordship  would  find  I 
entertain'd  Hopes  that  the  People  of  this  Province  would  adopt 
moderate  Measures,  and  avoid  giving  any  new  offence  to  the  Parlia- 
ment.— I  know  such  was  the  sentiments  of  the  Fanners  and  Country 
People  in  general,  who  make  a  great  majority  of  the  Inhabitants.  I 


472 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


had  a'  confidential  conference  with  one  of  the  Deligates  from  this 
City  to  the  Congress  now  met  at  Philadelphia,  who  I  thought  had  as 
much  Influence  as  any  from  this  Place,  and  he  gave  me  assurance  of 
his  Disposition  being  similar. 

A  great  Deal  of  pains  has  been  taken  to  perswade  the  Counties  to 
chuse  Deligates  for  the  Congress,  or  to  adopt  those  sent  by  this  City. 
Several  of  the  Counties  have  refused  to  be  concernd  in  the  Measures. 
In  Queens  County,  where  I  have  a  House  and  reside  the  Summer 
Season,  Six  Persons  have  not  been  got  to  Meet  for  the  purpose  ;  and 
the  Inhabitants  remain  firm  to  their  Resolution  not  to  join  in  the 
Congress.  In  the  Counties  that  have  join'd  in  the  Measures  of  the 
City,  I  am  informed  that  the  Business  has  been  done  by  a  very  few 
Persons,  who  took  upon  themselves  to  act  for  the  Freeholders.  A 
Gentleman  who  was  present  when  the  Deligates  were  chosen  in 
Orange  County,  says  there  was  not  twenty  Persons  at  the  Meeting, 
tho'  there  are  above  a  thousand  Freeholders  in  that  County:  and  I 
am  told  the  case  was  similar  in  other  Counties  that  are  said  to  have 
join'd  in  the  Congress. 

The  violent  men  in  this  City,  who  lost  the  Lead  among  the 
People,  when  the  Committee  of  51  were  appointed,  as  mention'd  in 
my  former  Letters  to  your  Lordship,  hoped  they  had  got  an  oppor- 
tunity to  regain  their  importance,  and  to  throw  the  City  into  Con- 
fusion on  Occasion  of  Orders  which  were  received  by  some  of  our 
Merchants  to  furnish  Articles  wanted  by  the  Army  at  Boston.  These 
violent  Men,  last  Week  call'd  a  Meeting  of  the  Citizens,  which  few, 
but  the  lower  Class  of  People  attended,  and  not  a  great  many  of 
them  :  yet  they  had  the  Impudence  to  send  a  Committee  to  the 
Merchants  who  were  engaged  in  supplying  the  Articles  wanted  for  the 
Army  at  Boston,  with  a  very  Impertinent  Message,  and  endeavourd 
to  deter  them,  and  all  others,  from  furnishing  the  Army  any  Trans- 
ports with  any  thing  whatever.  These  Manceuvers  occasion'd  some 
Bustle  among  the  People  for  a  few  Days,  and  obliged  the  Committee 
of  51  to  desire  a  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  on  Friday  last,  when  a 
large  body  of  the  principal  People  and  Merchants  appeared,  and  de- 
clared that  those  who  had  taken  upon  them  to  threaten  the  Mer- 
chants, had  acted  without  any  Authority  from  the  Public,  and  that 
they  highly  disapproved  of  their  Conduct  ;  which  has  once  more 
silenced  the  turbulent  factious  few,  who  are  never  easy,  when  the 
People  are  quiet  and  orderly.  The  Merchants  now  go  on  compleat- 
ing  their  orders  without  further  Interruption. 

It  is  my  Duty  to  give  your  Lordship  the  best  Information  I  am 
able,  of  the  Disposition  of  the  People  of  this  Province.  With  this 
'view  I  mention  the  most  material  transactions  among  them.  It  is 
extreamly  Difficult  at  such  times  to  give  an  opinion  of  what  may 
happen.  The  most  trifling  unforeseen  incident  may  produce  the 
greatest  Events.  I  have  already  said,  my  Lord,  that  I  am  well 
assured  almost  the  whole  Inhabitants  in  the  Counties  wish  for 
moderate  measures.  They  think  the  Dispute  with  Great  Britain  is 
carried  far  enough,  and  abhor  the  thoughts  of  pushing  it  to  desperate 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  473 

Lengths.  In  the  City  a  large  Majority  of  the  People  wish  that  a 
Non  importation  agreement  may  not  be  proposed  ;  and  were  very 
much  surprised  on  finding  that  such  a  Measure  would  probably  be 
resolved  on  by  the  Congress.  I  have  some  hopes  that  our  Merchants 
will  avoid  a  Non-importation  agreement  even  if  proposed  by  the 
Congress.  I  am  certain  a  majority  of  the  most  considerable  are  con- 
vinced it  is  a  wrong  Measure,  and  wish  not  to  come  into  it,  but 
whether  they  will  have  resolution  enough  to  oppose  the  Sentiments 
of  all  the  other  Colonies,  can  only  be  known  when  they  are  put  to 
the  tryal. 

******  *  *  * 

Lieutenant  Governor  Colden  to  the  Ear!  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.,  VIII.,  510. 

New  York  2nd  November  1774. 

My  Lord, 

I  have  received  the  Honour  of  your  Lordship's  Commands  of 
the  10th  of  September,  No.  23. 

The  Congress,  at  Philadelphia,  broke  up  last  Week.  They  have 
publish'd  an  Kxtract  of  the  Proceedings,  of  which  I  inclose  your 
Lordship  a  Copy.  It  was  received  in  this  Place  only  two  Days 
agoe,  so  that  there  has  not  been  time  to  discover  the  General 
Sentiments  of  the  People  upon  it.  It  is  certain  that  the  Measures 
of  the  Congress  do  not  meet  with  rapid  applause  here  ;  but  on  the 
contrary  the  People,  even  in  the  City,  appear  to  be  rather  Dissatis- 
fied. They  continue,  so  far  as  I  can  discover,  averse  to  all  violent 
and  irritating  Measures.  The  Merchants  seem  to  disrelish  the  Non- 
importation Association. — and  if  I  am  not  very  much  deceived,  the 
Farmers  will  not  bear  the  Non-Exportation — but  at  present  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  with  certainty  what  steps  the  People  will  take  in 
Consequence  of  what  has  been  advised  and  determined  by  the  Con- 
gress. 

I  think  I  may  continue  to  assure  your  Lordship  that  a  great 
Majority  in  this  Province  are  very  far  from  approving  of  the  extrava- 
gant and  dangerous  Measures  of  the  New  England  Governments. — 
that  they  abhor  the  thoughts  of  a  Civil  War,  and  desire  nothing  so 
much  as  to  have  an  End  put  to  this  unhappy  Dispute  with  the 
Mother  Country. 

3(t  5(j  J^C  l(t  5jC  jj(  l(C  l(i  ^ 

Nothing  material  has  happened  in  this  Place  since  my  last  letter  to 
your  Lordship.    The  Merchants  are  at  present  endeavouring  to  sift 
out  each  others  Sentiments  upon  the  Association  proposed  by  the 
Congress.    A  certain  Sign,  I  take  it,  that  they  wish  to  avoid  it. 
*  *  *  *  **  *  *  « 


474 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Lieutenant-Governor  Colden  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.,  VIII.,  512. 

New  York  Decr  7*  1774. 

My  Lord, 

$  £  ♦  ♦ 

The  first  thing  done  here,  in  consequence  of  the  resolutions  of  the 
Congress,  was  the  dissolution  of  the  Committee  of  51  in  order  to 
choose  a  new  Committee  to  carry  the  measures  of  the  Congress  into 
effect.  A  Day  was  appointed  by  advertisem'  for  choosing  sixty  per- 
sons to  form  this  new  Committee.  About  thirty  or  forty  citizens  ap- 
peared at  the  election,  and  chose  the  sixty  persons  who  had  been 
previously  named  by  the  former  Committee,  I  can,  no  otherwise  my 
Lord,  account  for  the  very  small  number  of  people  who  appeared  on 
this  occasion  than  by  supposing  that  the  measures  of  the  Congress 
are  generally  disrelished.  The  non-importation  association  affects 
the  smugglers  as  well  as  the  fair  Traders. 

In  the  present  Committee  of  this  Place  there  are  several  gentle- 
men of  property  and  who  are  esteemed  to  favor  moderate  and  con- 
ciliatory measures.  I  was  surprised  to  find  such  men  joining  with 
the  Committee  whose  design  is  to  execute  the  plan  of  the  Congress. 
1  have  at  length  discovered  that  they  act  with  a  view  to  protect  the 
City  from  the  ravage  of  the  Mob.  For  this  purpose,  they  say  they 
are  obliged  at  present  to  support  the  measures  of  the  Congress. 
That  if  they  did  not,  the  most  dangerous  men  among  us  would  take 
the  Lead  ;  and  under  pretence  of  executing  the  dictates  of  the  Con- 
gress would  immediately  throw  the  City  into  the  most  perilous  situa- 
tion. That  however  considerable  the  numbers  may  be,  who  disap- 
prove of  violent  riotous  measures,  yet  the  Spirit  of  Mobing  is  so  much 
abroad,  it  is  in  the  Power  of  a  few  People  at  any  time  to  raise  a 
Mob  ;  and  that  the  Gentlemen,  and  men  of  Property,  will  not  turn 
out  to  suppress  them.  1  fear  my  Lord  there  is  too  much  truth  in 
this  representation.  It  is  a  dreadful!  situation.  If  we  are  not  rescued 
from  it,  by  the  wisdom  and  firmness  of  Parliament,  the  Colonies 
must  soon  fall  into  distraction  and  every  Calamity  annexed  to  a  total 
annihilation  of  Government. 

Mr  Galloway  one  of  the  Philadelphia  Delegates,  has  been  lately 
here  on  a  visit.  He  furnished  me  with  Heads  of  a  plan  for  the 
Government  of  the  Colonies  proposed  by  him  to  the  Congress  and 
seconded  by  Mr  Duane  of  this  Place — These  Gentlemen  are  of- 
opinion  my  Lord,  that  there  is  a  defect  in  the  constitution  of  the 
British  empire  with  respect  to  the  Government  of  the  Colonies,  and 
that  the  most  effectual  means  of  reconciling  the  present  unhappy 
differences  ;  and  for  preventing  the  like  hereafter,  would  be  to  obtain 
from  the  King  and  Parliament  one  General  constitution  that  should 
establish  a  political  Union  not  only  among  the  Colonies,  but  with 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


475 


Great  Britain  upon  Principles  of  safety  and  freedom  to  both.  These 
were  the  guiding  objects  in  Mr  Galloways  Plan,  which  underwent  a 
Debate  in  the  Congress,  and  was  entered  on  their  minutes  I  enclose 
your  Lordship  a  copy  of  M*  Galloways  Plan,  with  two  sets  of  intro- 
ductory resolves.  How  amazing  is  it  my  Lord  that  when  a  rational 
mode  of  proceeding  evidently  tending  to  a  Reconciliation,  was  intro- 
duced and  supported  by  men  of  the  best  judgm'  the  Congress  should 
prefer  a  method  big  with  wickedness,  extravagance  &  absurdity.  A 
fatal  Pride  and  obstinacy  seems  to  have  governed  them.  The 
Delegates  from  Virginia  were  the  most  violent  of  any — those  of 
Maryland  and  some  of  the  Carolinians  were  little  less  so  these 
Southern  Gentlemen  exceeded  even  the  New-England  Delegates  : — 
they  together  made  a  majority  that  the  others  could  have  very  little 
effect  on.  Mr  Galloway  and  Mr  Duane  tell  me  that,  at  the  close  of 
the  Congress  they  dissented  from  the  proceedings,  and  insisted  to 
have  their  dissent  entered  on  the  Minutes,  but  could  not  by  any 
means  get  it  allowed. 

*  *  *  *  *  #  * 

Earl  of  Dartmouth  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Colden. 
Col.  Hist.,  VIII.,  529. 

Whitehall  Jan*  7  h  1775. 

*         *         *         *  * 

The  affairs  of  America  are  now  come  to  a  crisis,  and  as  the  con- 
sideration will  be  taken  up  by  the  Houses  of  Parliament  immediately 
after  the  Holidays,  it  can  not  but  be  the  wish  of  every  candid  &  un- 
prejudiced person  that  the  proceedings  of  the  general  congress  had 
been  of  such  a  colour  and  complexion,  as  to  have  united  accommoda- 
tion without  provoking  the  vengeance  of  the  mother  country. 

The  Idea  of  Union  upon  some  general  constitutional  plan, 
is  certainly  very  just,  &  1  have  no  doubt  of  its  being  yet  attainable 
through  some  channell  of  mutual  consideration  and  discussion. 

In  the  Library  of  the  Historical  Society  is  a  "  broadside  " 
containing  a  full  account  of  the  great  dinner  given  on  the  19th 
Sept.,  1774,  at  the  State  House  in  Philadelphia,  to  the  Con- 
gress of  1774,  by  the  gentlemen  of  that  city,  with  the  toasts 
drank.  It  is  here  printed  verbatim.  The  toasts  strikingly 
depict  the  feelings  and  sentiments  of  that  body. 

Philadelphia,  September  19. 
On  Friday  last  the  Honourable  delegates,  now  met  in  General 
Congress,  were  elegantly  entertained  by  the  Gentlemen  of  the  City. 
Having  met  at  the  City  Tavern  about  3  o'clock,  they  were  conducted 
from  thence  to  the  State  house  by  the  managers  of  the  entertain- 


4/6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


nient,-  where  they  were  received  by  a  very  large  company,  composed 
of  the  clergy,  such  genteel  strangers  as  happened  to  be  in  town,  and 
a  number  of  respectable  citizens,  making  in  the  whole  near  500 — 
After  dinner  the  following  toasts  were  drank,  accompanied  by  musick 
and  a  discharge  of  cannon  : 

1.  The  King. 

2.  The  Queen. 

3.  The  Duke  of  Gloucester. 

4.  The  Prince  of  Wales  and  royal  family. 

5.  Perpetual  union  to  the  colonies. 

6.  May  the  colonies  faithfully  execute  what  the  Congress  shall 
wisely  determine. 

7.  The  much  injured  town  of  Boston  and  Province  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay. 

8.  May  Great  Britain  be  just,  and  America  be  free. 

9.  No  unconstitutional  standing  armies. 

10.  May  the  cloud  which  hangs  over  Great  Britain  and  the  colon- 
ies, burst  only  on  the  heads  of  the  present  ministry. 

11.  May  every  American  hand  down  to  posterity,  pure  and  un- 
tainted, the  liberty  he  has  derived  from  his  ancestors. 

12.  May  no  man  enjoy  freedom  who  has  not  spirit  to  defend  it. 

13.  May  the  persecuted  Genius  of  Liberty  find  a  lasting  asylum  in 
America. 

14.  May  British  swords  never  be  drawn  in  defence  of  tyranny. 

15.  The  arts  and  manufactures  of  America. 

16.  Confusion  to  the  authors  of  the  Canada  Bill. 

1 7.  The  liberty  of  the  press. 

18.  A  happy  reconciliation  between  Great  Britain  and  her  colon- 
ies, on  a  constitutional  ground. 

19.  The  virtuous  few  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament. 

20.  The  City  of  London. 

21.  Lord  Chatham. 

22.  Lord  Camden. 

23.  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph. 

24.  Duke  of  Richmond. 

25.  Sir  George  Saville. 

26.  Mr.  Burke. 

27.  General  Conway. 

28.  Mr.  Dunning. 

29.  Mr.  Sawbridge. 

30.  Dr.  Franklin. 

31.  Mr.  Dulany. 

32.  Mr.  Hancock. 

The  acclamations  with  which  several  of  them  were  received,  not 
only  testified  the  sense  of  the  honour  conferred  by  such  worthy 
guests,  but  the  fullest  confidence  in  their  wisdom  and  integrity,  and 
a  firm  resolution  to  adopt  and  support  such  measures  as  they  shall 
direct  for  the  public  good  at  this  alarming  crisis. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


477 


NOTE  XVI. 

THE  COMMITTEE  OF  SIXTY  AND  ITS  ACTION — THE  ELEC- 
TION AND  FIGHT  OF  MARCH  6TH— THE  FIRST  PRO- 
VINCIAL CONVENTION — AND  THE  ELECTION  OF  THE 
GENERAL  COMMITTEE  OF  ONE  HUNDRED. 

Volume  /.,  page  37. 

PURSUANT  to  the  measures  adopted  by  the  Congress  at 
Philadelphia,  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one  took  action  for  the 
"  choosing  "  of  a  "  Committee  of  Observation  "  to  carry  out 
those  measures,  consisting  of  "  Sixty  "  Members,  which  being 
chosen  on  the  22d  of  November,  1774,  the  Committee  of 
"  Fifty-one  "  became  ipso  facto  dissolved. 

This  "  Committee  of  Sixty  "  acted  until  27th  of  April, 
1775,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  feeling  produced  by  the 
Battle  of  Lexington,  the  Committee  itself  proposed,  that  a 
"  General  Committee  of  One  Hundred"  should  be  chosen  in  its 
place,  with  larger  pozvers,  and  nominated  one  hundred  per- 
sons to  compose  it,  who  were  elected  such  Committee  in  May, 
1775- 

On  the  6th  of  March  took  place  the  fight  and  proceedings 
at  the  Meeting  at  the  Exchange  described  on  pages  37  and 
38.  The  Committee's  account  will  be  found  in  this  r.ote. 
Eleven  delegates,  however,  were  chosen,  and  not  five  only,  as 
stated  in  text,  as  shown  by  the  proceedings  here  given.  The 
First  Provincial  Convention  met  April  21st,  1775.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Committee  of  Sixty  are  as  follows  : 

From  Rivingtori 't  (N.  Y.)  Gazetteer  of  Nov,  10,  1774. 

New  York,  Committee-Chamber,  Nov.  7th  1774. 

"  Whereas  at  the  late  continental  Congress, held  at  Philadelphia,  it 
"  was  resolved  that  a  committee  be  chosen  in  every  county,  city  & 
"  town  by  those  who  are  qualified  to  vote  for  representatives  in  the 
"  legislature  ;  whose  business  it  shall  be  attentively  to  observe  the 
"  conduct  of  all  parties  touching  the  association,  entered  into  by 
"  the  members  of  said  Congress,  in  the  name  and  on  the  behalf  of 


478 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  themselves  and  their  respective  constituents,  and  whea  it  shall  be 
"  made  to  appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  majority  of  any  such 
"  Committee,  that  any  person  within  the  limits  of  their  appointment 
"  has  violated  the  said  association,  that  such  majority  do  forthwith 
"  cause  the  truth  of  the  case  to  be  published  in  the  Gazette  to  the 
"  end,  that  all  such  foes  to  the  rights  of  British  America  may  be 
"  publicly  known  and  universally  contemned,  as  the  enemies  of 
"  American  liberty  ;  and  that  thenceforth  the  parties  to  the  said 
"  Association  will  respectively  break  off  all  dealings  with  him  or 
"  her  ": 

Which  said  resolve  of  the  Congress  being  this  clay  taken  into  con- 
sideration by  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  the  City  of  New 
York  :  They  do  hereby  recommend  to  the  freeholders  and  freemen 
of  the  said  city,  to  assemble  together  at  the  usual  places  of  election, 
in  their  several  wards,  at  10  clock  in  the  forenoon,  on  Friday  the 
1 8th  clay  of  this  instant  November,  then  and  there  to  elect  and 
appoint  8  fit  persons  in  each  respective  ward  to  be  a  committee  of 
Inspection,  for  the  purpose  expressed  in  said  resolve  of  the  Con- 
gress. 

By  order  of  the  Committee, 

Isaac  Low,  Chairman. 


From  Rivingtori's  Gazetteer,  Nov.  17,  1774. 

Committee-Chamber,  Nov.  15,  1 774. 

Whereas  it  is  apprehended,  that  Inconveniences  may  arise  from 
the  mode  lately  recommended  by  tin's  Committee,  for  electing  a  new 
Committee  to  superintend  the  Execution  of  the  Association  entered 
into  by  the  Continental  Congress,  and  this  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence having  taken  the  same  into  further  Consideration,  and 
consulted  many  of  their  fellow  citizens  and  also  conferred  with  the 
Committee  of  Mechanics,  and  having  agreed  to  dissolve  their  Body 
as  soon  as  such  new  Committee  shall  be  appointed  ; 

Public  Notice  is  therefore  hereby  given — That  it  is  now  thought  fit, 
that  instead  of  the  mode  prescribed  by  the  former  Advertisement 
Sixty  Persons,  to  continue  in  Office  until  the  first  day  of  July  next 
shall  be  chosen  by  the  freeholders  and  freemen  of  said  city  to  be  a 
committee  for  the  Purposes  mentioned  in  the  said  Association,  and 
that  the  said  Election  shall  be  held  at  the  City  Hall  on  Tuesday 
next  1  at  10  oclock  in  the  forenoon,  under  the  inspection  of  the  vestty 
men  of  this  City,  who  shall,  be  requested  by  the  Inhabitants  to  attend 
for  that  Purpose. 

By  order  of  the  Committee, 

Isaac  Low,  Chairman. 


November  22nd. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


479 


From  Rivingtotfs  [N.  Y.)  Gazetteer,  November  24,  1774. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  22,  1774. 

The  election  of  a  committee  of  sixty  persons  for  the  purposes 
mentioned  in  the  Association,  entered  into  by  the  Congress,  having 
this  day  come  on,  pursuant  to  advertisements  in  the  public  news- 
papers ;  a  respectable  number  of  the  freeholders  and  freemen  of  this 
city,  assembled  at  the  City  Hall,  where  the  election  was  conducted 
under  the  inspection  of  several  of  the  Vestry-men  :  And  the  follow- 
ing persons  were  chosen  without  a  dissenting  voice,  viz  : 


Isaac  Low, 
Philip  Livingston, 
James  Duane, 
John  Alsop, 
John  Jay, 

Peter  Van  B.  Livingston, 
Isaac  Sears, 
David  Johnston, 
Charles  Nicoll, 
Alexander  McDougall, 
Thomas  Randall, 
Leonard  Lispenard, 
Edward  Laight, 
William  Walton, 
John  Broome, 
Joseph  Hallet, 
Charles  Shaw, 
Nicholas  Hoffman, 
Abraham  Walton, 
Peter  Van  Schaack, 
Henry  Remsen, 
Peter  T.  Curtenius, 
Abraham  Brasher, 
Abraham  P.  Lott, 
Abraham  Duryee, 
Joseph  Bull, 
Francis  Lewis, 
John  Lasher, 
John  Rooine, 
Joseph  Totten, 


Thomas  Ivers, 
Hercules  Mulligan, 
John  Anthony, 
Francis  Basset, 
Victor  Bicker, 
John  White, 
Theophilus  Anthony, 
William  Goforth, 
William  Denning, 
Isaac  Roosevelt, 
Jacob  van  Voorhees, 
Jeremiah  Piatt, 
Wm.  Ustick, 
Comfort  Sands, 
Robert  Benson, 
William  W.  Gilbert, 
John  Berrian, 
Gabriel  W.  Ludlow, 
Nicholas  Roosevelt, 
Edward  Flemming, 
Lawrence  Embree, 
Samuel  Jones, 
John  De  Lancey, 
Frederick  Jay, 
William  W.  Ludlow, 
John  B.  Moore, 
George  Januwa, 
Rodolphus  Ritzma, 
Lindley  Murray, 
Lancaster  Burling. 


*J*  The  members  of  the  above  committee  are  desired  to  meet  at 
the  Exchange,  next  Monday  evening,1  at  6  oclock. 


1  The  2Sth. 


480 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Thq  following  Extracts  from  the  Proceedings  of  the  Committee  of 
Observation  for  the  City  and  County  of  New  York  are  by  them 
directed  to  be  published. 

The  Committee  met,  according  to  Adjournment,  the  27th  Febru- 
ary, 1775- 

Present,  Isaac  Low,  Chairman  {and  thirty-eight  other  members.) 

Mr.  Peter  van  Brugh  Livingston  moved,  and  was  seconded  by  Mr. 
Joseph  Hallett,  That  the  Committee  take  into  Consideration,  the 
Ways  and  Means  of  causing  Delegates  to  be  elected,  to  meet  the 
Delegates  of  the  other  Colonies  on  this  Continent  in  General  Con- 
gress, to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  on  the  10th  Day  of  May  next, — 
carried  unanimously  in  the  Affirmative,  except  Mr.  Samuel  Jones.1 — 
The  Committee  adjourned  to  Wednesday  Evening  next. 

The  Committee  met  by  adjournment,  Wednesday,  1st  March, 
1 775- 

Present,  Isaac  Low,  Chairman  {and  thirty-seven  other  members.) 

Ordered,  That  the  following  Notice  be  printed  and  published, 
viz. 

To  the  Freeholders  and  Freemen  of  the  City  and  County  of  New- 
York. 

As  the  last  Congress,  held  at  Philadelphia,  recommended,  That 
another  Congress  should  be  convened  at  the  same  Place,  on  the  10th 
Day  of  May  next  ;  and  the  Election  of  Delegates  ought  not  longer 
to  be  delayed,  most  of  the  other  Colonies  having  already  appointed 
them.  And  as  this  Committee  has  no  Power  without  the  Approba- 
tion of  their  Constituents,  to  take  any  Measures  for  that  Purpose  : 
They  therefore  request,  That  the  Freeholders  and  Freemen  of  the 
City  and  County  of  New  York,  will  be  pleased  to  assemble  at  the 
Exchange,  on  Monday  the  6th  Instant,  at  12  o'clock,  to  signify  their 
Sense  of  the  best  Method  of  choosing  such  Delegates  ;  and  whether 
they  will  appoint  a  certain  Number  of  Persons  to  meet  such  Deputies 
as  the  Counties  may  elect  for  that  Purpose,  and  join  with  them  in 
appointing  out  of  their  Body  Delegates  for  the  next  Congress. 

1  Afterwards  the  first  Comptroller  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  father  of 
the  late  Chancellor  Samuel  Jones,  and  cousin  of  the  Author. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


481 


The  Committee  met  on  Monday  Evening,  6th  March,  1775. 


Hercules  Mulligan, 


The  Request  made  by  the  Committee  to  the  Freeholders  and 
Freemen  of  this  City  and  County,  at  the  last  Meeting  of  the  Com- 
mittee, having  been  published,  a  very  numerous  Assembly  of  them 
convened  at  the  Exchange  this  Morning,  and  Mr.  Isaac  Low,  by  the 
Direction  of  this  Committee  and  in  the  presence  of  many  of  the 
Members,  put  the  following  Questions  to  the  said  Assembly  of 
the  People,  viz.  ';  Whether  they  will  appoint  and  authorize,  a  cer- 
tain Number  of  Persons  to  meet  such  Deputies  as  the  Counties  may 
elect,  and  join  with  them,  for  the  Sole  Purpose  of  appointing  out  of 
their  Body,  Delegates  for  the  next  Congress  ?  "  Which  Question 
being  put  as  aforesaid,  a  very  great  Majority  of  the  People  answered 
it  in  the  Affirmative  ;  but  a  Poll  was  demanded  by  the  Minority. 

The  following  Question  was  then  put  by  the  said  Chairman  to  the 
People,  by  the  Direction  of  the  Committee,  and  in  the  Presence  of 
many  of  its  members,  viz. — "Whether  they  will  authorize  the  Com- 
mittee to  nominate  Eleven  Deputies  for  their  Approbation  ?  " — To 
which  Question  a  very  great  Majority  of  the  People  also  answered  in 
the  Affirmative. — The  above  mentioned  Facts  having  been  transacted 
under  the  Inspection  and  in  the  Presence  of  a  Number  of  the  Mem- 
bers of  this  Committee,  viz. 


Present, 


Win.  Walton,  Chairman, 

(pro  tempore) 


John  Anthony, 
Francis  Bassett, 
Victor  Bicker, 
John  White, 
Theophilus  Anthony, 
William  Goforth, 
William  Denning, 
Isaac  Roosevelt, 
Jacob  van  Voorhies, 
Jeremiah  Piatt, 
Comfort  Sands, 
Robert  Benson, 
William  W.  Gilbert, 
John  Berrian, 
Nicholas  Roosevelt, 
Edward  Fleming, 
Frederick  Jav, 
William  W.  Ludlow, 
John  B.  Moore, 
George  Janeway, 
Rudolphus  Ritzema. 


Philip  Livingston, 
John  Jay, 

Peter  V.  B.  Livingston, 
Isaac  Sears, 
Alexander  McDougall, 
Leonard  Lispenard, 
John  Broome, 
Joseph  Hallett, 
Abraham  Walton, 
Peter  Van  Schaack, 
Henry  Remsen, 
Teter  T.  Curtenius, 
Abraham  Brasher, 
Abraham  P.  Lott, 
Abraham  Duryee, 
Joseph  Hull, 
Francis  Lewis, 
John  Lasher, 
Thomas  Ivers, 


482 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Mr.  Lewis, 
Mr.  J.  Anthony, 
Mr.  Denning, 
Mr.  A.  Walton, 
Mr.  Mulligan, 
Mr.  J.  Jay, 
Mr.  Broome, 
Mr.  Sears, 
Mr.  T.  Anthony, 
Mr.  Ivers, 
Mr.  J.  Roosevelt, 
Mr.  Ph.  Livingston, 


Mr.  Goforth, 
Mr.  Benson, 
Mr.  Berrian, 
Mr.  McDougall, 
Mr.  Ritzema, 
Mr.  Hallett, 
Mr.  Lasher, 
Mr.  Curtenius, 
Mr.  Remsen, 
Mr.  Van  Voorhies, 
Mr.  Gilbert, 
Mr.  Sands, 


Mr.  Bull, 
Mr.  Bicker, 

Mr.  P.V.  B.  Livingston, 
Mr.  White, 
Mr.  Brasher, 
Mr.  Lispenard, 
Mr.  Lott, 
Mr.  Piatt, 
Mr.  Duryee, 
Mr.  Bassett, 
Mr.  N.  Roosevelt, 
Mr.  Jane  way, 


Mr.  Fleming, 

and  by  them  reported  to  this  Committee. 

Ordered  therefore  unanimously,  that  the  same  be  entered  in  the 
Minutes  of  their  Proceedings. 

The  following  Gentlemen  were  nominated  by  Ballot,  for  the  Ap- 
probation of  the  Freemen  and  Freeholders,  for  the  City  and  County 
of  New-York,  to  serve  as  Deputies  to  meet  such  other  Deputies  as 
may  be  appointed  by  the  remaining  Counties  in  this  Province,  for 
the  sole  Purpose  of  electing  out  of  their  Body,  Delegates  for  the  next 
Congress,  viz. 


Isaac  Low, 
Philip  Livingston, 
James  Duane, 
John  Alsop, 


John  Jay, 

Leonard  Lispenard, 
Abraham  Walton, 
Francis  Lewis, 


Isaac  Roosevelt, 
Alexander  McDougall, 
Abraham  Brasher, 


On  the  Friday  evening  previous,  March  3d,  a  Public  Meet- 
ing of  the  inhabitants  disapproving  the  call  of  the  Commit- 
tee for  an  election  of  delegates  on  the  6th,  was  held  at  the 
house  of  the  widow  De  La  Montagnie,1  Mr.  John  Thurbcr 
presiding,  at  which  it  was  resolved  to  attend  the  meeting  on 
the  6th  and  try  to  get  it  adjourned  to  April  20th,  and  to  issue 
a  handbill  desiring  those  who  were  of  their  sentiments  to  meet 
them  at  the  widow  De  La  Montagnie's  on  Monday,  the  6th, 
at  10  A.M.,  and  proceed  from  thence  to  the  Exchange. 

The  next  evening — Saturday — the  opposite  party  met  to 
support  the  Committee  in  holding  the  election  on  the  6tl>. 
This  meeting  terminated  in  a  rush  of  the  meeting  en  masse 
to  the  owners  of  the  ship  Beulah,  and  her  Captain,  who  had 
delayed  in  sending  her  back  for  violating  the  non-importation 


'  In  Broadway,  opposite  the  Park. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  483 

agreement,  and  compelling  them  to  send  her  down  to  Sandy 
Hook,  whence  she  sailed  a  day  or  two  after  for  England. 
These  incidents  will  be  found  in  Holt's  Journal  of  March 
9th,  1775  ;  and  the  statement  closes  with  the  following  friendly 
account  of  the  meeting  of  the  6th,  the  election,  and  the  fight : 

"  Early  on  Monday  Morning  Preparations  were  made  for  the  Meet- 
ing in  the  Exchange  ;  A  Union  Flag  '  with  a  red  field  was  hoisted  on 
the  Liberty  Pole,  where  at  nine  o'clock  the  Friends  of  Freedom 
assembled  and  having  got  into  proper  readiness,  about  n  o'clock  the 
Body  began  their  March  to  the  Exchange.  They  were  attended  by 
Music;  and  two  Standard  Hearers  carried  a  large  Union  Flag,2  with 
a  Blue  Field  on  which  were  the  following  inscriptions:  GEORGE 
111.  REX  AM)  THE  LIBERTIES  OF  AMERICA.  NO  PO- 
PERY. On  the  other  [side]  THE  UNION  OF  THE  COLONIES 
AND  THE  MEASURES  OF  THE  CONGRESS.  Sometime 
after  they  had  arrived  at  the  Exchange  came  also  the  other  company 
who  had  met  at  the  widow  De  La  Montagnie's,  among  whom  were 
some  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  several  of  His  Majesty's  Coun- 
cil, and  those  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  who  had  re- 
fused taking  into  consideration  the  Proceedings  of  the  Congress, 
together  with  the  officers  of  the  Customs  and  other  Dependants  of 
the  Court,  &c.  Soon  after  the  parties  met  some  confusion  arose, 
but  subsided  without  any  bad  consequences.  The  chairman  of  the 
Committee  then  proceeded  lo  explain  the  design  of  the  Meeting, 
after  which  he  proposed  the  following  Questions,  viz  : 

First  Question. — Whether  a  certain  Number  of  persons  shall  be 
"  appointed  and  authorized  to  meet  such  Deputies  as  the  Counties 
"  may  elect,  and  join  with  them  for  the  sole  object  of  appointing  out 
"of  their  body  on  the  20th  of  April  next,  Delegates  to  the  next  Con- 
"  gress  ? 

"  Second  Question. — Whether  this  meeting  will  authorize  the  Com- 
"mittee  to  nominate  Eleven  Deputies  for  their  Approbation? 

"  Both  were  carried  in  the  Affirmative.  The  Meeting,  and  the 
"  Majority  which  determined  the  Questions  are  supposed  to  have 
"  been  the  most  numerous  and  respectable  ever  known  in  this  City  on 
"  the  Decision  of  any  Public  Proposal.  The  Business  of  the  day 
"  being  finished,  the  Friends  of  Freedom  paraded  thro'  one  of  the 
"  principal  Streets  of  the  City  to  the  Liberty  Pole,  and  there  dis- 
"  persed  in  the  most  quiet  and  orderly  manner." 

The  "  quiet  and  orderly  manner,"  however,  is  a  little  poeti- 
cal, for  at  the  dispersion  then,  and  there,  occurred  the  riot  in 

1  The  British  Union  Jack  cantoned  on  a  red  field. 

*  The  British  Union  Jack  cantoned  on  a  blue  field  hearing  the  inscriptions  men- 
tioned. 


484 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


which  William  Cunningham,  afterwards  the  notoriously  cruel 
keeper  of  the  prison  in  the  Park  called  "  The  Prevost  "  and 
a  Son  of  Liberty  who  had  become  disaffected,  was  severely 
handled.1  The  Committee  of  Sixty  on  the  8th  took  the  fol- 
lowing action  for  the  due  election  of  Delegates  to  the  Con- 
gress by  wards,  not  satisfied,  apparently,  with  the  result  on 
the  sixth  at  the  Exchange. 

The  Committee  met  by  adjournment,  Wednesday  Evening,  8th 
March,  1775. 

Present, 

Philip  Livingston,  Chairman  {pro  temp.),  and  thirty-five  other 
members. 

Mr.  John  Jay  moved,  and  was  seconded  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move,  that  the  Names  of  the  Eleven  Persons,  nominated  bv 
this  Committee,  for  the  Approbation  of  our  constituents,  as  Deputies 
for  this  City  and  County  be  printed  and  published,  and  that  a  Poll 
be  opened  in  each  Ward,  at  the  usual  Places  of  Election,  on  Wednes- 
day, the  15th  Day  of  March  Inst,  at  9  o'Clock  in  the  Morning,  under 
the  Inspection  of  the  two  Vestry  Men  of  each  Ward  and  two  of  the 
Members  of  this  Committee,  or  any  two  of  the  four.  And  that  the 
Votes  of  the  Freemen  and  Freeholders  be  then  and  there  taken  on 
these  Questions,  "Whether  they  will  choose  Deputies  for  this  City 
"and  County  to  meet  such  Deputies  as  the  other  Counties  may 
"  elect,  and  join  with  them  for  the  sole  Purpose  of  appointing  out  of 
"  their  Body,  Delegates  for  the  next  Congress,"  and  if  yea,  who  such 
Deputies  shall  be,  and  that  the  Names  of  all  the  Freemen  and  Free- 
holders, who  shall  vote  at  the  said  Polls  be  set  down  and  reported  to 
this  Committee  at  their  then  next  Meeting. — Which  Motion  being 
Nem.  Con.  agreed  to. — Ordered,  That  the  same  be  done  accordingly, 
and  that  Mr.  Lasher  and  Mr.  Frederick  Jay,  attend  the  Poll  in 
the  South  Ward, — That  Mr.  Remsen  and  Mr.  Broome  attend  the 
Poll  in  the  Dock  Ward, —  That  Mr.  Hallett  and  Mr.  Denning  attend 
the  Poll  in  the  East  Ward, — That  Mr.  N.  Roosevelt  and  Mr.  Bull 
attend  the  Poll  in  Montgomerie  Ward, — That  Mr.  I  vers  and  Mr. 
John  Anthony  attend  the  Poll  in  the  Out  Ward, — That  Mr.  Fleming 
and  Mr.  White  attend  the  Poll  in  the  North  Ward, — That  Mr.  Cuy.- 
tenius  and  Mr.  William  W.  Gilbert  attend  the  Poll  in  the  West 
Ward. 

Ordered,  That  the  Gentlemen,  above  named  and  appointed  to 
attend  the  Polls  in  the  different  Wards,  wait  upon  the  Vestry-Men  1 


1  Holt's  Journal  of  23d  March,  1 775. 


See  note  II.,  ante. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  485 

of  each  Ward,  and  request  the  Favour  of  them  to  attend  and  join 
with  them  in  the  Inspection  of  the  said  Polls. 

By  Order  of  the  Committee,  Isaac  Low,  Chairman. 

Committee-Chamber,  New  York, 

8th  March,  1775. 

The  following  note  was  issued  by  Mr.  Isaac  Low  : 

THE  RESPECTABLE  PUBLIC, 

Will  be  pleased  to  take  Notice,  that  a  Mournful  Event  in  my  Family 
having  prevented  my  Attendance  on  the  Committee  when  the  eleven 
Deputies  were  nominated  for  the  Purpose  above  mentioned  ;  I  desired 
a  Friend  that  in  Case  I  should  be  put  on  the  Nomination,  to  declare, 
in  my  Behalf,  that  I  should  be  under  the  disagreeable  Necessity  of 
dissenting. 

Finding  notwithstanding  the  above  Declaration  which  was  com- 
municated by  my  Friend,  that  the  Committee  persisted  in  nominat- 
ing me  as  one  of  the  eleven  Deputies  ;  I  now  beg  leave  to  declare, 
that  upon  the  most  mature  deliberation,  I  cannot  consent  to  be  held 
up  to  the  Public  in  that  Capacity.  The  more  especially,  as  I  con- 
ceive it  altogether  inconsistent  to  put  it  in  the  power  of  Deputies  to 
refuse  me  an  Honour  which  I  neither  solicit  or  desire  of  my  Fellow- 
Citizens. 

Isaac  Low. 

New  York,  March  9,  1775. 

[This  Address  was  not  laid  before  t/ie  Committee.] 

From  the  New-  York  Gazette:  and  the  Weekly  Mercury,  March  20,  1775. 

Committee-Chamber,  15th  March,  1775. 

The  sub-Committees  appointed  by  this  Committee  to  join  with  the 
Vestry-men  of  each  ward  in  this  city,  in  superintending  the  polls  held 
this  day  in  the  said  wards,  for  taking  the  votes  of  the  freemen  and 
freeholders  on  the  question,  "Whether  they  would  choose  Deputies 
for  this  city  and  county,  to  meet  such  Deputies  as  the  counties  may 
elect,  and  join  with  them  for  the  sole  purpose  of  appointing  out  of 
their  body,  Delegates  for  the  next  Congress  ?  "  And  if  yea,  who 
such  Deputies  should  be  ;  Reported,  That  they  had  accordingly  at- 
tended the  said  polls,  and  delivered  to  the  Committee  the  several 
poll  lists,  by  them  taken,  under  their  hands  and  the  hands  of  the 
Vestry-men  of  such  wards  ;  from  which  it  appears  that 

823  freeholders  and  freemen  voted  for  Deputies,  and  elected  the 
eleven  persons  nominated  by  this  Committee  ;  and  that  163  voted 
against  the  measures  of  appointing  Deputies.  The  said  Sub-Com- 
mittees also  informed  this  Committee  that  almost  all  those  who 
voted  against  the  appointment  of  Deputies,  declared  they  were  never- 
theless for  Delegates. 

Ordered,  That  the  said  Reports  and  Poll  Lists  be  lodged  with  the 
Secretary,  and  that  circular  letters  be  written  to  all  the  counties  in 


486 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  Colony,  informing  them  of  the  appointment  of  Deputies  for  this 
city  and  county,  and  requesting  them,  with  all  convenient  speed,  to 
elect  Deputies  to  meet  in  Provincial  Convention,  at  the  City  of  New 
York,  on  the  20th  of  next  April,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  appointing 
Delegates  to  represent  this  Colony  at  the  next  Congress  to  be  held 
at  Philadelphia  the  10th  day  of  May  next. 

Ordered,  That  the  above  Extracts  from  the  proceedings  of  the 
Committees  be  published. 

By  Order  of  the  Committee, 

John  Alsop,  Deputy  Chairman. 

The  "■Provincial  Convention"  thus  chosen  was  the  first 
body  of  a  legislative,  or  rather  quasi  legislative,  nature,  that 
ever  sat  in  New  York  since  its  conquest  from  the  Dutch,  not 
deriving  its  powers  from  the  British,  or  the  Colonial,  author- 
ities and  laws.  It  consisted  of  forty-three  members.  The 
eleven  persons  above  chosen,  represented  the  City  and  County 
of  New  York.  Albany  had  three  members,  Ulster  three, 
Orange  five,  Westchester  six,  Dutchess  three,  Kings  five, 
Suffolk  five,  and  Queens  four.  They  met  on  April  20th, 
1775.  Philip  Livingston  was  chosen  President,  and  John 
McKesson,  Secretary.  They  sat  but  two  days.  One  of  the 
delegates  chosen,  Isaac  Low,  of  New  York,  declined  to  take 
his  seat.  The  following  copy  of  the  "  Credentials"  1  of  the 
delegates  to  the  Congress  adopted,  recites  their  entire  action 
and  demonstrates  their  object.  They  were  signed  by  every 
member  except  the  one  who  refused  to  sit. 

At  a  Provincial  Convention,  formed  of  Deputies  from  the  City 
and  County  of  New  York,  the  City  and  County  of  Albany,  and  the 
Counties  of  Dutchess,  Ulster,  Orange,  Westchester,  Kings,  and 
Suffolk,5  held  at  the  City  of  New  York,  the  twenty  second  day  of 
April,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy  five,  for  the  purpose 
of  appointing  Delegates  to  represent  the  Colony  of  New  York  in  the 
next  Continental  Congress,  to  be  held  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia, 
on  the  tenth  day  of  May  next,  Philip  Livingston,  Esquire,  James 
Duane,  John  Alsop,  John  Jay,  Simon  Boerum,  William  Floyd,  Henry 
VVisner,  Philip  Schuyler,  Ceorge  Clinton,  Lewis  Morris,  Francis 
Lewis,  and  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Junr.,  Esquires,  were  unanimously 
elected  Delegates  to  represent  this  Colony  at  such  Congress,  with 
full  power  to  them  or  any  five  of  them,  to  meet  the  Delegates  from 
the  other  Colonies,  and  to  concert  and  determine  upon  such  measures 

1  Journals  of  Provincial  Congress,  p.  5. 

51  Queens  is  not  mentioned  in  the  credentials,  probably  omitted  by  accident. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  487 

as  shall  be  judged  most  effectual  for  the  preservation  and  re-establish- 
went  of  American  rights  and  privileges,  and  for  the  restoration  of 
harmony  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies. 

Ordered,  That  the  same  be  subscribed  by  the  Members  of  this 
Convention,  and  that  fair  copies  be  made  of  the  resolutions  of  this 
Convention  appointing  the  Delegates,  as  also  a  list  of  the  Deputies 
who  attended  thereat,  and  that  the  same  be  signed  by  the  President 
and  published  in  the  New  York  Newspapers. 

Ordered,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  be  given  to  the  Sec- 
retary for  his  services  on  this  occasion  which  was  accordingly  done. 
Phil.  Livingston,  John  Haring, 

John  Alsop,  Lewis  Morris, 

Jas.  Duane,  John  Thomas,  Junr., 

Francis  Lewis,  Robt.  Graham, 

Abrm.  Walton,  Philip  Cortlandt, 

Isaac  Roosevelt,  Saml.  Drake, 

Alexr.  McDougall,  Stephen  Ward, 

Ab.  Brasher,  Morris  Graham, 

Leonard  Lispenard,         Robt.  R.  Livingston,  Junr., 
Ph.  Schuyler,  Eg.  Benson, 

Abm.  Ten  Broeck,  S.  Boerum, 

Abm.  Yates,  Junr.,  John  Van  Derbilt, 

Walter  Livingston,  Wm.  Floyd, 

Ch.  De  Witt,  Nathl.  Wroodhull, 

Geo.  Clinton,  Phineas  Fannings, 

Levi  Pawling,  John  Sloss  Hobart, 

A.  Hawkes  Hay,  Thomas  Tredwell, 

Henry  Wisner,    «  Zebn.  Williams, 

Peter  Clowes,  Jacob  Blackwell, 

Israel  Seely,  John  Tallman, 

Joseph  Robinson. 

On  Sunday,  the  23d  of  April,  1/75,  the  news  of  the  battle 
of  Lexington  reached  New  York,  and  produced  the  scenes 
stated  in  the  text.  And  on  the  next  Wednesday,  the  26th, 
the  Committee  took  action  as  follows  : 

New- York,  Committee-Chamber, 

Wednesday,  26th  April,  1775. 
The  Committee  having  taken  into  Consideration  the  Commotions 
occasioned  by  the  sanguinary  Measures  pursued  by  the  British  Min- 
istry, and  that  the  Powers  with  which  this  Committee  is  invested  re- 
spect only  the  Association,  are  unanimously  of  Opinion,  That  a  new 
Committee  be  elected  by  the  Freeholders  and  Freemen  of  this  City 
and  County,  for  the  present  unhappy  Exigency  of  Affairs,  as  well  as 
to  observe  the  Conduct  of  all  Persons  touching  the  Association  ; 
That  the  said  Committee  consist  of  100  Persons  ;  that  33  be  a  Quo- 
rum, and  that  they  dissolve  within  a  Fortnight  next  after  the  End  of 
the  next  Sessions  of  the  Continental  Congress.    And  that  the  Sense 


488 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


of  the  Freeholders  and  Freemen  of  this  City  and  County,  upon  this 
Subject,  may  be  better  procured  and  ascertained,  the  Committee 
are  further  unanimously  of  Opinion,  That  the  Polls  be  taken  on, 
Friday  Morning  next,  at  9  o'clock,  at  the  usual  Places  of  Election  in' 
each  Ward,  under  the  Inspection  of  the  two  Vestrymen  of  each 
Ward,1  and  two  of  this  Committee,  or  any  two  of  the  four  ;  and  that 
at  ihe  said  Elections  the  Votes  of  the  Freemen  and  Freeholders  be 
taken  on  the  following  Questions,  viz.  Whether  such  New  Committee 
shall  be  constituted ;  and  if  Yea,  of  whom  it  shall  consist.  And 
this  Committee  is  further  unanimously  of  Opinion,  That  at  the  pres- 
ent alarming  Juncture,  it  is  highly  adviseable  that  a  Provincial  Con- 
gress be  immediately  summoned  ;  and  that  it  be  recommended  to 
the  Freeholders  and  Freemen  of  this  City  and  County,  to  choose  at 
the  same  Time  that  they  vote  for  the  New  Committee  aforesaid, 
Twenty  Deputies  to  represent  them  at  the  said  Congress.  And  that 
a  Letter  be  forthwith  prepared  and  despatched  to  all  the  Counties, 
requesting  them  to  unite  with  us  in  forming  a  Provincial  Congress, 
and  to  appoint  their  Deputies  without  Delay,  to  meet  at  New  York, 
on  Monday  the  22nd  of  May  next. 

By  Order  of  the  Committee, 

Isaac  Low.  Chairman. 

The  following  Persons  are  recommended  to  the  Public,  as  proper 
to  be  elected  for  a  General  Committee  for  the  City  and  County 
of  New  York,  in  the  present  alarming  Exigency. 


I. 

Isaac  Low, 

23- 

Abraham  Duryee, 

2. 

Philip  Livingston, 

24. 

Joseph  Bull, 

3- 

James  Duane, 

25- 

Francis  Lewis, 

4- 

John  Alsop, 

26. 

Joseph  Totten, 

5- 

John  Jay, 

27. 

Thomas  Ivers. 

6. 

Peter  V.  B.  Livingston, 

28. 

Hercules  Mulligan, 

7- 

Isaac  Sears, 

29. 

John  Anthony, 

8. 

David  Johnson. 

3°- 

Francis  Basset, 

9- 

Alexander  McDougall, 

3i- 

Victor  Bicker, 

10. 

Thomas  Randall, 

32. 

John  White, 

1 1. 

Leonard  Lispenard, 

33- 

Theophilus  Anthony, 

12. 

William  Walton, 

34- 

William  Goforth, 

13- 

John  Broom, 

35- 

William  Denning, 

14. 

Joseph  Hallet, 

36. 

Isaac  Roosevelt, 

i5- 

Gabriel  H.  Ludlow, 

37- 

Jacob  Van  Voorhees, 

16. 

Nicholas  Hoffman, 

38. 

Jeremiah  Piatt, 

17- 

Abraham  Walton, 

39- 

Comfort  Sands, 

18. 

Peter  Van  Schaack, 

40. 

Robert  Benson, 

19. 

Henry  Remsen, 

41. 

William  W.  Gilbert, 

20. 

Peter  T.  Curtenius, 

42. 

John  Reman, 

21. 

Abraham  Brasier, 

43- 

(iabriel  W.  Ludlow, 

22. 

Abraham  P.  Lott, 

44. 

Nicholas  Roosevelt, 

1  See  Note  II.,  ante. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


489 


45.  Edward  Fleeming,  73. 

46.  Lawrence  Embree,  74. 

47.  Samuel  Jones,  75. 

48.  John  De  Lancey,1  76. 

49.  Frederick  Jav,  77. 

50.  William  W.  Ludlow,  78. 

51.  John  H.  Monro,  79. 

52.  Rudolphus  Rit/.ema,  80. 

53.  Lindley  Murray,  81. 

54.  Lancaster  Burling,  82. 

55.  John  Lasher,  83. 
50.  George  Janeway,  84. 

57.  James  Beekman,  85. 

58.  Samuel  Verplanck,  86. 

59.  Richard  Yates,  87. 

60.  David  Clarkson,  88. 

61.  Thomas  Smith,  89. 

62.  James  Desbrosses,  90. 

63.  Augustus  Van  Home,  91. 

64.  Genet  Keteltas,  92. 

65.  Stephen  De  Lancey,  Jim.,"  93. 

66.  Benjamin  Kissam,  94. 

67.  John  M.  Scott,  95. 

68.  Cornelius  Clopper,  96. 

69.  John  Reade,  97. 

70.  John  Van  Cortlandt,  98. 

71.  Jacobus  Van  Zandt.  99. 

72.  Gerardus  Duyckinck,  100. 


Peter  Goelet, 
John  Marston, 
Thomas  Marston, 
John  Morton, 
George  Foliot, 
Jacobus  Lefferts, 
Richard  Sharpe, 
Hamilton  Young, 
Abraham  Brinckerhoff, 
Thomas  Ellison,  Jun., 
Walter  Franklin, 
David  Beekman, 
William  Seton, 
Evert  Banker, 
Robert  Ray, 

Nicholas  Bogert,  Broad-way 
William  Laight, 
John  Thurman, 
John  Lamb, 
Daniel  Phoenix, 
Anthony  Van  Dam, 
Daniel  Dunscomb, 
James  Wells, 
Oliver  Templeton, 
Lewis  Pintard, 
Cornelius  P.  Low. 
Thomas  Buchanan, 
Petrus  Byvanck. 


The  following  are  the  Names  of  Persons  recommended  as  Depi 
ties  for  the  City  .and  County  of  New  York,  to  meet  Deputies  of  tin 
other  Counties,  in  Provincial  Congress,  on  Monday,  the  22d  of  Ma) 
next. 


Leonard  Lispenard, 
Isaac  Low, 
Abraham  Walton, 
Isaac  Roosevelt, 
Abraham  Brasier, 
Alexander  McDougall, 
Peter  Van  B.  Livingston, 
John  Thurman, 
John  M.  Scott, 
Thomas  Smith, 


Benjamin  Kissam, 
Samuel  Verplanck, 
David  Clarkson, 
George  Foliot, 
Joseph  Hallett, 
John  Van  Cortlandt, 
John  De  Lancey, 
Richard  Yates, 
John  Marston, 
Walter  Franklin. 


New  York,  April  27,  1775. 

Accordingly,  on  May  1,  1775,  the  above  nominated  Gen 
cral  Committee  of  One  Hundred  was  elected. 


1  Second  son  of  Peter  De  Lancey,  of  West  Farms. 
•  Eldest  son  of  Gen.  Oliver  De  Lancey,  the  elder. 


49Q 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  XVII. 

1  HE  ACTION  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  ASSEMBLY  IN  1774,  AND 
THE  ACCOUNTS  OF  IT,  AND  OF  AFFAIRS  IN  NEW  YORK, 
IN  1775,  BY  GOVERNORS  COLDEN  AND  TRYON. 

Volume  I.,  pages  36,  37. 

THE  first  meeting  of  the  Assembly  of  the  Colony  of  New 
York,  in  1774,  occurred  on  the  sixth  of  January  in  that  year, 
but  a  quorum  of  members  did  not  appear  till  the  twelfth 
when  the  session  was  formally  opened  with  the  customary 
speech  of  the  Governor,  William  Tryon,  Esq.  John  Cruger, 
the  Speaker,  "then  informed  the  House  that  he  had,  since 
the  last  session,  received  the  following  letters  from  the 
Speakers  of  several  of  the  Houses  of  Assembly  on  this  con- 
tinent, inclosing  the  copies  of  sundry  resolutions  entered  into 
by  them,  to  wit, 

A  letter  from  Peyton  Randolph,  Esq.,  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses  of  the  Colony  of  Virginia. 

A  letter  from  Metcalf  Bowler,  Esq.,  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Deputies  of  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island. 

A  letter  from  Thomas  Cushing,  Esq.,  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

A  letter  from  Ebenezer  Silliman,  Esq.,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut. 

A  letter  from  Caesar  Rodney,  Esq.,  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  Counties  of  Newcastle,  Kent,  and 
Sussex,  upon  Delaware. 

And  a  letter  from  Matthew  Tilghman,  Esq.,  Speaker  of  the 
lower  House  of  Assembly  of  the  Province  of  Maryland. 

Mr.  Speaker  then  also  laid  before  the  House  the  copies  of 
sundry  letters  he  sent  in  answer  to  the  foregoing,  and  the 
said  letters,  and  copies  of  letters,  together  with  the  resolu- 
tions therein  mentioned,  being  severally  read,  Ordered,  that 
the  same  be  taken  into  further  consideration  to-morrow." 

The  next  day,  the  13th,  the  House  "  Ordered,  That  the 
said  letters  and  Resolutions  be  referred  to  a  Committee  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


49I 


whole  house,  and  that  they  proceed  to  the  consideration  there- 
of on  Tuesday  next."  1 

Accordingly,  on  Tuesday,  the  20th  of  January,  1 774>  they 
were  discussed  in  committee  of  the  whole,  and  the  following 
resolutions  were  reported  to  the  House,  which  were  then 
passed,  thus  creating  the  first  "  Committee  of  Correspondence" 
in  New  York,  to  correspond  with  the  other  colonics  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Acts  of  Parliament,  and  proceedings  of  the  Brit- 
ish Government,  affecting  the  liberties  of  America. 

This  was  four  months  before  the  formation  of  the  "  Com- 
mittee of  Fifty-one," — by  the  popular  movement  on  the  1 8th 
and  19th  of  May,  1774,  mentioned  in  Note  XVI. — the  Com- 
mittee which  suggested  the  Congress  of  1774. 

The  resolutions,  and  the  Committee,  thus  passed  and  ap- 
pointed, are  as  follows  : 

"  Resolved,  nan.  con. 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  a  Standing  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence  and  inquiry  be  appointed,  to  consist  of  the 
following  persons,  to  wit,  John  Cruger,  Esq.,  Speaker,  James  De  Lan- 
cey,  James  Jauncey,  Jacob  Walton,  Benjamin  Seaman,  Isaac  Wilkins, 
Frederick  Philipse,  Daniel  Kissam,  Zebulon  Seaman,  John  Rapelje, 
Simon  Boerum,  John  de  Noyelles,  and  George  Clinton,  Esquires,  or 
any  seven  of  them,  whose  business  it  shall  be  to  obtain  the  most 
early  and  authentic  intelligence  of  all  such  acts  and  resolutions  of 
the  British  Parliament,  or  proceedings  of  Administration,  as  do,  or 
may  relate  to,  or  affect,  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  his  Majesty's 
subjects  in  the  British  Colonies  in  America,  and  to  keep  up  and 
maintain  a  correspondence  and  communication  with  our  sister  colon- 
ies respecting  these  important  considerations,  and  the  result  of  their 
proceedings  to  lay  before  the  House. 

Resolved  also,  nem.  con. 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Committee,  that  the  Speaker  of 
this  House  prepare  draughts  of  letters  to  the  Speakers  of  the  Assem- 
blies on  the  continent  of  America,  inclosing  these  resolutions,  and 
requesting  them  to  lay  the  same  before  their  respective  assemblies, 
and  that  he  do  return  the  thanks  of  this  house  to  the  burgesses  of 
Virginia,  for  their  early  attention  to  the  liberties  of  America. 

Which  resolutions  having  been  read  a  second  time 

Resolved, 

That  this  House  doth  agree  with  the  Committee  in  the  said 
resolutions.1 

1  N.  Y.  Assembly  Journals,  1766-1776,  January  Session,  1774,  p.  3  and  p.  7. 
*  N.  Y.  Assembly  Journals,  1766-1776,  January  Session,  1774,  p.  16. 


492 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


This  Committee  reported  its  proceedings  to  the  Assembly 
from  time  to  time,  was  continued  on  the  1st  of  April,  1775, 
by  formal  resolution,1  and  existed  till  the  final  adjournment 
of  the  Provincial  Assembly  on  the  third  of  April,  1 775 - 

The  session  of  1775  began  January  10th,  and  a  quorum 
being  present  on  the  13th,  Lt.-Gov.  Colden  delivered  his 
speech.  On  the  1 8th  of  January,  1775,  Mr.  De  Lancey,  from 
the  Committee  on  the  subject,  reported  the  address  of  the 
Assembly  in  answer  to  the  Governor's  speech,  which  he  read. 
It  was  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole,  and  discussed 
the  next  day,  when  Col.  Philip  Schuyler  moved  to  strike  out 
these  words  :  "  and  with  calmness  and  deliberation  pursue  the 
most  probable  means  to  obtain  a  redress  of  our  grievances," 
and  insert  in  their  place  the  following  :  "  and  consider  and  ex- 
amine with  the  utmost  calmness,  deliberation,  and  impartial- 
ity, the  complaints  of  our  constituents  ;  and  endeavour  to  ob- 
tain a  cordial,  and  permanent  reconciliation  with  our  parent 
state,  by  pursuing  the  most  probable  means  to  obtain  a  re- 
dress of  our  grievances." 

This  amendment  was  voted  down  without  a  division,  and 
the  address  reported  to  the  House,  and  adopted  by  a  vote  of 
seventeen  to  one,  Schuyler  voting  for  it,  the  solitary  vote  in 
the  negative  being  that  of  Col.  Philip  Livingston.'  This  was 
the  first  political  discussion,  and  its  result,  in  the  last  Assembly 
of  the  Province  of  New  York.  The  part  of  the  address  rela- 
tive to  the  state  of  the  Province  is  in  these  words  : 

"  Affected  with  the  deepest  concern  by  the  distressed  state  of  the 
Colonies,  and  impressed  with  a  due  sense  of  the  fatal  consequences 
of  attending  the  unhappy  dispute  between  Creat  Britain  and  His 
Majesty's  American  dominions,  we  feel  the  most  afflicting  anxiety  at 
this  alarming  crisis.  Fully  convinced  that  the  happiness  of  our  con- 
stituents depends  greatly  on  the  wisdom  of  our  present  measures,  we 
shall  exercise  the  important  trust  they  have  reposed  in  us,  with  firm- 
ness and  fidelity  ;  and  with  calmness  and  deliberation,  pursue  the 
most  probable  means  to  obtain  a  redress  of  our  grievances  ;  and  if 
affords  us  the  highest  satisfaction  to  hear  from  your  Honor,  that  our 
most  gracious  sovereign  will  be  attentive  to  the  complaints  of  his 
American  subjects,  and  ready  with  paternal  tenderness  to  grant  us 
relief.    Anxious  for  the  interest  and  happiness  of  our  country,  and 

1  N.  Y  Ass.  Journals,  1766-76,  Session  of  1775,  P-  Io6-       1  Il>id.,  PP-  I2'  1  > 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  493 

earnestly  solicitous  for  the  reestablishment  of  harmony  with  Great 
Britain,  we  shall  discountenance  every  measure  which  may  tend  to 
increase  our  distress,  and  by  our  conduct  shew  ourselves  truly  desir- 
ous of  a  cordial  and  permanent  reconciliation  with  our  parent  King- 
dom." 1 

The  following  despatches  extracted  from  eighth  volume  of 
"  The  Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  New 
York,"  the  great  work  published  by  the  State,  in  eleven 
volumes  quarto,  give  the  official  account  of  affairs  in  New 
York  in  1775  : 

Lieutenant-Governor  Coldcn  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  v.  VIII.,  p.  531. 

New  York  1st  Feb.  1775. 

My  Lord, 

Yesterday  I  had  the  Honor  to  receive  your  Lordships  circular 
letter  of  the  10th  Decr,  with  His  Matys  most  gracious  speech,  and 
the  addrcs's  of  the  Lords  &  Commons,  and  your  despatches  No.  25 
of  the  same  date. 

The  Assembly  of  this  Province  which  was  to  meet  on  the  10th  of 
last  month  did  not  make  a  House  till  the  13th  when  I  opened  the 
Sessions  with  a  speech  which  I  now  take  the  honor  of  enclosing  to 
your  Lordship.  The  Councils  addresses  did  not  give  so  much  satis- 
faction even  to  the  people,  as  that  which  I  received  afterwards  from 
the  Assembly,  I  am  happy  in  having  it  in  my  power  to  transmit  to 
your  Lordship  an  address  which  I  am  persuaded  will  give  you  plea- 
sure to  lay  before  His  Majesty  and  will  confirm  the  favorable  opinion 
he  is  graciously  pleased  to  entertain  of  his  Subjects  in  this  Province. 

Allthough  the  address  passed  in  the  House  my  Lord  with  only  one 
dissentient  voice,  there  is  a  party  in  the  Assembly  of  very  different 
principles  who  I  expect  will  be  continually  endeavouring  to  do  Mis- 
cheif.  Finding  a  great  Majority  against  them,  when  the  address 
pass'd,  they  moved  to  have  a  call  of  the  House  on  the  7th  of  Febru- 
ary, and  that  the  consideration  of  the  weighty  business  which  was 
before  them  should  be  put  off  to  that  day.  This  the  House  agreed 
to,  and  immediately  sent  out  orders  for  the  absent  members  to  at- 
tend, However,  two  Members  coming  in  last  week,  who  were  known 
to  be  violent  in  their  opposition  to  Government,  a  Motion  was  made 
that  the  House  should  take  into  consideration  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Congress  held  at  Philadelphia  in  September  last.  A  warm  de- 
bate ensued  and  upon  the  Previous  Question  the  Motion  was  rejected 
by  eleven  to  ten.  These  ten  are  my  Lord  the  whole  strength  of 
that  Party.  The  nine  members  which  have  not  yet  appeared  in 
the  House,  it  is  well  known  will  join  the  eleven.    When  they  come 

1  N.  Y.  Assembly  Journals,  1766-76,  January  Sessions,  1775,  p.  14. 


494 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  Majority  will  be  so  great,  that  I  hope  the  House  will  not  again 
make  so  near  an  escape  from  a  Motion  brought  by  surprize  upon 
them. 

When  your  Lordship  considers  that  every  American  Assembly 
which  has  met  since  the  Congress  was  held  at  Philadelphia,  have  ap- 
proved of  and  adopted  the  Proceedings  of  the  Congress,  and  that  in 
those  Colonies  where  the  Assembly  has  not  met,  the  People  have  in 
Provincial  Congress,  or  otherwise  done  the  same,  the  loyalty  and 
firmness  of  the  Assembly  of  this  Province,  and  of  the  People  in  gen- 
eral, will  appear  in  a  very  striking  light.  I  am  persuaded  his  gra- 
cious Majesty,  and  his  Ministers  will  encourage  this  good  and  singu- 
lar disposition,  by  such  instances  of  indulgence  and  favor,  as  shall  be 
wisely  calculated  to  render  most  evident  the  good  effects  of  the  con- 
duct of  this  Province. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Colden  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  v.  VIII.,  p.  543. 

New  York  ist  Mar  1775. 

My  Lord, 

I  informed  your  Lordship  in  my  last  letter  of  the  ist  of  Febru- 
ary that  the  Assembly  of  this  Province  had  resolved  to  petition  the 
King  &c.  The  Committee  of  the  House  appointed  to  state  the 
grievances  of  the  Colony,  did  not  report  till  the  latter  end  of  last 
week.  The  Report  was  recommitted  to  a  Committee  of  the  whole 
House  and  is  to  be  taken  into  consideration  this  day.  They  have 
not  got  their  Petition  ready  to  transmit  by  this  Packet.  I  was  in- 
formed that  the  Boston  and  Quebec  Bills  were  at  first  rejected  in 
the  Committee,  as  not  being  any  part  of  the  Grievances  of  this  Col- 
ony, it  seems,  however,  my  Lord,  that  they  were  at  last  brought  into 
the  Report,  and  I  am  afraid  may  not  now  be  got  rid  of  in  the  House. 

The  Assembly  have  been  very  firm  in  rejecting  several  attempts  to 
draw  them  into  an  approbation  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  The  numbers  on  the  negative  side  have  been  nearly  two 
to  one.  Last  week  a  Motion  was  made  to  take  the  sense  of  the 
House  on  the  necessity  of  appointing  Delegates  to  join  the  conti- 
nental Congress  in  May  next,  which  passed  in  the  negative  seven- 
teen to  nine. 

It  is  surprizing,  my  Lord,  that  notwithstanding  the  firmness  with 
which  the  assembly  have  discountenanced  the  Measures  of  the  late 
Congress,  and  the  approbation  this  part  of  their  conduct  has  re- 
ceived from  a  large  Majority  of  their  constituents,  the  non  import* 
tion  association  of  the  Congress  is  ever  rigidly  maintained  in  this 
Place.  The  enemys  of  Government  do  all  they  can  to  propagate 
an  opinion  that  the  Ministry  will  yet  draw  back  and  quiet  the  Col- 
onies by  a  Repeal,  they  constantly  hold  up  the  case  of  the  stamp 
Act,  and  find  this  an  Argument  which  influences  many  friends  of  the 
Government  to  lye  bye  ;  dreading  the  consequences  of  making  thenv 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  495 

_  ■* 

selves  conspicuous  in  the  Cause  should  Government  again  yield.  I 
doubt  not  they  will  before  long  be  convinced  of  the  Folly  of  such 
expectations.  But  at  present  I  really  think,  my  Lord,  such  an  opin- 
ion has  a  good  deal  influenced  the  measures  that  have  been  pursued 

here,  so  contrary  to  the  Spirit  of  our  Assembly  Votes. 

*        '  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Since  it  was  known  that  our  Assembly  would  not  appoint  Dele- 
gates for  the  May  Congress  the  mischeivOUS  folks  have  been  very 
busy  at  work  endeavoring  to  bring  about  a  Provincial  Congress  in 
this  Colony  ;  in  order  by  that  means  to  get  provincial  delegates  ap- 
pointed. They  may  no  doubt  get  some  people  to  meet,  and  those 
may  take  upon  them  to  act  for  the  whole  Province,  tho  not  the 
twentieth  part.  I  find  my  Lord  many  people  are  apprehensive  this 
business  may  embroil  the  Colony  in  troubles,  that  have  been  hitherto 
kept  at  a  distance. 

We  have  had,  My  Lord,  only  one  hundred  men  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Regiment  in  this  City  for  several  months  past,  and  the  King-Fisher 
Sloop  of  War  in  the  harbour.  The  moderate  Inhabitants  have  con- 
stantly expressed  a  wish  that  we  had  a  more  formidable  Power  in  the 
Place  to  awe  the  licentious  &  encourage  the  friends  of  Government 
convinced  that  it  would  be  for  His  Majestys  Service,  I  wrote  to 
Admiral  Graves  on  the  20th  ult°  and  suggested  to  him  the  utility  of 
sending  one  of  the  large  ships  from  Boston  to  this  Place.  I  men- 
tioned of  what  consequence  it  would  be  to  keep  the  command  of 
Hudsons  River  which  must  be  passed  by  the  Southern  People  before 
they  can  join  the  F2astern.  The  Idea  of  their  really  fighting  the 
Kings  Troops,  is  so  full  of  Madness  and  folly,  that  one  can  hardly 
think  seriously  of  it — yet  my  Lord  a  neglect  of  proper  precautions 
may  encourage  wild  enthusiasts  to  attempt  what  they  would  not  other- 
wise venture  upon. 

Except  the  measures  that  are  pursued  in  support  of  the  non  im- 
portation association,  the  people  of  this  Province  are  in  other  respects 
very  quiet  and  shew  no  inclination  to  copy  the  extravagant  Plans  of 
their  neighbours. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Colden  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  v.  VIII.,  p.  566. 

New  York  5  April  1775. 

My  Lord, 

I  have  received  your  Ldps  commands  of  the  7th  of  January  No 
26  and  your  circular  letter  of  the  4th  of  the  same  month.  I  have  the 
pleasure  to  inform  your  Lordship  that  the  conduct  of  our  Assembly, 
with  respect  to  the  congress  proposed  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  in 
May,  is  entirely  agreeable  to  His  Majesty's  Sentiments  as  expressed 
in  your  circular  letter.  No  person  has  been  appointed  by  them  to 
attend  that  Congress,  and  when  it  was  proposed  in  the  House,  the 


496 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


motion  passed  in  the  Negative  by  a  large  Majority.  The  disaffected 
party  are  however  exerting  their  utmost  influence  to  obtain  an  ap- 
pointment of  Delegates  by  the  people.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of 
(Government  to  prevent  such  measures  ;  they  are  supported  by  indi- 
viduals in  their  private  characters  and  do  not  come  within  the  energy  ' 
of  our  Laws.  Your  Lordship  may  however  be  assured  that  a  great 
part  of  the  people  are  against  appointing  Delegates  to  meet  the  May 
Congress,  and  that  their  disapprobation  will  be  public.  I  therefore 
hope  His  Majesty  will  look  upon  the  Majority  in  the  Assembly  as 
speaking  the  sentiments  of  their  constituents. 

When  1  reflect  my  Lord  upon  the  event  of  this  Session  of  Assem- 
bly how  much  the  measures  pursued  have  tended  to  preserve  this 
(Government  from  the  dangerous  and  extravagant  Plans  which  are 
formed  in  almost  every  other  Part  of  the  Continent.  The  moderation, 
loyalty  and  affection  with  which  the  Assembly  have  laid  their  Greiv- 
ances  before  His  Majesty  and  Parliament  &  the  hearty  disposition 
tiiey  have  testified  to  obtain  a  permanent  reconciliation,  I  feel  a  sat- 
isfaction which  can  only  be  heightened  by  His  Majestys  approbation, 
and  the  final  happy  accomplishment  of  this  important  business. 

Lieutenant-  Governor  Col  den  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
CoL  Hist.  N.  Y.,  v.  VIII.,  p.  571. 

New  York  May  3d  1775. 

My  Lord 

I  have  received  your  Lordships  Despatches  of  the  2 2d  of  Feb- 
ruary and  3d  of  March,  both  circular  and  one  private  of  the  last  date. 
Likewise  your  letter  No  28. 

In  all  my  correspondence  I  have  studied  to  give  your  Lordship  an 
exact  Idea  of  the  real  situation  of  the  Province,  and  of  the  most 
material  transactions  of  the  People.  The  Accounts  which  I  am  now 
to  give  will  almost  entirely  destroy  the  expectations  you  have  had 
reason  to  entertain  of  the  conduct  which  this  Province  would  pur- 
sue :  yet  I  am  persuaded  the  Proceedings  of  our  Assembly  and  other 
information  which  I  doubt  not  your  Lordship  has  received,  will  jus- 
tify the  representations  I  have  made. 

The  disunion  of  the  Colonies  being  held  up  in  America,  and  by 
many  in  Britain  likewise,  as  the  only  thing  which  could  defeat  the 
measures  of  the  congress,  the  moment  that  the  legislative  Body  of 
this  Province,  deviated  from  the  General  Association  of  the  Colonies, 
and  pointed  out  a  different  conduct,  a  design  was  evidently  formed 
in  the  other  Colonies,  to  drive  the  people  from  acquiescing  in  the 
measures  of  their  Assembly,  and  to  force  them  into  the  General 
Plan  of  Association  and  Resistance.  This  design  was  heartily  sec- 
onded by  many  among  ourselves.    Every  species  of  public  and  pri 


1  The  scope. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


497 


vate  Resentment  was  threatened  to  terrify  the  Inhabitants  of  this 
Province  if  they  continued  disunited  from  the  others.  The  certainty 
of  losing  all  the  Debts  due  from  the  other  Colonies,  which  are  very 
considerable  and  every  other  argument  of  private  Interest  that  could 
influence  the  Merchants,  or  any  one  was  industriously  circulated. 
The  minds  of  the  people  in  the  city  were  kept  in  constant  agitation, 
by  Riots  and  attemps  to  prevent  the  Transports  from  loading  here, 
with  stores,  Provisions  &c  for  the  army.  The  want  of  any  degree  of 
Resolution  in  the  Magistrates  to  support  the  authority  of  Govern- 
ment in  opposition  to  popular  measures,  rendered  the  leaders  of  the 
People  insolently  bold  and  daring. — The  friends  of  order  and  Gov- 
ernment saw  no  power,  either  in  the  exertion  of  the  Magistrates,  or 
the  feeble  aid  that  could  be  afforded  by  the  very  small  body  of 
Troops  quartered  in  the  city  to  protect  their  persons  and  property 
from  violence  and  destruction.  Several  Incidents  combined  to  de- 
press all  legal  Authority  ;  and  to  increase  the  Terror  of  the  Inhabit- 
ants, which  seemed  to  vanquish  every  thought  of  Resistance  to  popu- 
lar Rage.  In  this  unfortunate  situation  of  the  City,  tlie  first  accounts 
of  an  action  between  the  King's  Troops  and  People,  near  Boston,  was 
published  with  horrid  and  aggravating  circumstances.  The  moment 
of  consternation  and  anxiety  was  seized.  The  people  were  assem- 
bled, and  that  scene  of  disorder  and  violence  begun,  which  has  en- 
tirely prostrated  the  Powers  of  Government,  and  produced  an  asso- 
ciation by  which  this  Province  has  solemnly  united  with  the  others  in 
resisting  the  Acts  of  Parliament.1  The  Gentlemen  of  His  Majesty's 
council,  in  support  of  their  advice  for  prorogueing  the  Assembly  to 
the  7th  day  of  June,  having  gone  into  a  particular  detail  of  the  most 
material  Transactions  of  the  People  from  the  23d  of  last  month  to 
the  present  time,  I  beg  your  Lordships  leave  to  refer  to  the  extracts 
of  their  Minutes.  It  contains  a  full  description  of  the  present  state 
of  the  Province,  which  at  this  time  I  think  will  be  most  properly  laid 
before  you  in  their  own  words.  Two  of  the  Council  have  this  mo- 
ment informed  me  that  a  copy  of  the  minutes  has  been  shewn  to  the 
City  Committee,  and  that  they  have  sent  to  request  that  it  may  be 
transmitted  Home. 

The  pretence  given  out  for  the  necessity  of  shutting  up  the  Cus- 
tom House,  was  to  prevent  the  exportation  of  Provisions,  of  which 
it  was  said  all  that  was  in  the  place  would  be  wanted  for  the  armies 
of  the  Colonies.  Bat  it  is  more  probable,  my  Lord,  that  the  real 
Intention  was  to  strike  terror  by  the  boldness  of  the  action.  Having 
effected  this  purpose  and  established  the  absolute  Power  of  the  Com- 
mittee ;  the  Keys  of  the  Custom  House  have  been  returned  to  Mr. 
Elliott,  but  at  the  same  time  a  declaration  published  that  no  vessell 
shall  be  suffered  to  clear  for  Boston  or  Halifax. 

The  whole  military  Force  we  have  in  this  Province,  my  Lord,  is 
the  King- Fisher  sloop  of  War  and  100  men  of  the  Royal  Irish  Reg- 

1  The  Governor's  account  of  the  effect  in  New  York  of  the  news  of  the  conflict 
of  Lexington  and  Concord  is  here  italicised  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. — Ed. 


498 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


imenf  commanded  by  Major  Hamilton.  This  small  Body  of  Troops 
are  quartered  in  the  City  Barracks  without  any  kind  of  Protection 
but  in  their  arms.  Lord  Dunmore  when  in  this  Governm'  converted 
the  Fort  Barracks  into  Stables,  and  dismantled  the  Fort  itself,  which 
before  that  time  was  a  sufficient  security  against  the  attempts  of  a 
Mob.  The  Troops  now  found  the  want  of  this  security,  and  that 
they  were  not  only  a  force  too  small  to  make  any  formidable  oppo- 
sition to  the  violence  of  the  People,  but  in  their  situation  appeared 
insufficient  to  deter  the  rash  designs  which  were  meditated  to  destroy 
them,  and  which  there  is  reason  to  think  would  have  been  attempted, 
if  some  of  the  inhabitants  had  not  supported  moderation  and  wisdom 
enough  to  prevent  the  spilling  of  Blood. 

The  Posts  between  this  place  and  Boston  are  stopped,  as  all  letters 
have  been  opened  on  the  way,  and  many  secretted  since  the  affair  of 
the  19th  April.  I  hope  General  Gage  will  employ  a  Cutter  to  go 
between  us,  as  a  communication  of  intelligence  may  be  very  neces- 
sary. 

I  inclose  a  printed  Copy  of  the  Association. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Colden  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.,  v.  VIII.,  p.  579. 

New  York  7th  June  1775. 

My  Lord, 

My  Letter  to  your  Lordship  No  16  of  the  3d  of  May,  and  the 
minute  of  Council  then  transmitted,  contained  a  full  account  of  the 
unhappy  confusion  and  disorder  introduced  into  this  Province  in 
consequence  of  what  had  happened  at  Boston  on  the  19th  of  April. 
After  those  accounts,  and  every  particular  circumstance  of  our  situ- 
ation which  your  Lordship  would  be  informed  of,  by  the  Gentlemen 
of  the  Council,  and  others  who  went  to  England  in  the  May  Packet,1 
you  will  not  be  surprized  to  hear  that  congresses  and  Committees 
are  now  established  in  this  Province  and  are  acting  with  all  the  con- 
fidence and  authority  of  a  legal  Government.  The  Provincial  Con- 
gress of  this  Province,  now  sitting,  consists  of  upwards  of  100  Mem- 
bers. Except  the  remote  Counties  of  Tryon,  Gloucester  and  Cum- 
berland, and  some  districts  in  Queens  County  on  Long  Island,  every 
other  part  of  the  Province  have  sent  Deputys.    The  City  Committee 

1  "  Thursday  last  (May  4th)  the  Harriett  Packet,  Captain  Lee,  sailed  with  the 
mail  for  Falmouth  ;  in  whom  went  passengers,  the  Hon.  John  Watts  and  Ro^er 
Morris,  Esqs.,  Members  of  his  Majesty's  Council  for  this  Province,  Isaac  Wilkins, 
Member  for  the  Borough  of  Westchester.  Col.  Maunsel,  Hon.  Stephen  Payne- 
Galway,  Esq.,  one  of  his  Majesty's  Council  for  the  Island  of  Antigua,  and  lady." 
(Cairn's  Gazette  and  Mercury  of  Monday,  May  St  A,  1775.)  Mrs.  Payne-Gal  way 
was  Phila,  daughter  of  Brig.  Gen.  Oliver  de  Lancey,  the  elder,  and  niece  of  the 
Hon.  John  Watts.—  Ed. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


499 


and  Sub  Committees  in  the  Country  places,  are  likewise  kept  up  ;  and 
that  the  new  Plan  of  Government  may  be  compleat,  for  carrying  into 
execution  the  determinations  of  the  continental  and  Provincial  Con- 
gresses, those  few  places  which  have  not  yet  appointed  their  sub 
Committees  are  now  called  upon  by  the  provincial  Congress  to  do  it 
immediately. 

The  principal  matters  said  to  be  under  consideration  in  the  Con- 
gresses are  raising  money  and  an  army  to  oppose  the  Kings  Forces, 
and  erecting  such  Fortifications  as  may  best  keep  the  command  of 
the  Country,  and  obstruct  the  March  of  an  army.  The  Congress 
are  well  aware,  that  an  attempt  to  raise  money  by  an  immediate 
assessment  upon  the  People,  would  give  a  disgust  that  might  ruin  all 
their  measures,  and  therefore  propose  to  do  it  by  issuing  a  paper 
Currency.  I  am  told  this  measure  has  been  referred  by  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  to  the  several  Provincial  Congresses  and  that  the 
Congress  of  New  York  have  approved  of  it,  as  no  doubt  all  the  others 
will. 

*  *  ♦  ♦         .  *  41 

The  Spirit  of  arming,  and  military  Parade  still  runs  high  in  the 
City  Several  companies  are  formed  who  have  appointed  their  own 
officers,  are  well  armed  and  cloathed  in  uniform.  The  Contagion 
has  not  yet  spread  much  in  the  Country  where  the  people  would  be 
very  glad  to  remain  quiet,  but  indefatigable  pains  are  taken  to  bring 
the  whole  Province  into  one  plan  of  Measures. 

It  must  excite  the  most  poignant  sensations  of  Pain  and  anxiety, 
my  Lord,  in  every  Breast  where  the  principles  of  humanity,  are  not 
obliterated  by  the  rage  of  Political  Enthusiasm,  to  see  a  people  thus 
calmly  determine  to  involve  a  Country  in  dreadfull  War  and  desola- 
tion ;  not  even  seeming  to  pay  the  least  attention  to  a  peaceable 
accomodation  tho'  benevolently  held  out  to  them  by  their  gracious 
Sovereign  and  the  Parliament.  In  this  gloomy  prospect  of  affairs  the 
friends  of  Government  have  received  a  glimpse  of  hope  upon  hearing 
that  Mr  Duane  a  Delegate  from  New  York,  has  moved  in  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  to  introduce  a  plan  of  accommodation  which  pro- 
duced a  warm  debate  but  was  carried  in  favor  of  the  Motion.  Any 
measures,  my  Lord  are  to  be  preferred  to  those  of  Hostility.  A 
Negotiation  once  begun,  will  give  the  people  time  to  cool,  and  feel 
the  consequence  of  what  they  have  already  done,  before  they  become 
as  desperate  as  are  the  Eastern  Colonies. 

I  transmit  your  Lordship  Copies  of  an  address  made  to  me  by  the 
Committee  1  of  New  York  on  the  13th  of  last  month,  and  of  my 
answer  It  is  evident  that  the  real  design  of  the  address,  tho'  the 
pretence  is  different  was  to  take  an  opportunity  of  declaring  their 
Sentiments  upon  the  present  unhappy  controversy. 

A  direct  answer  to  this  tho'  the  material  part  of  the  address,  I  was 
well  convinced  would  not  be  of  any  use  at  this  time  of  Delusion.  I 

1  The  Committee  of  One  Hundred.  Their  address  to  Golden  at  length  is  in 
Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  viii. ,  p.  583.  [Ed.\ 


5°° 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


therefore,  in  opposition  to  their  assertion  that  all  applications  from 
the  Colonies  have  been  rejected  introduced  a  short  account  of  the 
benevolent  disposition  of  His  Majesty  and  the  House  of  Commons  as 
expressed  in  your  Lordships  letters  and  the  resolution  of  that  House. 
The  recent  instance  of  Disorder  attended  lo1  in  my  answer,  was  a 
most  scandalous  outrage  upon  Dr  Cooper,  the  president  of  our 
College.  He  narrowly  escaped  being  seized  by  a  Mob,  who  broke 
the  College  Gate  open,  and  would  certainly  have  committed  the 
most  violent  abuse  upon  him  if  he  had  not  happily  saved  himself  by 
Flight.  The  Doctor  is  since  gone  from  this  distracted  country  to 
England  and  will  give  your  Lordship  a  further  particular  account  of 
the  transactions  here.  The  odium  excited  against  him  is  for  his  warm 
attachm'  to  Government  and  his  being  a  supposed  author  of  almost 
every  piece  that  was  published  on  that  side  of  the  Question.  I  pre- 
sume your  Lordship  is  so  well  acquainted  with  his  Character  &  Merit 
that  I  need  not  add  anything  to  introduce  him  to  your  attention. 
Mr  Rivington  the  Printer  of  one  of  our  newspapers  was  attacked  by 
the  same  Mob  and  rescued  out  of  their  Hands  by  the  Resolution  of 
one  or  two  friends.  He  has  since  taken  refuge  on  Board  of  the  Man 
of  War  and  will  not  yet  venture  to  return  to  his  House.  His  Crime 
is  only  the  liberty  of  his  Press.' 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

His  Majesty's  Ship  Asia  come  into  our  Harbor  about  ten  days 
since.  In  my  letter  of  March  ist  No.  13.  I  informed  your  Lordship 
that  I  had  suggested  to  Admiral  Graves  the  propriety  of  sending  one 
of  the  large  ships  to  this  place.  He  answered  that  I  might  expect 
the  Asia  here  by  the  ist  of  Apfil  :  I  am  heartily  sorry  she  was  not, 
for  I  really  think  the  countenance  of  that  ship  would  have  had  a 
good  effect  by  encouraging  some  and  discouraging  others.  The 
friends  of  Government  saw  no  security  for  their  persons  or  property 
but  by  joining  the  Multitude. 

I  have  considered  my  Lord,  with  great  attention,  the  sudden 
change  of  Measures,  and  to  all  appearance  of  Sentiments,  which  has 
happened  in  this  place,  and  upon  the  best  judgement  1  am  able  to 
form,  it  is  my  opinion,  that  if  the  same  number  of  Regular  Troops 
had  been  here  which  we  have  had  at  all  times  since  the  Peace,  till 
now,  this  change  of  Measures  and  Prostration  of  legal  Authority  had 
not  happened.  And  upon  the  information  I  have  received,  I  will 
venture  to  say,  that  when  even  a  sufficient  Protection  appears,  it  will 
be  found  that  His  Majesty  has  many  true  and  loyal  Subjects  who  are 
at  present  compelled  to  acquiesce  in  the  Plans  of  opposition.  I 
have  reason  to  believe  that  numbers  now  appear  in  Arms  in  the 
City,  who  have  not  the  least  intention  to  oppose  Governm*  but  will 
join  to  support  legal  Authority  when  there  is  an  opportunity.  I 
know  of  one  company  in  particular  who  have  associated  to  support 

1  Sic  in  original,  probably  a  misprint  for  "  alluded  to."  Ed. 

5  See  the  author's  account  of  these  transactions,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  59-61,  and  65-67. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Government,  but  for  the  present  appear  and  parade  as  others  do. 
The  association  mentioned  in  the  minute  of  Council  to  which  I  have 
already  referred  was  signed  by  many  Hands  during  the  first  impulses 
of  Confusion  and  Despair  ;  but  that  having  subsided,  the  spirit  of 
signing  lias  very  much  abated.  I  am  told  only  1800  have  signed  in 
the  City  of  New  York.  There  must  be  at  least  three  times  that 
number  who  have  an  equal  Right  to  sign.  The  Congress  have  lately 
directed  a  fresh  application  to  be  made  to  every  Man  throughout  the 
Province  who  has  not  signed  and  the  names  of  those  who  do  not  sign 
to  be  returned  to  them  by  the  15th  July. 

As  it  is  not  possible  for  me  my  lord,  in  our  present  situation  to  ob- 
tain regular  intelligence — I  am  obliged  to  mention  such  reports  of 
matters  of  no  consequence,  as  I  have  any  reason  to  believe  true. 
Of  this  kind  is  a  Report  that  a  body  of  2500  Connecticut  men  are 
encamping  at  Greenwich,  a  place  in  that  Government  about  40  miles 
distant  from  New  York  City,  the  declared  purpose  of  this  army  is  to 
keep  this  Government  in  awe,  and  prevent  any  defection  here  from 
the  general  Plan  of  Measures  ;  and  assist  if  necessary,  in  opposing 
the  measures  of  Government.' 

In  my  letter  to  your  Lordship  No.  16  I  mentioned  the  very  dis- 
agreeable &  critical  situation  of  the  Few  Troops  who  were  quartered 
in  the  Barracks  of  this  Place  and  that  only  by  the  interposition  of  the 
more  prudent  Inhabitants,  they  were  suffered  to  remain  in  Peace. 
No  Pains  however  were  spared  to  debauch  the  men  and  induce  them 
to  desert.  Large  Rewards  and  certain  Protection  they  were  assured 
of;  which  had  such  effect  that  the  officers  began  at  last  to  apprehend 
they  were  in  danger  of  loosing  the  whole.  In  this  situation  General 
Gage  wrote  to  Major  Hamilton,  by  the  Asia,  that  he  thought  it  would 
be  a  proper  means  to  put  the  Troops  under  his  command  on  Board 
of  that  Ship,  and  desired  him  to  consult  with  me  upon  it.  As  I  was 
very  sensible  this  small  number  of  Troops  could  not  be  of  any  use  in 
the  Barracks,  and  were  exposed  to  those  very  disagreeable  circum- 
stances I  have  already  mentioned,  I  did  not  doubt  of  the  propriety 
of  the  Measure  proposed  by  Gen  Gage,  a  difficulty  however  arose  on 
account  of  the  women  and  Children,  who  were  too  numerous  to  be 
taken  on  Board  with  the  men,  almost  the  whole  that  belong  to  the 
Regiment  being  in  the  Barracks  here  with  this  detachment.  This 
occasioned  a  delay  of  eight  or  ten  days  in  which  time  several  soldiers 
deserted.  We  at  length  thought  of  encamping  the  Women  and 
Children  on  what  is  called  the  Governor's  Island,  till  they  could  be 
otherwise  taken  care  of,  and  yesterday  was  fixed  for  embarking  the 
Troops  on  Board  the  Asia.  The  Provincial  Congress  had  notice, 
that  some  people  proposed  to  stop  the  embarkation  upon  which  they 
published  a  hand  Bill  advertiseing  the  People  by  no  means  to  molest 
the  Troops,  or  interrupt  them  in  their  design.  They  likewise 
appointed  a  number  of  their  members  to  join  the  City  Magistrates 
and  assist  them  in  preventing  any  interruption  to  the  Troops.  As 

1  These  were  under  General  Wooster  as  Commander.  [£'/.] 


502 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


soon  as  the  Troops  marched  from  the  Barracks,  several  People  began 
to  harangue  them,  exhorting  them  to  desert,  and  assuring  them  of 
sufficient  Protection.  Two  or  three  fellows  had  the  hardiness  to  turn 
off  with  their  arms,  from  the  Ranks,  and  were  immediately  carried 
away  by  the  People,  when  the  Troops  got  upon  the  Deck  1  where  they 
were  to  embark  on  board  of  Boats,  the  Carts  following  in  the  rear 
with  their  Baggage,  were  stoppd  and  in  the  Face  of  the  Mayor,  Alder- 
men, Congress  and  Committee  men,  turn'd  about  by  a  few  desperate 
fellows,  carried  to  a  Place  in  Town,  where  they  opened  the  Baggage, 
and  took  out  a  number  of  spare  arms  and  all  the  ammunition  belong- 
ing to  the  Detachment.    The  Troops  embarkd  without  their  Baggage. 

This  violent  outrage  has  much  alarmed  the  Inhabitants,  and  many 
of  the  Congress  and  Committee  Men  themselves,  who  did  not  expect 
that  their  authority  would  meet  with  a  public  contempt,  which  demon- 
strated how  inadequate  they  were  to  the  Government  or  Protection 
of  the  People.  Yesterday  made  it  sufficiently  evident  that  a  people 
encouraged  to  trample  on  Magistrates  and  legal  authority,  will  not 
be  governed  by  anything  but  their  own  wild  and  dangerous  Pas- 
sions. ******* 

Earl  of  Dartmouth  to  Governor  Tryon. 
Col.  Hist.,  v.  VIII.,  p.  587. 

Whitehall,  1st  July  1775. 

Sir 

The  Proceedings  at  New  York  upon  the  first  Intelligence  of 
what  had  passed  on  the  iotli  of  April  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  are  of  a 
most  extraordinary  and  alarming  Nature,  for  as,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
acts  of  Violence  committed  and  the  Powers  assumed  by  the 
Populace  are  (as  the  Council  truly  state)  a  Prostration  of  all  Gov- 
ernment, so,  on  the  other  hand,  the  advice  of  that  council  in  conse- 
quence thereof,  that  General  Gage  should  be  told,  that  unless  he 
desisted  from  all  measures  of  Irritation,  or,  in  other  words  laid  down 
his  arms,  no  Reconciliation  could  be  expected  is  in  effect  no  less  a 
Prostration  of  the  authority  of  this  Kingdom  to  the  unwarrantable 
claims  and  Pretensions  of  America. 

It  is  hoped  however  that  this  advice  proceeded  from  their  Timidity 
in  consequence  of  the  consternation  they  were  thrown  into  by  the 
Intelligence  of  an  event  untruly  and  unfairly  related  and  His  Majesty 
receiving  it  in  that  light,  is  graciously  pleased  to  excuse  a  conduct 
which  if  it  had  proceeded  from  other  motives  must  have  been  con- 
sidered as  an  insult  to  the  Kings  dignity,  more  especially  after  the 
fullest  assurances  had  been  given  to  His  Majestys  firm  Resolution  fo 
maintain  the  constitution  and  after  both  Houses  of  Parliament  had  in 
their  joint  address  pledged  themselves  to  support  his  Majesty  at  the 
"*  hazard  of  their  lives  and  Fortunes  against  the  Rebellious  Attempts  of 
His  Subjects  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  *  *  *  * 

1  Sic  in  original,  a  misprint  for  "Dock." 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  503 

In  our  present  state  of  uncertainty,  anxiously  awaiting  further  ad- 
vices from  America.  I  have  nothing  to  add  but  this  single  reflection  ; 
that  however  desirable  Reconciliation  with  America  may  be,  it  must 
not  be  sought  for  on  the  ground  of  a  submission  of  the  authority  of 
(ireat  Britain  to  their  pretentions,  but  can  only  be  found  to  that  au- 
thority, which  as  it  can  never  be  exerted  but  for  the  common  good, 
obedience  to  it  is  and  must  be  that  Bond  of  peace  and  unity  upon 
which  the  dignity  and  serenity  of  the  Empire  are  to  depend. 

Governor  Tryon  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col  Hist.,  v.  VIII.,  p.  598. 

New  York  7th  Aug.  1775. 

*        *        *        *  * 

From  the  Military  Manoeuvres  and  preparation  already  made 
and  making,  the  complexion  of  the  declared  original  cause  of  conten- 
tion between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies  seems  to  have  under- 
gone an  entire  change.  The  Americans  appear  to  have  lost  sight  of 
first  principles  &  first  causes,  and  have  gone  on  to  adopt  measures  & 
prosecute  Plans  of  the  most  determin'd  opposition  and  resistance, 
and  I  fear  are  fatally  abandoned  to  the  Resolution  of  hazarding  every 
thing  rather  than  to  submit  to  the  principle  of  Parliamentry  Taxation. 
Unhappily  therefore,  my  Lord  constrain'd  to  adhere  to  my  former 
sentiments  on  this  subject,  1  would  with  the  greatest  defference  sub- 
mit it  to  the  wisdom  and  Beneficence  of  His  Majesty  and  His 
Ministers  whether  it  might  not  be  expedient  in  compassion  to  the  un- 
happy prejudices  of  opinion  and  wild  delusion  of  His  Majestys 
American  subjects  to  hold  forth  some  further  conciliatory  measures 
and  also  to  grant  a  Repeal  of  the  duties  on  Tea.  It  would  be  re- 
moving the  original  ostensible  cause  of  discontent  and  greatly  abate 
the  early  prejudices  among  the  Populace  and  Peasantry  of  this 
Province.  Five  or  six  thousand  or  more,  Regulars  being  then  sent 
to  New  York,  supported  by  three  or  four  regiments  of  Americans 
which  I  am  confident  might  then  be  raised  in  this  Province  &  the 
Jerseys,  the  authority  of  His  Majestys  Government,  now  entirely 
prostrate  though  the  Colonies  might  at  least  be  reinstated  in  this. 
The  influence  of  Committees  and  Congresses  receive  a  check  and  a 
body  of  the  People  brought  to  sense  of  duty  and  allegiance. 

Governor  Tryon  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth. 
Col.  Hist.,  v.  VIII.,  p.  603. 

New  York  Aug1  7th  1775. 

[confidential.] 

My  Lord 

Tho'  your  Lordship  must  from  all  Quarters  be  informed  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


revolted  and  hostile  State  of  America  you  may  not  possibly  be  ac- 
quainted how  far  some  of  those  who  now  exercise  the  usurped 
Powers  of  Government  evidently  mean  to  pursue  their  dangerous  de- 
signs. Independency  is  shooting  from  the  root  of  the  present  con- ,. 
test ;  it  is  confidently  said  if  Great  Britain  does  not  within  six  months 
adopt  some  new  plan  of  accommodation  the  Colonies  will  be  severed 
from  her,  as  to  any  system  of  solid  and  general  Union  ;  that  the 
standard  of  Freedom  and  independency  may  be  erected  on  this  Con- 
tinent, when  all  those  who  have  not  taken  an  active  part  in  the 
Commotions  (tho  inimical  to  the  principles  of  Parliamentary  taxation) 
will  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  resentment  of  their  Rulers,  and  their  Estates 
confiscated  to  defray  in  part  the  expence  of  the  civil  War.  At  the 
same  Period  it  is  believed  the  Ports  of  America  will  be  declared  free, 
and  the  Powers  of  Europe  invited  to  Guarantee  the  Independency  of 
the  Colonies.  It  is  also  whispered,  propositions  have  been  made  for 
that  purpose,  and  that  a  French  officer  of  distinction  was  at  Phila- 
delphia a  few  weeks  ago  on  some  important  embassy.  Large  sup- 
plyes  of  Ordnance,  arms  and  ammunition  have  been  procured  from 
Hispaniola  and  Maritineco.  Calamitous  as  this  conduct  must  prove 
to  the  confederate  Colonies.  The  chief  Rulers  seem  determined  to 
drive  on  their  measures,  I  should  however  do  great  injustice  to 
America  ;  were  I  to  hold  up  an  idea,  that  the  Bulk  of  its  inhabitants 
wishes  an  Independency.  I  am  satisfied  (not  to  answer  for  our 
Eastern  neighbours)  a  very  large  majority  particularly  in  this  Province 
are  utter  enemies  to  such  a  principle  but  the  Great  Affliction  is,  the 
American  friends  of  Government  in  general  consider  themselves  be- 
tween Scylla  and  Charybdis,  that  is  the  dread  of  Parliamentary  Taxa- 
tion and  the  Tyranny  of  their  present  Masters.  Could  the  first 
principle  be  moved  out  of  the  way  His  Majesty  would  probably  Re 
America  put  on  a  less  determined  complexion  notwithstanding  sharp 
Struggles  I  believe  would  be  made  against  the  operation  of  some 
British  Statutes  extended  to  America,  yet  many  would  be  drawn  from 
the  confederacy  to  the  support  of  Governm*. 

Should  the  principles  of  Governm'  now  overturned,  not  be  soon 
reestablished  but  the  present  internal  convulsions  be  carried  to  the 
extremities  suggested,  it  may  be  a  question  on  what  foundation  the 
future  settlement  of  North  America  may  rest  ;  unhappily  at  present 
I  am  without  any  public  line  to  walk  on  ;  That  some  plan  may  be 
fixed  for  settling  this  melancholy  contention  must  be  the  ardent  wish 
of  every  friend  of  humanity. 
I  am  with  all  due  respect 
My  Lord 

Your  Lordship's 

Most  obed'  humble  Servant 

Wm  Tryon. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  505 

NOTE  XVIII. 

THE  NEW  YORK  "  ASSOCIATION  "  DRAWN  BY  JAMES  DUANE, 
JOHN  JAY,  AND  PETER  VAN  SCHAACK,  AND  THE  SIGN- 
ING OF  IT. 

Volume  I.,  pages  41-43. 

In  Rivington's  Gazetteer  of  May  4,  1775,  the  signing  of  the 
"Association,"  the  particulars  of  which  are  so  fully  given  in 
the  text,  is  merely  described  in  these  few  words  : 

"April  29 — The  following  association  was  set  on  foot  in  New  York 
to-day,  and  Signed  by  about  one  thousand  of  the  principal  inhabi- 
tants. It  is  to  be  transmitted  through  all  the  counties  in  the 
Province,  where  we  make  no  doubt  it  will  be  signed  by  all  ranks  of 
people." 

The  quotation  from  the  Association,  given  in  the  text,  is 
erroneous,  the  author  evidently  writing  from  memory,  though 
its  tenor  is  rightly  stated.  The  document  in  full  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

From  Journals  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  vol.  I,  p.  5. 

New  York  April  29th,  1775 

A  General  Association,  agreed  to,  and  subscribed,  by  the  Free- 
holders, Freemen,  and  Inhabitants,  of  the  city  and  county  of  New 
York. 

Persuaded  that  the  salvation  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  America 
depends,  under  God,  on  the  firm  union  of  its  inhabitants,  in  a  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  Measures  necessary  for  its  Safety  ;  and  convinced 
of  the  necessity  of  preventing  the  anarchy  and  confusion  on  which 
attend  a  dissolution  of  the  powers  of  Government :  We  the  free- 
men, freeholders,  and  inhabitants,  of  the  City  and  County  of  New 
York  being  greatly  alarmed  at  the  avowed  design  of  the  Ministry 
to  raise  a  revenue  in  America ;  and  shocked  by  the  bloody 
Scene  now  acting  in  Massachusetts  Hay,  do,  in  the  most  solemn 
manner,  resolve,  never  tc  become  Slaves  ;  and  do  associate  under 
all  the  ties  of  religion,  honor,  and  love  to  our  country,  to  adopt,  and 
endeavour  to  carry  into  execution  whatever  Measures  may  be  recom- 
mended by  the  Continental  Congress,  or  resolved  upon  by  our  Pro- 
vincial Convention  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  our  constitution,  and 


506 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


opposing  the  execution  of  the  several  arbitrary  and  oppressive  acts 
of  the  British  Parliament,  until  a  reconciliation  between  Great  Britain 
and  America,  (which  we  most  ardently  desire)  can  be  obtained  : 
And  that  we  will  in  all  things  follow  the  advice  of  our  General  Com- 
mittee, respecting  the  purposes  aforesaid,  the  preservation  of  peace, 
and  good  order,  and  the  safety  of  individual  and  private  property. 
Dated  in  New  York,  April  and  May  1775. 


NOTE  XIX. 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  LAST  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  PROVINCE 
OF  NEW  YORK,  JANUARY  IOTH  TO  APRIL  3D,  1 775 >  AND 
ITS  MEASURES  OF  REDRESS  FOR  THE  GRIEVANCES  OF 
AMERICA. 

Volume  I.,  page  36. 

The  last  Assembly  of  the  Province  of  New  York  met  on  the 
4th  of  April,  1769,  and  sat  till  the  3d  of  April,  1775,  when  it 
was  prorogued  to  the  3d  of  May  following,  and,  by  successive 
prorogations,  to  the  17th  of  April,  1776,  which  was  the  last. 
It  never  sat  again.  John  Cruger,  Mayor  of  New  York,  was 
the  Speaker. 

Its  members,  twenty-seven  in  number,  were  : 

for  the  City  and  County  of  New  York, 
for  the  City  and  County  of  Albany. 
1  Mayor  of  New  York. 

8  Head  of  that  family  and  party,  eldest  son  of  the  late  Gov.  James  De  Lancey, 
and  brother-in-law  of  Gov.  John  Penn,  of  Pennsylvania. 
3  Brother  of  William,  nephew  of  Speaker  Cruger. 

*  Father  to  the  Council  Member  of  the  same  name. 

5  Son  of  the  Sheriff  of  Albany,  and  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  that  city. 

6  Colonel  of  the  militia  of  Albany,  subsequently  appointed  General  by  Congress. 

*  Clerk  of  Kings  County. 


John  Cruger,1 
James  De  Lancey,' 
Jacob  Walton,3 
James  Jauncey,* 
Jacob  H.  Ten  Evck,' 
Col.  Philip  Schuyler," 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  507 

Simon  Boerum,T  )  c     l-  „  - 

John  Rapelje/  \  for  Kin*s- 

Zebulon  Seaman,'  [  f  Queen5 

Daniel  Kissam,  )  ^- 

William  Nicoll,"         )  f    c  ~ 
xt  .1     -l  \M     ji    11  ia  t  tor  sunolk. 
Nathaniel  Woodhull,  \ 

Benjamin  Seaman,'11  )  c  ,.•  ,  , 
„,  i  .  ,  u.„  H  y  for  Richmond. 
Christopher  Billopp,  \ 

John    nomas,  I  ^  vvestchester. 

l-rederick.  Phlhpse,  | 

Leonard  van  Kleeck,"  )  ..     r.  .  . 
tv  ,  n  •    ,     ,  f  tor  Dutchess. 

Dirk  Bnnckerhott.  \ 

Charles  De  Witt,'9 

George  Clinton,2" 

John  De  Novelles,"      )  ~. 
o       if*  1  91  >■  Orange. 

Samuel  Gale,  j  b 

Lewis  Morris,"  Borough  of  Westchester. 

Jacobus  Minderse,"  Township  of  Schenectady. 

Abraham  Ten  Broeck,"  Manor  of  Rensselaerwyck. 

Philip  Livingston,'""  Manor  ot  Livingston. 

Pierre  von  Cortlandt,"  Manor  of  Cortlandt. 

'  Colonel  of  the  militia  of  Kings  County. 
*  Captain  of  militia,  and  a  farmer. 

10  Farmer,  and  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

11  Grandson  of  Matthias,  the  first  Secretary  appointed  at  the  capture  of  New 
York  in  1664,  a  lawyer. 

11  Judge  of  Common  Pleas  and  Col.  of  the  militia  of  the  County,  afterwards 
General. 

13  A  merchant,  and  Judge  of  the  County. 

14  Colonel  of  County  militia,  and  a  son-in-law  of  Seaman. 

15  Judge  of  the  County  Court,  afterwards  General. 

16  Third  Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Philipsburgh. 
"  Colonel  of  militia,  and  a  merchant. 

18  Colonel  of  militia,  and  a  merchant. 

19  Of  the  old  De  Witt  family,  a  farmer. 

20  Lawyer,  Clerk  of  the  County,  afterwards  Governor  of  N.  Y. 

"  A  Huguenot  gentleman.  He  died  in  1775,  and  John  Coe,  Judge  of  the  County, 
was  elected  in  his  place  in  February,  1775,  and  took  his  seat  on  the  17th  of  that 
month. 

ss  Major  of  militia,  and  tavern  keeper,  of  Goshen. 

"  Of  Morrisania. 

54  A  farmer  of  Schenectady. 

56  Uncle  and  Guardian  of  Stephen  van  Rensselaer,  then  a  minor,  Lord  of  the 
Manor  of  Rensselaerwyck. 

56  Brother  of  Robert,  third  Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Livingston. 

57  Son  of  Philip  van  Cortlandt  and  Catherine  de  Peyster,  and  Uncle  of  Philip 
van  Cortlandt,  the  head  of  that  family  at  this  period.  He  was  afterwards  first 
Lt.-Gov.  of  the  State  of  New  York. 


5o8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  following  proceedings,  showing  the  whole  political  ac- 
tion in  1775,  and  the  leading  men,  and  measures,  of  that  crisis 
on  each  side  of  the  controversy,  are  here  reproduced  from  the 
"  Journal  of  the  Votes  and  Proceedings  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  Colony  of  New  York,  from 
1766  TO  1776,  INCLUSIVE,"  on  account  of  the  excessive  rarity 
of  that  volume,  fifty  copies  only  having  been  originally  printed 
by  the  State  in  1820,  not  one-half  of  which,  it  is  believed,  are 
now  extant.  No  copy  is  to  be  found,  it  is  believed,  in  any 
of  the  present  public  libraries  of  New  York,  except  that  of 
the  New  York  Historical  Society,  and  in  those  of  the  State, 
and  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  at  Albany,  and  many 
writers  are  ignorant  of  its  very  existence. 

To  Aaron  Clark,  Clerk  of  the  Assembly  in  1820,  the  eternal 
thanks  of  all  historical  students,  and  the  people  of  New  York, 
are  due  for  the  printing  of  the  fifty  copies,  which  were  ordered 
by  a  joint  resolution  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly  passed,  in 
the  latter,  March  31st,  and  in  the  former,  April  3d,  1820,  in 
consequence  of  the  following  memorial  presented  by  him  to 
those  bodies  on  March  7th,  1820,  and  now  prefixed  to  the 
volume  : 

To  the  Honorable  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  N.£w 
York.,  in  Senate  and  Assembly  convened. 

The  Subscriber  having  heretofore  endeavoured,  as  well  by  visits,  as 
by  letter,  to  several  of  this  State,  to  obtain  a  copy,  or  part  of  a  copy, 
of  the  journals  of  the  Assembly  of  the  Colony  of  New-York,  from 
1766  to  1776,  found  all  efforts  unsuccessful  until  the  last  autumn, 
when  I  applied  to  John  McKesson  Esq.  of  New-York,  the  nephew  of 
the  former  Clerk  of  the  Assembly,  of  the  same  name.  He  informed 
me  that  John  McKesson  Esq.  formerly  Clerk  as  aforesaid,  at  the  time 
of  his  death  was  possessed  of  an  almost  perfect  series  for  the  said 
period  of  ten  years,  so  far  as  any  journal  was  kept  ;  and  that  he,  the 
said  nephew,  had  presented  them  to  the  New- York  Historical  Society  : 
and  that  he  did  not  believe  that  another  volume  like  it,  could  be, 
collected  in  this  state.  I  accordingly  applied  to  a  committee  of  the 
New- York  Historical  Society,  who  have  very  politely  loaned  the  same 
to  me,  as  the  agent  of  the  Assembly. 

As  it  is  the  only  journal,  and  almost  the  only  history  deserving  of 
credit,  for  those  ten  years  of  conflict  and  confusion,  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  Revolutionary  War,  I  humbly  submit  to  the  honorable  the 
legislature  the  expediency  of  directing  the  printing  a  few  copies  of  it, 


■ 


^  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  509 

as  one  single  accident  might  destroy  this  copy  belonging  to  said 
Society.  And  moreover,  it  is  often  called  for  in  the  legislature,  as  a 
book  of  reference,  but  of  course  cannot  be  found. 

The  clerks  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly  will  superintend  the  print- 
ing free  of  expense. 

Aaron  Ci-ark. 

March  7,  1820. 

These  Journals  were  originally  issued  in  thin,  small  folio, 
pamphlets,  immediately  on  the  adjournment  of  every  session 
of  the  Assembly,  each  paged,  of  course,  by  itself,  and  the 
volume  consists  of  an  exact  reprint  of  these  pamphlets,  bound 
together.  The  original  volume  loaned  to  be  reprinted  as  above 
stated,  was  never  returned  to  the  New  York  Historical  Society, 
to  which,  if  in  existence,  it  now  belongs.  All  the  names  of 
members  voting  are  given  in  the  volume,  but  to  save  space 
here,  only  the  respective  numbers  on  each  vote  are  here 
given,  except  in  the  most  important  cases,  where  the  names 
are  also  inserted. 

The  Session  of  1775  began  on  the  tenth  of  January,  and  by 
the  thirteenth,  a  quorum,  fifteen  members,  having  arrived, 
Governor  Colden  opened  the  session  with  the  usual  speech  to 
both  houses.  The  part  of  the  speech  addressed  to  the 
Assembly  is  in  these  words  : 

Gentlemen  of  the  General  Assembly, 

We  cannot  sufficiently  lament  the  present  disordered  state  of  the 
Colonies.  The  dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  her  American 
dominions  is  now  brought  to  the  most  alarming  crisis,  and  fills  every 
humane  breast  with  the  deepest  affliction.  It  is  to  you,  gentlemen,  in 
this  anxious  Moment,  that  your  country  looks  up  for  counsel  and  on 
you  it  in  a  great  measure  depends  to  rescue  her  from  evils  of  the 
most  ruinous  tendency.  Exert  yourselves  then  with  the  firmness  be- 
coming your  important  office.  If  your  constituents  are  discontented 
and  apprehensive,  examine  their  complaints  with  calmness  and  de- 
liberation, and  determine  on  them  with  an  honest  impartiality.  If 
you  find  them  to  be  well  grounded,  pursue  the  means  of  redress 
which  the  constitution  has  pointed  out  :  Supplicate  the  throne  and 
our  most  gracious  Sovereign  will  hear  and  relieve  you  with  paternal 
tenderness.  But  I  entreat  you  as  you  regard  the  happiness  of  your 
country,  to  discountenance  every  measure  which  may  increase  our 
distress  ;  and  anxious  for  the  re  establishment  of  harmony  with  that 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


power  with  which  you  are  connected  by  the  ties  of  blood,  religion, 
interest,  and  duty,  prove  yourselves,  by  your  conduct  on  this  occasion, 
earnestly  solicitous  for  a  cordial  and  permanent  reconciliation." 

On  Tuesday,  the  18th  of  January,  Mr.  De  Lancey,  from 
the  committee  appointed  to  prepare  the  draught  of  an  address, 
in  reply,  reported  his  draught,  when  the  discussion  took 
place  and  the  draught  was  adopted,  by  a  vote  of  seventeen 
to  one,  as  stated  on  page  492  preceding.  This  was  the  first 
political  movement  of  the  session.  The  statement  in  the 
text,  page  36,  that  Philip  Schuyler  moved  for  the  approval  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress,  is  incorrect.  It 
was  Abraham  Ten  Broeck.  Schuyler  was  very  active  later  in 
the  session,  as  the  record  shows. 

The  Second  movement  was  a  motion  of  Col.  Ten  Broeck, 
on  January  26th  : 

"  That  this  house  take  into  consideration  the  proceedings  of  the 
Continental  Congress  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  months 
of  September  and  October  last. 

Whereupon  Col.  Philipse  moved  that  the  previous  question  be  first 
put,  whether  the  question  on  Col.  Ten  Broeck' s  Motion  be  now  put? 
Upon  which  debates  arose,  and  the  said  previous  question  being 
accordingly  put,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative,"  by  a  vote  of  eleven 
to  ten. 

On  the  27th  of  January  the  Speaker  presented  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  approving  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia.  This  was  followed,  on 
the  31st  of  January,  by  motions,  made  by  Col.  P.  Living- 
ston, and  Mr.  De  Lancey  ;  Mr.  Livingston  said  : 

"  Mr.  Speaker — 

I  move  that  a  day  be  appointed  to  take  the  State  of  this  Colony 
into  consideration,  to  enter  such  resolutions  as  the  house  may  agree 
to  on  their  journals  ;  and  in  consequence  of  such  resolutions  to  pre- 
pare a  humble,  firm,  dutiful,  and  loyal,  petition  to  our  most  gracious 
Sovereign. 

On  the  question,  whether  the  house  agreed  to  the  said  motion  ? 
It  passed  in  the  affirmative,  neminc  contradicente. 

And  then  a  motion  of  Mr.  De  Lancey,  in  these  words,  viz  : 

Mr.  Speaker, 

I  move  that  a  memorial  to  the  Lords,  and  representation  and 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  5 1  I 

remonstrance  to  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain  may  be  prepared  to- 
gether with  the  petition  to  his  Majesty. 

On  the  cpiestion  whether  the  house  agree  to  said  motion?  It 
passed  in  the  affirmative  nemine  contradicente. 

Ordered 

That  Mr.  De  Lancey,  Col.  Schuyler,  Mr.  Clinton,  Mr.  Brincker- 
hoff,  Mr.  Gale,  Mr.  Wilkins,  Mr.  Brush,  Mr.  Kissam,  and  Mr. 
Nicoll,  or  the  major  part  of  them  be  a  Committee  to  prepare  a 
state  1  of  the  grievances  of  this  Colony,  and  report  the  same  to  this 
house  on  the  7th  day  of  February  next. 

On  Friday,  the  7th,  all  business  was  adjourned  to  Friday, 
the  17th  of  February,  1775. 

On  the  16th  of  February,  however,  a  day  beforehand,  a 
motion  was  made  by  Col.  Schuyler  in  these  words  : 

I  move  that  a  certain  letter,  dated  Hartford  June  4,  1774,  directed, 
Honorable  John  Cruger,  Esq.,  James  De  Lancey,  James  Jauncey, 
&c  Esqr's.  committee  of  correspondence.  New  York,  and  sub- 
scribed by  Silas  Dearie,  in  behalf  of,  and  per  order  of,  the  committee 
of  correspondence,  Connecticut.  And  also  a  certain  letter  enclosed 
within  the  foregoing,  dated  Hartford  June  3,  1774  ;  together  with  the 
copy  of  a  letter  dated  New  York,  June  24,  1774,  directed  to  the  com- 
mittee of  correspondence  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut  and  Subscribed 
by  John  Cruger,  Frederick  Philipse,  James  De  Lancey,  (6°  the  other 
members  of  the  New  York  Com.  of  Correspondence).  And  also  a  letter 
(from  the  same  New  York  Committee  of  Correspondence)  dated  Sep- 
tember 5,  1774,  to  Edmund  Burke,  Esq.  agent  of  this  Colony  at  the 
court  of  Great  Britain,  be  forthwith  entered  on  the  journals  of  this 
house,  and  that  the  Clerk  of  this  house  be  ordered  to  deliver  copies 
of  the  same  to  the  printer  of  this  colony,  that  they  may  be  by  him  in- 
serted in  the  public  newspapers. 

And  debates  arising  upon  the  said  motion,  it  was  carried  in  the 
negative  Sixteen  to  Nine. 

The  next  day,  the  17th  of  February,  1775, 

"  A  motion  was  made  by  Col.  Woodhull  in  the  words  following, 
viz. 

"  Mr.  Speaker, 

I  move  that  the  thanks  of  this  house  be  given  to  Philip  Living- 
ston, Isaac  Low,  John  Jay,  John  Alsop,  James  Duane,  Simon 
Boerum,  William  Floyd,  and  Henry  Wisner,  Esqrs.  for  their  faithful 
and  judicious  discharge  of  the  trust  reposed  in  them  by  the  good 
people  of  this  Colony,  at  the  continental  congress  held  at  Phila- 
delphia in  the  Months  of  September  and  October  last. 

1  Sic  in  original,  the  word  "state"  is  used  for  "statement"  throughout  the 
Journals. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


And'  debates  arising  on  the  said  motion,  and  the  question  being 
put  thereon,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative  in  manner  following,  viz. 


For  the 
Mr.  Walton, 
Mr.  Ten  Eyck, 
Mr.  Jauncey, 
Col.  Seaman, 
Mr.  Gale, 
Mr.  Rapelje, 
Mr.  Nicoll, 
Col.  Philipse, 


Negative. 
Mr.  Wilkins, 
Mr.  Van  Kleeck, 
Col.  Wells, 
Mr.  Brush, 
Mr.  Billopp, 
Mr.  Kissam, 
Mr.  De  Lancey. 


For  the  Affirmative 
Mr.  Clinton, 
Mr.  Thomas, 
Mr.  Brinckerhoff, 
Mr.  De  Witt, 
Col.  Woodhull, 
Col.  Schuyler, 
Col.  Ten  Broeck, 
Capt.  Seaman, 
Col.  P.  Livingston. 


Mr.  Boerum,  on  request,  being  excused  in  voting  on  the  above 
motion,  he  having  been  one  of  the  Delegates." 


On  the  21st  February,  1775, 

"  A  Motion  was  made  by  Col.  P.  Livingston  in  the  words  follow- 
ing, viz. 

Mr.  Speaker  ; 

I  move  that  the  thanks  of  this  house  be  given  to  the  Merchants 
and  inhabitants  of  this  city  and  Colony,  for  their  repeated,  disinter- 
ested, public  spirited,  and  patriotic  conduct,  in  declining  the  impor- 
tation or  receiving  of  goods  from  Great  Britain,  and  for  their  firm 
adherence  to  the  association  entered  into,  and  recommended  by  the 
Grand  Continental  Congress,  held  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  Months  of 
September  and  October  last ;  and  that  the  Speaker  signify  the  sjne 
to  the  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  this  city,  at  their 
next  Meeting,  and  order  a  copy  of  the  same  to  be  published  in  the 
public  prints. 

And  debates  arising  on  the  said  motion  it  was  carried  in  the  nega- 
tive, by  a  vote  of  fifteen  to  ten. 

On  the  23d  Feb. ,  1775, 

Mr.  Brush,  from  the  Committee  appointed  by  this  house  on  the 
31st  ultimo,  to  prepare  a  state  of  the  grievances  of  this  Colony,  re- 
ported, that  he  was  directed  by  the  said  Committee  to  the  house,  that 
they  had  prepared  a  state  accordingly  ;  which  he  read  in  his  place, 
and  afterwards  delivered  it  in  at  the  table,  where  the  same  was  again- 
read,  and  thereupon  it  was 

Resolved 

That  the  said  state  of  the  grievances  of  this  colony  be  referred 
to  the  consideration  of  a  committee  of  the  whole  house,  and  be  pro- 
ceeded on  by  said  Committee  on  Wednesday  next,  (the  $d  of 
March. ) 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  513 

"A  Motion  was  made  by  Mr.  Thomas,  in  the  words  following, 
viz. 

Mr.  Speaker. 

I  move  that  the  sense  of  this  house  be  taken  on  the  necessity  of 
appointing  delegates  for  this  Colony,  to  meet  the  delegates  for  the 
other  Colonies  on  this  continent,  in  General  congress  on  the  10th 
day  of  May  next. 

And  debates  arising  on  this  motion,  it  was  carried  in  the  nega- 
tive," seventeen  to  nine. 

On  the  1st  March,  1775, 

The  order  of  the  day  being  read  the  house  resolved  itself  into  a 
Committee  of  the  whole  house  upon  the  report  of  the  committee  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  a  state  of  the  grievances  of  this  colony  :  and  after 
some  time  spent  therein,  Mr.  Speaker  resumed  the  chair,  and  Col. 
Seaman  reported  that  he  was  directed  to  report  to  the  house,  that 
they  had  made  some  progress  therein,  and  asked  leave  to  sit  again. 
Which  report  he  read  in  his  place  and  afterward  delivered  it  in  at  the 
table,  where  the  same  was  again  read,  and  thereupon  it  was, 

Resolved 

That  this  house  will  again  to-morrow  resolve  itself  into  a  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  house,  to  proceed  to  the  further  consideration  of 
the  said  report. 

On  the  3d  March,  1775, 

The  order  of  the  day  being  read,  the  house  resolved  itself  into  a 
committee  of  the  whole  house,  upon  the  report  of  the  committee  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  a  state  of  the  grievances  of  this  colony  :  Which 
report  is  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Resolved^ 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  act  of  6th  Geo. 
3d.  chap.  12,  entitled  "an  act  for  the  better  securing  the  dependency 
of  his  Majesty's  dominions  in  America,  upon  the  Crown  and  Parlia- 
ment of  Great  Britain  ;  declaring  the  right  of  Parliament  to  bind  the 
colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever  ;  is  a  grievance. 

A  motion  was  then  made  by  Col.  Schuyler,  in  the  words  following, 
viz. 

Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  act  of  4th  Geo.  3d.  chap.  15,  so  far  as  it  imposes 
duties  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  America — extends  the 
admiralty  courts  beyond  their  ancient  limits — deprives  his  Majesty's 
American  subjects  of  trial  by  jury — authorises  the  judges'  certificates 
to  indemnify  the  prosecutor  from  damages  which  he  might  otherwise 
be  liable  to — and  holds  up  an  injurious  discrimination  between  the 
subjects  in  Great  Britain  and  those  in  America  ;  is  a  grievance. 

Mr.  De  Lancey  then  moved,  that  the  previous  question  be  first 
33 


5H 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


put,  whether  the  question  upon  that  part  of  Col.  Schuyler's  motion, 
which  is  comprehended  in  the  following  words,  that  is  to  say,  "  So 
"  far  as  it  imposes  duties  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in 
"America,"  be  now  put  ?  and  debates  arising  thereon,  and  the  said 
previous  question  being  accordingly  put,  it  was  carried  in  the  affirm- 
ative, in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Affirmative.  For  the  Negative. 

Col.  Schuyler,       Mr.  Clinton,  Mr.  De  Lancey, 

Mr.  Brinckerhoff,   Mr.  Billopp,  Mr.  Wilkins. 

Mr.  Gale,  Mr.  Nicoll. 

Mr.  Kissam, 

The  question  being  then  put  on  Col.  Schuyler's  motion,  it  was 
carried  in  the  affirmative  ;  and  thereupon  it  was 
2d,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  aforesaid  act  of 
4th  George  3d,  chap.  15,  so  far  as  it  imposes  duties  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  a  revenue  in  America, — extends  the  admiralty  courts  be- 
yond their  ancient  limits, — deprives  his  Majesty's  American  subjects 
of  trial  by  jury, — authorizes  the  judges'  certificates  to  indemnify  the 
prosecutor  from  damages  that  he  might  otherwise  be  liable  to,  and 
holds  up  an  injurious  discrimination  between  the  subjects  in  Great 
Britain  and  those  in  America  ;  is  a  grievance. 

Mr.  De  Lancey  then  made  a  motion  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  opinion  of  this  committee  be  taken,  whether  his 
Majesty,  and  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  have  a  right  to  regu- 
late the  trade  of  the  colonies,  and  to  lay  duties  on  articles  that  are 
imported  directly  into  the  colonies,  from  any  foreign  country  or  plan- 
tation which  may  interfere  with  the  products  or  manufactures  of 
Great  Britain,  or  any  other  part  of  his  Majesty's  dominions  ? 

Mr.  Clinton  then  moved  that  the  previous  question  be  first  put, 
whether  the  question  upon  Mr.  De  Lancey's  motion  be  now  put  ? 
And  debates  arising  thereon,  and  the  said  previous  question  being 
accordingly  put,  it  was  carried  in  the  affirmative,  in  manner  follow- 
ing, viz. 

For  the  Affirmative.  For  the  Negative. 

Mr.  Billopp,  Mr.  Nicoll,  Col.  Schuyler, 

Mr.  Wilkins,  Mr.  Rapalje,  Mr.  Clinton. 

Mr.  Gale,  Mr.  Brinckerhoff, 

Mr.  Kissam,  Mr.  De  Lancey. 

The  question  being  then  accordingly  put  on  Mr.  De  Lancey's 
motion,  it  was  carried  in  the  affirmative  ;  and  thereupon  it  was, 

3d,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  his  Majesty,  and  the 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  have  a  right  to  regulate  the  trade  of 


0  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  515 

the  colonies,  and  to  lay  duties  on  articles  that  are  imported  directly 
into  this  colony  from  any  foreign  country  or  plantation,  which  may 
interfere  with  the  products  or  manufactures  of  Great  Britain,  or  any 
other  parts  of  his  Majesty's  dominions. 

Col.  Schuyler  then  made  a  motion  in  the  following  words,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

1  move  the  following,  in  addition  to  the  preceeding  resolution,  to 
wit,  "  excluding  every  idea  of  taxation,  internal  or  external,  for  the 
"  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  on  the  subjects  in  America,  without 
"  their  consent." 

Mr.  Billopp  then  moved  that  the  previous  question  be  first  put, 
whether  the  question  upon  the  said  motion  be  now  put  ?  And  de- 
bates arising  thereon,  and  the  said  previous  question  being  accord- 
ingly put,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative.  For  the  Affirmative. 

Mr.  Nicoll,  Mr.  Rapalje,  Col.  Schuyler, 

Mr.  Kissam,         Mr.  Rillopp,  Mr.  Clinton, 

Mr.  Gale,  Mr.  Delancey.  Mr.  Brinckerhoff. 

Mr.  Wilkins, 

The  act  of  3d  Geo.  3d,  chap.  22,  section  8th,  being  read,  and  de- 
bates arising  thereon,  the  question  was  put,  whether  the  sum  directed 
therein  to  be  given  as  security  by  claimants  of  vessels,  is  a  grievance  ? 
The  same  passed  in  the  affirmative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Affirmative.  For  the  Negative. 

Mr.  De  Lancey,     Mr.  Nicoll,  Mr.  Clinton, 

Mr.  Gale,  Mr.  Rapalje,  Col.  Schuyler, 

Mr.  Kissam,  Mr.  Wilkins.  Mr.  Brinckerhoff. 

Mr.  Billopp, 

4th,  Resolved  therefore, 
That  it  ts  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  sum  directed  in 
the  said  last  mentioned  act  to  be  given  as  security  by  claimants  of 
vessels,  is  not  a  grievance. 

5th,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  ninth  section  of 
said  last  mentioned  act,  giving  the  courts  of  admiralty  a  concurrent 
jurisdiction  with  the  courts  of  common  law  in  causes  arising  within 
the  body  of  a  county,  and  thereby  leaving  it  in  the  power  of  the 
prosecutor  to  deprive  the  subject  of  a  trial  by  jury  of  the  vicinage  ; 
and  the  act  of  8th  Geo.  3d,  Chap.  2 2d,  giving  similar  powers  to 
courts  of  vice  admiralty  ;  are  grievances. 
6th,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  act  of  4th  Geo. 
3d,  Chap.  34,  is  a  grievance,  inasmuch  as  it  prohibits  the  legislature 
of  this  colony  from  passing  any  law  for  the  emission  of  a  paper  cur- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


rency  to  be  a  legal  tender  within  the  colony,  so  advantageous  to  the 
growth  and  commerce  of  tin's  colony  ;  the  want  whereof  might,  in  a 
great  measure,  disable  his  Majesty's  subjects  here,  upon  proper  re- 
quisition, from  granting  such  aids  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  general 
weal  and  safety  of  the  British  empire. 
7th,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  act  of  6th  Geo. 
3d,  Chap.  52,  so  far  as  the  same  lays  a  duty  on  molasses,  and  sirrups  ; 
on  coffee,  and  pimento  of  the  growth  and  produce  of  any  British 
colony  or  plantation  in  America,  which  shall  be  imported  or  brought 
from  thence  into  any  other  British  colony  or  plantation  in  America  ; 
is  a  grievance. 

8th,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  act  of  7th  Geo. 
3d,  Chap.  46,  raising  a  revenue  for  making  provision  for  defraying 
the  charge  of  the  administration  of  justice,  and  the  support  of  civil 
government,  is  a  grievance  ;  as  it  lays  a  duty  on  tea,  which  is  a  com- 
modity we  are  obliged  to  get  from  England,  and  prohibited  from  im- 
porting from  any  other  place  ;  as  it  raises  a  revenue  for  the  support 
of  government,  and  the  administration  of  justice  in  the  colonies,  in- 
dependent of  the  people ;  is  contrary  to,  and  a  revocation  of  that 
system  of  rights  and  privileges  on  which  the  government  of  the  col- 
onies hath  been  established  ;  as  it  deprives  the  legislatures  of  the 
colonies  of  that  check  and  control  upon  the  servants  of  the  public, 
which  the  parliament  hath  in  Great  Britain,  and  deprives  the  subjects 
in  the  colonies  of  the  rights  and  privileges  which  they  always,  before 
the  passing  that  act,  have  been  esteemed  entitled  to,  and,  of  right, 
enjoy,  equal  with  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 
9th,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  act  of  7th  Geo. 
3d,  chap.  59,  requiring  the  legislature  of  this  colony  to  provide  for 
the  services  therein  mentioned,  without  application  made  to  the 
representatives  of  the  people  of  this  colony  in  General  Assembly, 
and  holding  up  by  any  other  acts  a  suspension  of  the  legislative 
powers  of  this  colony,  until  such  requisition  be  complied  with,  is  a 
grievance,  dangerous  to  the  rights  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  this 
colony. 

10th,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  acts  of  12th 
Geo.  3d,  chap.  24,  entitled  "an  act  for  the  better  securing  and  pre- 
serving his  Majesty's  dock  yards,  magazines,  ships,  ammunition  and 
stores,-'  as  it  deprives  the  American  subject  of  a  trial  by  a  jury  of 
the  vicinage,  and  authorises  the  trial  of  persons  charged  with  com- 
mitting certain  offences  out  of  the  realm,  in  any  shire  or  county 
within  the  realm,  is  dangerous  to  the  lives  and  liberties  of  the  sub- 
ject. 

1  ith,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  construction  of 
the  statute  of  35111  Henry  8th,  chap.  2,  as  held  up  by  both  houses  of 


*  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  5  I  7 

Parliament,  in  their  address  to  his  Majesty,  in  the  ninth  year  of  his 
reign,  recommending  the  issuing  a  special  commission  for  inquiring 
of  treasons,  and  misprison  of  treasons,  committed  in  the  province 
of  Massachusetts  Hay,  in  order  to  have  the  offenders,  if  any  there 
were,  tried  in  Great  Britain,  is  a  grievance. 
1 2th,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  statute  of  14th 
Geo.  3d,  chap.  88,  so  far  as  it  imposes  duties  upon  certain  articles 
of  merchandize  imported  into  the  province  of  Quebec,  (which  by 
another  statute  of  the  same  year,  Chap.  83,  is  so  extended  as  to 
comprehend  all  the  Indian  country  from  Hudson's  Hay,  to  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Ohio)  is  a  grievance;  as  by  the  said  statutes  the  grand 
commerce  formerly  carried  on  from  this  colony,  with  the  numerous 
Indian  natives,  is,  in  a  great  measure,  destroyed  ;  and  by  which  the 
beneficial  and  useful  intercourse  with  them  is  almost  entirely  cut  off, 
as  the  only  place  by  which  the  dutied  articles  may  be  imported  into 
the  said  province  is  restricted  to  the  port  of  St.  John's,  on  the  river 
Sorel,  which  is  so  extremely  remote  from  the  other  colonies,  that  the 
carrying  of  goods  to  be  entered  there,  to  prosecute  the  Indian  trade, 
must  necessarily  be  attended  with  such  a  heavy  expense,  as  to 
amount  to  a  total  prohibition.  That  the  discrimination  made  in  the 
said  statute  of  14th  Geo.  3d,  chap.  88,  in  favor  of  the  sugar  colonies, 
by  subjecting  the  continental  colonies  to  a  larger  duty  on  the  dutied 
articles  ;  is  a  grievance.  And  that  the  said  statute  of  14th  Geo.  3, 
Chap.  83,  so  far  as  it  may  be  construed  to  establish  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  so  extended ;  is  a  griev- 
ance. 

The  act  of  14th  Geo.  3d,  entitled,  "an  act  to  discontinue  in  such 
manner  and  for  such  time  as  arc  therein  mentioned,  the  landing  and 
discharging,  lading  or  shipping  of  goods,  wares  or  merchandize,  at 
the  town  and  within  the  harbor  of  Boston,  in  the  province  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  in  North  America ;  "  being  read,  and  debates  arising 
thereon,  and  the  question  being  put  whether  the  same  is  a  grievance 
that  affects  this  colony  ?  it  was  carried  in  the  affirmative,  in  manner 
following,  viz. 

For  the  Affirmative,  6.  For  the  Negative,  4. 

13  th,  Resolved  therefore, 
That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  last  mentioned 
act  is  a  grievance.    Mr.  Nicoll,  Mr.  Kissam  and  Mr.  Rapalje  con- 
ceive the  above  act  to  be  a  grievance,  so  far  as  the  same  affects  the 
trade  of  this  colony. 

14th,  Resolved, 

That  the  act  of  14th  Geo.  3d,  chap.  39,  entitled  "an  act  for  the 
impartial  administration  of  justice  in  the  cases  of  persons  questioned 
for  any  acts  done  by  them  in  the  execution  of  the  law,  or  for  the 
suppression  of  riots  and  tumults  in  the  province  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  in  New-Kngland,"  so  far  as  the  same  may  establish  a  dan- 
gerous precedent  in  America  ;  is  a  grievance. 


5i8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  act  of  14th  Geo.  3d,  chap.  45,  entitled  "an  act  for  the  better 
regulating  the  government  of  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay, 
in  New-England  ;  being  read,  the  question  was  put,  whether  the 
same  is  a  grievance  ?  And  debates  arising  thereon,  it  was  carried  in 
the  affirmative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Affirmative,  6.  For  the  Negative,  4. 

15th,  Resolved  therefore, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  last  mentioned 
act  is  a  grievance. 

Mr.  Nicoll,  Mr.  Kissam  and  Mr.  Gale,  conceive  that  the  aforesaid 
act,  so  far  as  the  same  may  form  a  precedent  for  altering  or  taking 
away  charter  rights  granted  to  the  subject  in  America,  contrary  to 
the  ordinary  course  of  law,  is  a  grievance. 

After  some  time  spent  thereon,  and  having  gone  through  the  same, 
Mr.  Speaker  took  the  chair,  and  Col.  Seaman  reported,  that  he  was 
directed  to  make  the  following  report  to  the  house,  to  wit. 

That  after  reading  the  report  in  the  committee,  and  upon  reading 
it  again,  paragraph  by  paragraph  ;  on  the  questions  upon  the  first  and 
second  resolutions,  severally,  whether  they  agreed  to  the  same?  they 
passed  in  the  affirmative. 

That  he  then  read  the  third  resolution  ;  upon  which  debates  arose, 
and  the  question  having  been  put  thereon,  it  passed  in  the  affirma- 
tive, in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Affirmative,  15.  For  the  Negative,  10. 

That  he  next  read  Col.  Schuyler's  motion  for  the  following  addi- 
tion to  the  said  third  resolution,  to  wit  :  "  Excluding  every  idea  of 
"taxation,  internal  or  external,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue 
"on  the  subjects  in  America,  without  their  consent."  On  the  ques- 
tion, whether  they  agreed  to  the  said  addition  ?  Debates  arose,  the 
committee  divided,  and  it  passed  in  the  affirmative,  in  manner  fol- 
lowing, viz. 

For  the  Affirmative,  14.  For  the  Negative,  11. 

Resolved  therefore, 
That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  foregoing  addi- 
tion, as  moved  for  by  Col.  Schuyler,  be  added  to  the  said  third  reso- 
lution. 

On  reading  the  fourth  resolution,  debates  arose,  and  the  question 
being  put,  whether  they  agreed  thereto,  it  passed  in  the  affirmative, 
in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Affirmative,  16.  For  the  Negative,  10. 

That  the  fifth,  sixth,  seventh,  eighth,  ninth,  tenth,  eleventh,  and 
twelfth  resolutions  were  severally  read,  and  on  the  questions  severally 
put  thereon,  were  agreed  to  nemine  contrcidicente. 

The  thirteenth  resolution  being  then  read  ;  on  the  question  whether 
they  agree  to  the  same,  debates  arose,  the  committee  divided,  and  it 
passed  in  the  affirmative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Affirmative,  15.  For  the  Negative,  11. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  5  1 9 

JThe  question  was  next  put  on  the  fourteenth  resolution,  which 
passed  in  the  affirmative,  nemine  contradicente. 

The  fifteenth  resolution  being  next  proceeded  on  ;  after  some  time 
spent  in  debates,  and  the  question  being  put  thereon,  it  passed  in 
the  affirmative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Affirmative,  16.  For  the  Negative,  10. 

Mr.  Nicoll,  Mr.  Kissam,  Mr.  Gale  and  Col.  Phillips,  conceive  the 
act  alluded  to  in  the  said  fifteenth  resolution,  so  far  as  the  same  may 
form  a  precedent  for  altering  or  taking  away  charter  rights  granted 
to  the  subject  in  America,  contrary  to  the  ordinary  course  of  law,  is 
a  grievance. 

Which  report  he  read  in  his  place,  and  afterwards  delivered  it  in  at 
the  table,  where  the  same  was  again  read:  On  the  question  whether 
the  house  agree  thereto  ?  Debates  arose,  and  it  passed  in  the  affirm- 
ative. 

Resolved  therefore, 

That  this  house  doth  agree  with  the  committee  in  their  said  report 
and  resolutions. 

On  the  7th  March,  1775, 

Ordered, 

That  Mr.  De  Lancey,  Mr.  Clinton,  and  Mr.  Kissam,  or  the  major 
part  of  them,  be  a  committee  to  prepare  a  set  of  resolutions,  agree- 
able to  Col.  P.  Livingston's  motion  on  the  31st  of  January  last,  and 
lay  the  same  before  this  house  with  all  convenient  speed. 

On  the  8th  March,  1775, 

Mr.  Kissam,  from  the  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  set  of 
resolutions  to  be  entered  on  the  journals,  pursuant  to  Col.  P.  Liv- 
ingston's motion  of  the  31st  day  of  January  last,  reported,  that  they 
had  prepared  sundry  resolutions  accordingly  ;  which  he  read  in  his 
place,  and  afterwards  delivered  them  in  at  the  table,  where  the  same 
were  again  read  ;  and  thereupon  it  was 
Ordered, 

That  the  said  resolutions  be  refered  to  the  consideration  of  a 
committee  of  the  whole  house,  and  that  the  house  resolve  itself  into 
a  committee  thereupon  immediately. 

The  house  then  accordingly  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of  the 
whole  house  upon  the  said  resolutions.  After  some  time  spent  there- 
in, Mr.  Speaker  resumed  the  chair,  and  Col.  Seaman  reported,  that 
he  was  directed  by  the  committee  to  report  to  the  house,  that  they 
had  gone  through  the  said  resolutions,  and  made  some  amendments 
thereto  ;  which  he  read  in  his  place,  and  afterwards  delivered  them, 
as  amended,  in  at  the  table,  where  the  same  were  again  read,  and  are 
as  follow,  viz. 

1st,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  people  of  this 


520 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


colony  owe  the  same  faith  and  allegiance  to  his  most  gracious  Majes- 
ty King  George  the  third,  that  are  due  to  him  from  his  subjects  in 
Great  Britain. 

2d,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  his  Majesty's  subjects 
in  this  colony  owe  obedience  to  all  acts  of  parliament  calculated  for 
the  general  weal  of  the  whole  empire,  and  the  due  regulation  of  the 
trade  and  commerce  thereof,  and  not  inconsistent  with  the  essential 
rights  and  liberties  of  Englishmen,  to  which  they  are  equally  entitled 
with  their  fellow  subjects  in  Great  Britain. 
3d,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  it  is  essential  to  free- 
dom, and  the  undoubted  right  of  Englishmen,  that  no  taxes  be  im- 
posed on  them  but  with  their  consent,  given  personally,  or  by  their 
representatives  in  general  assembly. 
4II1,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  the  acts  of  parlia- 
ment raising  a  revenue  in  America,  especially  to  provide  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  civil  government  and  administration  of  justice  in  the  col- 
onies— extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  admiralty  beyond 
their  ancient  limits — authorizing  the  judges'  certificate  ro  indemnify 
the  prosecutor  from  damages  he  would  otherwise  be  liable  to,  giving 
them  a  concurrent  jurisdiction  of  causes  heretofore  cognizable  only 
in  the  courts  of  common  law,  and  by  that  means  depriving  the 
American  subject  of  his  trial  by  a  jury,  are  destructive  to  freedom, 
and  subversive  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  colonists. 
5///,  Resolved, 

That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  that  a  trial  by  a  jury  of 
the  vicinage,  in  all  capital  cases,  is  the  grand  security  of  freedom,  and 
the  birth  right  of  Englishmen  ;  and  therefore,  that  the  seizing  any 
person  or  persons  residing  in  this  colony,  suspected  of  treasons, 
misprisions  of  treason,  or  any  other  offences,  and  sending  such  per- 
son or  persons  out  of  the  same  to  be  tried,  is  dangerous  to  the  lives 
and  liberties  of  his  Majesty's  American  subjects. 

Col.  Seaman  then  also  reported,  that  when  they  came  to  the 
second  resolution,  Col.  VVoodhull  moved,  that  between  the  word 
"thereof,"  and  the  word  "and,"  the  following  words  be  inserted,  to 
wit :  "  excluding  every  idea  of  taxation,  "  internal  or  external,  for 
"  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  on  the  subject  in  America,  with- 
"out  their  consent." 

That  Mr.  De  Lancey  then  moved  that  the  previous  question  be 
first  put,  whether  the  question  upon  Col.  Woodhull's  motion  be  now 
put?  And  debates  arising  thereon,  and  the  said  previous  question 
being  accordingly  put,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative,  (that  is  to  say, 
that  the  question  upon  Col.  Woodhull's  motion,  be  now  put)  in  man- 
ner  following,  viz. 


Eor  the  Negative,  14.  For  the  Affirmative,  13. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  $2 1 

That  on  reading  the  third  resolution,  a  motion  was  made  by  Mr. 
Clinton,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman. 

I  move  that  the  following  words  be  inserted  in  the  third  resolution, 
between  the  words  "  taxes  "  and  "  be,"  to  wit.  "  of  any  kind  or  na- 
ture, or  under  any  denomination  whatever  :  "  And  debates  arising 
upon  the  same,  and  the  question  being  put  thereon,  it  was  carried  in 
the  negative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  14.  For  the  Affirmative,  12. 

Which  report  he  read  in  his  place,  and  afterwards  delivered  the 
bill  in  at  the  table,  where  the  same,  with  the  aforesaid  resolutions, 
were  severally  read  a  second  time  :  On  the  question,  whether  the 
house  agreed  to  the  same  ?  Debates  arose,  the  house  divided,  and 
it  passed  in  the  affirmative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Affirmative,  14.  For  the  Negative,  12. 

Resolved  therefore, 

That  this  house  doth  agree  with  the  committee  in  their  said  report, 
and  resolutions. 

On  the  9th  March,  1775, 
Ordered, 

That  Mr.  Nicoll,  Mr.  Van  Kleeck,  and  Mr.  Wilkins,  or  the  major 
part  of  them,  be  a  committee  to  prepare  and  lav  before  the  house, 
with  all  convenient  speed,  the  draft  of  a  humble,  firm,  dutiful  and 
loyal  petition,  to  be  presented  to  our  most  gracious  Sovereign,  pur- 
suant to  Col.  P.  Livingston's  motion  on  the  31st  day  of  January  last. 
Ordered  also, 

That  Mr.  Brush,  Col.  Seaman  and  Mr.  Gale,  or  the  major  part  of 
them,  be  a  committee  to  prepare  the  draft  of  a  memorial  to  the 
lords  ;  and  that  Mr.  Kissam,  Mr.  De  Lancey  and  Mr.  Walton,  or 
the  major  part  of  them,  be  a  committee  to  prepare  the  draft  of  a 
representation  and  remonstrance  to  the  commons  of  Great  Britain, 
pursuant  to  Mr.  De  Lancey's  motion  on  the  said  31st  day  of  January 
last ;  and  that  the  said  committee  lay  the  said  drafts  before  this  house, 
with  all  convenient  speed. 

On  the  16th  March,  1775, 

Mr.  Wilkins,  from  the  committee  appointed  to  prepare  the  draft 
of  a  petition  to  the  King,  laid  before  the  house  a  draft  accordingly. 
Mr.  Brush,  from  the  committee  appointed  to  prepare  the  draft  of  a 
memorial  to  the  lords  ;  and  Mr.  De  Lancey,  from  the  committee 
appointed  to  prepare  the  draft  of  a  representation  and  remonstrance, 
to  the  commons  of  Great  Britain,  laid  before  the  house  the  said  drabs 
accordingly  ;  and  the  said  three  drafts  being  severally  read, 
Ordered, 

That  the  said  three  drafts  be  refered  to  the  consideration  of  a  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  house. 


522 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


On  the  24th  March,  1775, 

The-  house  then  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole 
house,  upon  the  draft  of  a  petition  to  the  King  :  After  some  time 
spent  therein,  Mr.  Speaker  resumed  the  chair,  and  Col.  Seaman  re- 
ported, that  he  was  directed  by  the  committee  to  make  the  follow- 
ing report  to  the  house,  to  wit. 

That  after  reading  the  said  draft  through  in  the  committee,  and 
upon  reading  it  again,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  when  he  came  to  the 
fifth  paragraph,  a  motion  was  made  by  Col.  Schuyler,  in  the  words 
following,  viz. 

Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  following  words  be  struck  out  of  the  fifth  para- 
graph, beginning  after  the  word  "her,"  to  wit.  "We  acknowledge 
"  there  are  appearances  which  maybe  construed  to  our  disadvantage, 
"  and  that  several  of  the  measures  pursued  by  the  colonies,  are  by  no 
"  means  justifiable  ;  yet  while  we  disapprove  and  condemn  them,  we 
"  entreat  you,  as  the  indulgent  father  of  your  people,  to  view  them  in 
"  the  most  favorable  light,  and  to  consider  them  as  the  honest,  though 
"  disorderly  struggles  of  liberty,  not  the  licencious  efforts  of  inde- 
"  pendence  ;  "  and  that  the  following  words  be  substituted,  to  wit. 

And  as  we  have  too  much  reason  to  suspect  that  pains  have  been 
"  taken  to  induce  your  Majesty  to  think  us  impatient  of  constitutional 
"government,  we  entreat  you,  Royal  Sir,  to  believe  that  our  com- 
"  motions  are  honest  struggles  for  maintaining  our  constitutional 
"  liberty,  and  not  dictated  by  a  desire  of  independence. — Cou  d 
"  your  princely  virtues,  as  easily  as  your  powers,  have  been  delegated 
"  to  your  servants,  we  had  not  at  this  time  been  reduced  to  the  dis- 
"  agreeable  necessity  of  disturbing  your  repose,  on  an  occasion  which 
"  we  sincerely  lament."  Upon  which  debates  arose,  and  the  ques- 
tion having  been  put  thereon,  it  passed  in  the  negative,  in  manner 
following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  15.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  on  reading  the  sixth  paragraph,  a  second  motion  was  made 
by  Col.  Schuyler,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  following  words  be  struck  out  of  the  sixth  para- 
graph, to  wit.  "  Your  Majesty's  American  subjects  have  hitherto 
"  been  in  a  state  of  infancy,  and  till  lately  have  submitted  implicitly, 
"  and  without  repining,  to  the  authority  of  the  parent  state  ;  they 
"  have  now  reached  the  period  of  maturity,  and  think  themselves  en- 
"  titled  to  their  birthright,  an  equal  participation  of  freedom  with 
"their  fellow  subjects  in  Britain  ;"  and  the  words  following  be  sub-' 
stituted,  to  wit.  "Although  your  Majesty's  American  subjects  have, 
"in  some  instances,  submitted  to  the  power  exercised  by  the  parent 
"state,  they  nevertheless  conceive  themselves  entitled  to  an  equal 
"  participation  of  freedom  with  their  fellow  subjects  in  Britain."  On 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  523 

which  debates  arose,  and  the  question  having  been  put  thereon,  it 
was  carried  in  the  negative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  14.  For  the  Affirmative,  9. 

•   That  a  third  motion  was  then  made  by  Col.  Schuyler,  on  reading 
the  said  sixth  paragraph,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  following  words  be  struck  out  of  the  sixth  para- 
graph, after  the  word  "  parliament,"  to  wit.  "  On  the  contrary,  we 
"cheerfully  acknowledge  our  subordination  to  it,  as  the  grand  legis- 
lature of  the  empire  ;  we  wish  only  to  enjoy  the  rights  of  English- 
"  men,  and  to  have  that  share  of  liberty  and  those  privileges  secured 
"  to  us  which  we  are  entitled  to,  upon  the  principles  of  our  free  and 
"  happy  constitution,  permit  us  therefore  ;  "  and  the  following  words 
substituted,  to  wit.  "  Conscious  of  the  incompetency  of  the  colony 
"  legislatures  to  regulate  the  trade  of  the  empire,  we  cheerfully  ac- 
"  knowledge  such  a  power  in  that  august  body,  as  is  founded  in  expe- 
"  diency,  and  confined  to  the  regulation  of  our  external  commerce, 
"  with  a  view  to  the  general  weal  of  all  your  Majesty's  subjects,  and 
"  in  such  a  manner  as  will  leave  to  us,  unimpaired,  those  rights  which 
"  we  hold  by  the  immutable  laws  of  nature,  and  the  principles  of  the 
"  English  constitution  ;  but  the  exercise  of  powers  incompatible  with 
"  those  rights,  not  justified  by  expediency,  and  destructive  of  English 
"  liberty,  induces  us."  And  debates  arose  on  the  said  motion,  and 
the  question  having  been  put  thereon,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative, 
in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  15.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  on  reading  the  seventh  paragraph,  a  motion  was  made  by 
Col.  Woodhull,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

1  move  that  the  following  words  be  struck  out  of  the  sevei  th  para- 
graph, after  the  word  "  Representative,"  to  wit.  "  This  right  we  do 
"  not  at  present  enjoy,  inasmuch  as  the  British  parliament,  in  which 
"  we  have  no  representation,  have  claimed  and  exercised  a  right  of 
"making  laws  binding  upon  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever  ; "  and  the 
following  words  substituted,  to  wit.  "  This  invaluable  right  the 
'■'•British  parliament,  in  which  we  neither  are  nor  can  be  represented, 
"  have  declared  an  intention  to  infringe,  by  asserting  an  authority  to 
"  bind  us  by  their  acts,  in  all  cases  whatsoever."  Upon  which  de- 
bates arose,  and  the  question  having  been  put  thereon,  it  was  carried 
in  the  negative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  15.  For  the  Affirmative,  9. 

That  on  reading  the  thirteenth  paragraph,  a  motion  was  made  by 
Col.  Schuyler,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  following  words  be  inserted  in  the  said  thirteenth 
paragraph,  between  the  word  "thereof,"  and  the  word  "and,"  to 


5-4 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


wit.  "An  abridgment  of  your  Majesty's  prerogative,  in  the  preserva- 
"  tion  of  which  we  are  deeply  interested,  and  a  violation  of  our 
"  legislative  rights."    On  the  question,  it  passed  in  the  rfiirmative. 

That  on  reading  the  fourteenth  paragraph,  a  motion  was  made  by 
Mr.  De  Witt,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  following  words  be  struck  out  of  the  fourteenth 
paragraph,  to  wit.  "  The  act  for  the  regulation  of  the  Government 
"  of  Quebec,  we  must  beg  leave  to  mention  also  to  your  Majesty,  as 
"  the  extension  of  that  province,  and  the  indulgence  granted  by  it 
"  to  Roman  Catholics,  have  given  great  uneasiness  to  the  minds  of 
"many  of  your  Majesty's  American  subjects  ;"  and  the  following 
words  substituted,  to  wit.  "We  beg  leave  to  hold  up  to  your  Ma- 
"jesty  as  a  most  alarming  grievance,  the  change  wrought  by  your 
"  Parliament  in  the  government  of  Quebec  :  A  change  by  which 
"your  Majesty's  royal  proclamation  conferring  the  privileges  of  Eng- 
"  lishmen  on  the  inhabitants  of  that  conquered  country,  is  abrogated  ; 
"the  rights  of  your  Majesty's  natural  born  subjects,  who  have  settled 
"  there  in  confidence  thereof,  wholly  defeated  ;  its  future  population 
"by  emigrants  who  know  the  value  of  British  liberty,  most  effectually 
"discouraged;  Popery  highly  encouraged,  if  not  established;  and  a 
"  form  of  government  unknown  in  the  British  constitution,  erected 
"  in  that  very  extensive  dominion,  to  the  great  grief  and  danger  of 
"  your  Majesty's  ancient,  loyal,  free  and  Protestant  colonies  on  this 
"  continent."  On  the  question,  debates  arose,  the  committee 
divided,  and  it  passed  in  the  negative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  15.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  on  reading  the  fifteenth  paragraph,  Mr.  Clinton  moved  that 
the  same  be  struck  out,  which  is  in  these  words,  viz.  "  The  late 
"  acts  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston,  and  altering  the  charter  of 
"  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  we  presume  not  to  mention  to  your  M-ijes- 
"  ty,  without  first  assuring  you  that  we,  in  many  instances,  disapprove 
"of  the  conduct  of  that  province,  and  beseeching  your  gracious  in- 
"  terposition  in  their  favor ;  we  cannot  however  help  observing  that 
"  those  acts  seems  to  establish  a  dangerous  precedent,  by  inflicting 
"  punishment  without  the  formality  of  a  trial  ; "  and  the  following 
words  substituted,  to  wit.  "Although,  Royal  Sir,  it  would  be  im- 
"  proper  here  to  enter  into  a  justification  of  the  merits  of  the  meas- 
"  ures  which  occasioned  the  late  act  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Bos- 
"  ton,  abridging  the  charter  rights  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  for 
"the  impartial  administration  of  justice  in  that  province;  your  Ma- 
"  jesty  will  however  graciously  be  pleased  to  permit  us  to  observe, 
"  that  the  ill-policied  scheme  of  colony  administration  pursued  by 
"your  Majesty's  ministers  since  the  close  of  the  last  war,  has  beeji 
"  productive  of  great  warmth  in  every  part  of  your  empire  ;  nor 
"  can  we  avoid  declaring,  that  we  view  those  acts  with  that  jealousy 
"  which  is  the  necessary  result  of  a  just  sense  of  the  blessings  of 
'•  freedom,  and  abhor  the  principles  they  contain,  as  establishing 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


525 


"  precedents  subversive  of  the  rights,  privileges  and  property,  and 
f* dangerous  to  the  lives  of  your  Majesty's  American  subjects." 
Upon  which  debates  arose,  and  the  question  having  been  put  there- 
on, it  was  carried  in  the  negative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  15.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  Col.  Philips  then  moved  to  have  the  words  "  seem  to  "  struck 
out  of  the  said  fifteenth  paragraph,  which  passed  in  the  affirmative. 

That  on  reading  the  sixteenth  paragraph,  a  motion  was  made  by 
Mr.  Clinton,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  said  sixteenth  paragraph  be  struck  out,  which  is  in 
these  words,  to  wit.  "  We  cannot  quit  the  subject  of  our  grievances, 
"  without  humbly  representing  to  your  Majesty,  that  we  are  appre- 
"  hensive  many  inconveniences  may  arise  from  the  judges  of  the 
"  supreme  court  in  this  colony  holding  their  commissions  during 
"  pleasure  ;  we  therefore  entreat  your  Majesty  to  grant  them  their 
"  commissions  upon  the  tenure  that  the  judges  of  your  Majesty's 
"  courts  in  Fngland  hold  theirs,  during  good  behavior  ;  and  we  as- 
M  sure  your  Majesty,  that  if  you  shall  be  pleased  to  grant  us  this  in- 
"  diligence,  you  will  find  the  representatives  of  this  colony  ready  and 
"willing  to  annex  such  adequate  and  permanent  salaries  to  those 
"  offices,  as  shall  render  them  as  independent  of  the  people,  as  your 
"  Majesty  may  be  pleased  to  make  them  of  the  crown  ;  "  and  the 
following  words  substituted,  to  wit.  "With  the  highest  satisfaction, 
"  most'  Gracious  Sovereign,  we  reflect  on  your  royal  declaration  from 
"  the  throne  at  your  happy  accession,  that  it  was  essential  to  the  im- 
"  partial  administration  of  justice,  and  one  of  the  best  securities  to 
"the  rights  and  liberties  of  your  subjects,  that  your  judges  should 
"  hold  their  commissions  during  good  behavior  ;  permit  us  then  to 
'•  pray  that  you  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  remove  the  distinction 
"  between  your  subjects  in  England  and  those  in  America,  by  com- 
"  missioning  your  judges  here  to  hold  their  offices  on  the  same  ten- 
"ure  ;  in  which  case  we  beg  leave  to  assure  your  Majesty,  that  we 
"  stand  ready  to  give  them  such  adequate  and  permanent  salaries  as 
"  will  render  them  independent  of  the  people."  On  the  question, 
the  committee  agreed  to  the  same,  nemine  cotitradicente. 

That  after  he  had  read  the  seventeenth  paragraph,  Mr.  Clinton 
moved  that  the  following  words  be  struck  out  from  the  beginning  of 
the  said  seventeenth  paragraph,  to  wit.  "  We  have  now,  most  gra- 
"  cious  sovereign,  stated  our  grievances  to  your  Majesty  ;  we  have 
"  done  it  we  trust,  with  all  the  respect  due  to  the  best  of  kings,  and 
"  with  that  decent  freedom  becoming  the  representatives  of  a  faithful, 
"  ancient  and  loyal  colony  ;  and  we  have  not  the  least  doubt  but 
"  that  by  your  merciful  mediation  and  interposition,  we  shall  obtain 
"  the  desired  redress,  and  have  such  a  system  of  government  granted 
"and  confirmed  to  us  by  your  Majesty  and  your  two  houses  of  par- 
"  liament,  as  will  sufficiently  ascertain  the  authority  of  the  supreme 
"  legislature  over  this  colony,  and  at  the  same  time  secure  to  us 


526 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  those  just  and  invaluable  rights  and  privileges  which  all  your  Ma- 
"  jesty's  subjects  are  intitled  to  ;  "  and  the  following  word<  substituted, 
to  wit.  "  We  dare  not  presume  to  engage  your  Majesty's  further 
"  attention  with  grievances  of  less  moment ;  those  we  have  enumer- 
"  ated,  we  trust  are  stated  with  all  that  respect  which  is  due  to  the 
"  best  of  kings,  and  with  that  decent  firmness  becoming  the  repre- 
"  sentatives  of  a  free,  faithful,  ancient  and  loyal  colony  ;  nor  can  we 
"  entertain  the  least  doubt  that  by  your  wise  mediation  and  interpo- 
"  sition,  we  shall  not  only  obtain  the  desired  redress,  but  have  such 
"an  equitable  system  of  administration  established  in  future,  by  the 
"concurrent  approbation  of  your  Majesty's  two  houses  of  parlia- 
"  ment,  and  the  legislatures  of  your  American  colonies  as  will  ensure 
"  to  Great-Britain  the  affection  of  and  every  possible  advantage 
"that  can  accrue  to  it,  from  your  extensive  American  dominions." 
On  which  debates  arose,  and  the  question  having  been  put  thereon, 
it  passed  in  the  negative  in  the  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  15.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

Mr.  VVilkins  then  moved  for  the  following  amendments  to  the  said 
seventeenth  paragraph,  to  wit.  Strike  out  between  the  words  "  gov- 
ernment" and  "  confirmed,"  the  words  "granted  and;"  and  strike 
out  between  the  words  "ascertain"  and  "over,"  the  words  "author- 
"  ity  of  the  supreme  legislature  ;"  and  insert  in  their  room  the  words 
"and  limit  the  Authority  claimed  by  the  British  Legislature."  On 
the  question,  the  same  were  agreed  to  Nemine  Contradicente. 

That  after  going  through  the  same  paragraph  by  paragraph,  and 
having  made  several  amendments,  struck  out  a  clause,  and  added 
another  thereto,  he  asked  the  committee  :  Whether  they  agreed  to 
the  same,  and  would  direct  him  to  report  them  to  the  house  ?  Upon 
which  debates  arose,  the  committee  divided  and  it  passed  in  the 
affirmative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 


Which  report  he  read  in  his  place,  and  afterwards  delivered  it  with 
the  said  draught,  amendments,  and  clause,  in  at  the  table  ;  where 
the  same  were  again  read;  and  on  Mr.  Speaker's  asking  the  question, 
Whether  the  house  agree  to  the  same,  and  would  order  the  said 
draught,  amendments  and  clause,  to  be  engrossed  ?  Debates  arose, 
the  house  divided,  and  it  passed  in  the  affirmative,  in  manner  follow 
ing,  viz. 


For  the  Affirmative,  15. 


For  the  Negative,  8. 


For  the  Affirmative,  16. 

Mr.  Walton,  Mr.  Jauncey, 

Mr.  Nicoll,  Mr.  De  Lancey, 

Mr.  Kissam,  Mr.  Van  Kleeclc. 

Col.  Philips,  Mr.  Rapalje, 

Mr.  Ten  Eyck,  Mr.  Brush, 

Mr.  Wilkins,  Mr.  Gale, 

Mr.  Billop,  Mr.  Cole, 

Col.  Seaman,  Col.  Wells. 


For  the  Negative,  8. 


Col.  Schuyler, 
Mr.  Clinton, 


Col.  Woodhull, 
Capt.  Seaman, 
Mr.  Thomas, 
Mr.  De  Witt, 
Mr.  Boerum. 


Mr.  Van  Cortlandt, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  527 

^      Ordered  therefore, 

That  the  said  draught,  amendments,  and  clause,  be  engrossed. 
And  then  the  house  adjourned  till  4  o'clock  this  afternoon. 

4  ho.  P.  M. 

The  house  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole  house, 
upon  the  draught  of  a  memorial  to  the  Lords  :  After  some  time 
spent  therein,  Mr.  Speaker  resumed  the  chair,  and  Col.  Seaman  re- 
ported, That  he  was  directed  by  the  committee  to  make  the  follow- 
ing report  to  the  house,  to  wit. 

That  after  reading  the  said  draught  through  in  the  committee  ;  and 
upon  reading  it  again  paragraph  by  paragraph,  when  they  came  to 
the  fourth  paragraph, 

Col.  Schuyler  made  a  motion  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  fourth  paragraph  be  struck  out ;  which  is  in  the 
words  following,  viz.  "  Impressed  with  these  sentiments,  we  con- 
"  sider  ourselves  as  part  of  one  great  empire,  in  which  it  is  necessary 
"  there  should  be  some  supreme  regulating  power  ;  but  though  we 
"  acknowledge  the  existence  of  such  power,  yet  we  conceive  it  by  no 
"  means  comprehends  a  right  of  binding  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever, 
"  because  a  power  of  so  unbounded  an  extent  would  totally  deprive 
"us  of  security,  and  reduce  us  to  a  state  of  the  most  abject  servi- 
"  tude  ;"  and  the  following  words  substituted,  to  wit.  "  Impressed 
"  with  these  sentiments,  considering  ourselves  as  an  inseparable  part 
"  of  the  British  empire,  and  under  the  fullest  conviction  that  we 
"are  intimately  interested  in  and  bound  by  a  variety  of  considerations 
"  to  promote  its  weal,  we  readily  assent  that  public  expediency  must 
"  in  some  cases,  induce  a^submission  to  the  exercise  of  a  supreme 
"  legislative  power  in  the  British  parliament,  never  to  take  place  but 
"  in  cases  of  absolute  necessity,  and  where  our  own  legislature  is  in- 
"  competent,  and  with  a  view  to  the  general  weal  of  the  empire  in 
"  the  regulation  of  commerce."  On  which  debates  arose  ;  and  the 
question  having  been  put  thereon,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative,  in 
manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  16.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  on  reading  the  5th  and  6th  paragraphs,  another  motion  was 
made  by  Col.  Schuyler,  in  these  words,  to  wit. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  5th  and  6th  paragraphs  be  struck  out ;  which  are 
in  the  words  following,  to  wit.  "  The  colonies,  as  your  Lordships 
"  know,  were  not  in  contemplation  when  the  forms  of  the  British 
"Constitution  were  established;  it  was  undoubtedly  intended  that 
"  the  people  should  have  a  share  in  the  legislature,  by  the  interven- 
"  tion  of  their  Representatives  :  This  privilege  they  have  at  all  times 
"  zealously  asserted,  and  it  affords  the  highest  security  to  those  for 
"  whose  benefit  it  was  originally  intended,  because  no  money  can  be 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  raised  upon  the  subject  in  Great  Britain,  nor  any  law  made  that  is 
"  binding  on  him  without  the  concurrence  of  those  who  have  been 
"  elected  by  the  people  to  represent  them. 

"  As  the  case  of  colonies  was  unforeseen,  so  it  was  unprovided  for 
"  by  the  constitution  ;  our  ancient  law  books  are  silent  on  the  sub- 
"  ject  ;  neither  the  nature  of  colonies  nor  their  constitutional 
"  dependance  on  the  mother  country,  are  so  much  as  mentioned  : 
"  It  follows  therefore  that  upon  the  planting  of  the  colonies,  as  a  new 
"  relation  sprung  up  between  the  parent  kingdom,  and  then  a  new 
"  system  of  government  adapted  to  it,  and  productive  of  the  mutual 
"happiness  of  both,  ought  to  have  been  established  ;"  and  the  fol- 
lowing words  substituted,  to  wit.  "  The  colonies,  as  your  Lordships 
"know,  were  not  in  contemplation  when  the  forms  of  the  British 
"  constitution  were  established  ;  it  followed  therefore  from  its  princi- 
"  pies  when  colonization  took  place,  that  the  colonists  carried  with 
"  them  all  the  rights  they  were  entitled  to  in  the  country  from  which 
"  they  emigrated  ;  but  as  from  their  local  circumstances  they  were 
"  precluded  from  sharing  in  the  representation  in  that  legislature  in 
"  which  they  had  been  represented,  they  of  right  claimed  and  enjoyed 
"  a  legislature  of  their  own,  always  acknowledging  the  King  or  his 
"  representative  as  one  branch  thereof.  This  right  they  have  pointed- 
"  ly,  repeatedly  and  zealously  asserted,  as  what  only  could  afford 
"  them  that  security  which  their  fellow  subjects  in  Great  Britain 
"  enjoy  under  a  constitution  at  once  the  envy  and  admiration  of 
"  surrounding  nations  ;  a  constitution  by  which  no  money  can  be 
"  raised,  no  taxes  of  what  kind  or  nature  or  under  what  denomina- 
"  tion  soever,  imposed  on  the  subject  without  the  concurrence  of 
"those  who  have  been  elected  by  the  people  to  represent  them.  In 
"  sentiments  founded  on  these  principles,  we  can  never  acknowledge 
"an  authority  in  the  British  parliament  to  bind  us  in  all  cases  what- 
"  soever."  On  the  question,  the  committee  agreed  to  strike  out  the 
words  from  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  paragraph  to  the  word  "  in- 
"  tended,"  inclusive  ;  and  the  whole  of  the  sixth  paragraph  ;  and  to 
substitute  so  much  of  Col.  Schuyler's  motion  from  the  beginning 
thereof  to  the  word  "  nation,"  inclusive.  And  on  the  remaining  part 
of  said  motion  debates  arose,  the  committee  divided,  and  it  was  car- 
ried in  the  negative  in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  16.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  on  reading  the  thirteenth  paragraph,  Col.  Schuyler  moved  that 
between  the  words  the  and  purpose,  be  inserted  the  word  express ; 
and  that  after  the  word  imposed,  the  following  be  struck  out,  to  7i'itr 
"  Upon  several  articles  imported  directly  from  Great  Britain,  or  the 
"  British  colonies,  and  on  foreign  wines,  an  article  which  does  not  in 
"the  least  interfere  with  the  products  of  Great  Britain,  or  any  of 
"  its  colonies."  On  the  question  the  committee  agreed  to  insert  the 
word  express,  and  on  the  remaining  part  of  the  motion  debates 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  529 

-afose,  the  committee  divided,  and  it  passed  in  the  negative,  in  man- 
ner following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  16.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  on  reading  the  fourteenth  paragraph,  Col.  Schuyler  moved 
that  the  words  "  the  legislature  of  this  colony  has  been  suspended  ; " 
be  struck  out,  and  the  following  words  substituted,  to  wit.  "  Acts 
"  have  been  passed  for  the  purpose  of  suspending  the  legislature  of 
"  this  colony."  On  the  question  the  said  amendment  was  agreed  to 
Nemint  Contradicente. 

That  on  reading  the  sixteenth  paragraph,  Col.  Schuyler  moved 
that  the  following  words  be  struck  thereout,  to  wit.  "  The  American 
"  subject  is  rendered  liable  in  some  instances  by  a  new  statute,  and 
"  in  others  by  the  construction  made  of  an  old  one  ;  "  and  the  follow- 
ing substituted,  to  wit.  "  New  and  unconstitutional  acts  have  been 
"passed,  and  constructions  made  of  an  old  one,  by  which  the  Ameri- 
"  can  subject  is  directed."  On  the  question,  the  said  amendment 
was  agreed  to  Nemint  Contradicente. 

That  after  reading  the  seventeenth  paragraph,  Col.  Schuyler  moved 
that  the  following  words  be  struck  out,  to  wit.  "  It  is  with  reluct- 
"  ance  we  ;  "  and  the  following  substituted,  to  wit.  "  We  are  ex- 
"  tremely  unhappy  that  occasion  has  been  given  us  to."  On  the 
question,  the  same  was  agreed  to. 

That  he  then  read  the  eighteenth  paragraph  ;  upon  which  Col. 
Schuyler  moved  that  the  words  "  a  justification,"  between  the  words 
into  and  of,  be  struck  out,  and  the  words  the  merits  substituted  ;  and 
also  the  words  "  or  to  intimate  an  approbation  of  the  mode  pursued 
"  for  redressing  the  grievances  of  which  they  have  been  productive," 
be  also  struck  out.  Upon  which  debates  arose,  and  the  question 
having  been  put  thereon,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative,  in  manner 
following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  16.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  on  reading  the  twentieth  and  twenty-first  paragraphs,  a  mo- 
tion was  made  by  Col.  Schuyler,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  following  words  be  struck  out,  from  the  word 
Labour,  in  the  twentieth  paragraph,  to  the  end  of  the  twenty-first 
paragraph  to  wit.  "  Hut  tho'  we  conceive  it  our  duty  thus  fully  to 
"lay  them  before  your  Lordships,  we  beg  leave  to  assure  you,  that 
"  we  shall  always  cheerfully  submit  to  the  constitutional  exercise  of 
"  the  supreme  regulating  power,  lodged  in  the  King,  Lords,  and 
"  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  all  acts  calculated  for  the 
"general  weal  of  the  empire,  and  the  due  regulation  of  t lie  trade  and 
"  commerce  thereof." 

"  We  conceive  this  power  includes  a  right  to  lay  duties  upon  all 
"  articles  imported  directly  into  the  colonies  from  any  foreign  coun- 
"  try  or  plantation,  which  may  interfere  with  the  products  or  manu- 
factures of  Great  Britain,  or  any  other  part  of  his  Majesty's 
34 


53° 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"  dominions  ;  but  that  it  is  essential  to  freedom,  and  the  undoubted 
"rights  of  our  constituents,  that  no  taxes  be  imposed  on  them  but 
"  with  their  consent,  given,  personally  or  by  their  lawful  representa- 
"  tives  ;  "  and  the  following  substituted,  to  wit.  "And  while  we 
"  esteem  it  our  duty  thus  fully  to  lay  them  before  your  lordships,  we 
"  beg  leave  to  assure  you,  that  we  shall  never  repine  at  the  exercise 
"  of  a  parliamentary  authority  to  regulate  trade  for  the  general  weal 
"  of  the  empire,  when  it  is  solely  employed  in  the  enacting  duties  on 
"  imports  from  foreign  countries,  that  may  interfere  with  the  products 
"  or  manufactures  of  any  part  of  the  British  empire,  provided  that  in 
"  the  mode,  every  idea  of  taxation  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  rev- 
"enue  in  America,  be  excluded."  Upon  which  debates  arose,  and 
the  question  having  been  put  thereon,  it  was  carried  in  the  negative, 
in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  16.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  after  going  through  the  same,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  and 
having  made  several  amendments  thereto,  he  asked  the  committee, 
whether  they  agreed  to  the  same,  and  would  direct  him  to  report 
them  to  the  house  ?  Upon  which  debates  arose,  the  committee 
divided,  and  it  passed  in  the  affirmative,  in  manner  following,  viz. 
For  the  Affirmative,  16.  For  the  Negative,  8. 

Which  report  he  read  in  his  place,  and  afterwards  delivered  it,  with 
the  said  draft  and  amendments,  in  at  the  table,  where  the  same  were 
again  read  ;  and  on  the  question,  whether  the  house  agree  to  the 
same,  and  would  order  the  said  draft  and  amendments  to  be  en- 
grossed ?  It  passed  in  the  Affirmative. 
Ordered, 

That  the  said  draft  and  amendments  be  engrossed. 

The  house  then  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole  house 
upon  the  draft  of  a  representation  and  remonstrance  to  the  Commons 
of  Great  Britain  :  After  some  time  spent  therein,  Mr.  Speaker 
resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Kissam  reported,  that  he  was  directed 
by  the  committee  to  make  the  following  report  to  the  house,  to  wit  : 

That  after  reading  the  said  draft  through  in  the  committee,  and' 
upon  reading  it  again,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  when  he  came  to  the 
fourth  paragraph, 

A  motion  was  made  by  Mr.  Clinton,  in  the  words  following,  viz. 
Mr.  Chairman, 

I  move  that  the  word  "  internal,"  between  the  words  "from"  and 
"  taxation,"  in  the  fourth  paragraph,  be  struck  out  ;  as  also  the  fol- 
lowing words,  at  the  end  of  the  said  fourth  paragraph,  to  wit. 
"  Especially  for  the  support  of  government,  and  the  other  usual  and 
"  ordinary  services  of  the  colonies."  On  which  debates  arose,  and 
the  question  having  been  put  thereon,  it  was  carried  in  the  nega- 
tive, in  manner  following,  viz. 

For  the  Negative,  16.  For  the  Affirmative,  8. 

That  on  reading  the  eighth  paragraph,  Mr.  Clinton  moved  that 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  53 1 

,  0 

the  words  "  their,"  between  the  words  "  branches  "  and  "  authority," 
be  struck  out ;  and  the  words  "  in  exercising  an  "  be  substituted  ;  and 
between  the  words  "dominions"  and  "has,"  the  following  words  be 
inserted,  to  wit :  "  Which  authority,  when  founded  in  expediency,  and 
"  calculated  for  the  general  weal  of  the  whole  empire."  On  which 
debates  arose,  and  the  question  having  been  put  thereon,  it  passed 
in  the  negative,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  preceding  question. 

That  on  reading  the  eleventh  paragraph,  Mr.  Clinton  moved  that 
the  words  "  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,"  between  the  words 
"which"  and  "has,"  be  struck  out,  and  the  following  substituted,  to 
wit.  "  A  sanguinary  religion  equally  repugnant  to  the  genuine  sim- 
"  plicity  of  Christianity,  and  the  maxims  of  sound  philosophy."  ( )h 
which  debates  arose,  and  the  question  having  been  put  thereon,  it 
was  carried  in  the  negative,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  two  last 
questions,  excepting  that  Capt.  Seaman  was  for  the  negative. 

That  on  reading  the  twelfth  paragraph,  Mr.  Clinton  moved  that 
the  following  words  be  struck  out  of  the  latter  end  thereof,  to  wit. 
"  At  the  same  time  we  also  must  express  our  disapprobation  of  the 
"  violent  measures  that  have  been  pursued  in  some  of  the  colonies, 
"  which  can  only  tend  to  increase  our  misfortunes,  and  to  prevent 
"  our  obtaining  redress."  On  the  question,  debates  arose,  the  com- 
mittee divided,  and  it  passed  in  the  negative,  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  two  preceding  questions  before  the  last. 

That  after  going  through  the  same,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  and 
having  made  several  amendments  thereto  :  On  the  question,  whether 
they  agree  to  the  same,  and  would  direct  him  to  report  them  to  the 
house  ?  It  passed  in  the  affirmative. 

Which  report  he  read  in  his  place,  and  afterwards  delivered  it,  with 
the  said  draft  and  amendments,  in  at  the  table,  where  the  same  were 
again  read  ;  On  the  question,  whether  the  house  agree  to  the  same, 
and  would  order  the  said  draft  and  amendments  to  be  engrossed  ?  It 
passed  in  the  affirmative. 
Ordered, 

That  the  said  draft  and  amendments  be  engrossed. 

And  then  the  house  adjourned  till  10  o'clock  to-morrow  morning. 

On  the  25th  March,  1775, 

The  engrossed  petition  to  the  King's  most  Excellent  Majesty,  was 
read  ;  on  the  question  whether  the  house  agree  to  the  same  ?  it 
passed  in  the  affirmative. 
Ordered, 

That  Mr.  Speaker  sign  the  said  petition  in  behalf  of  this  house. 

The  engrossed  memorial  to  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  in 
parliament  assembled,  was  read  ;  on  the  question  whether  the  house 
agree  to  the  same  ?  it  passed  in  the  affirmative. 
Ordered, 

That  Mr.  Speaker  sign  the  said  memorial  in  behalf  of  this  house. 
And  then  the  house  adjourned  till  4  o'clock  this  afternoon. 


532 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


4  ho.  P.  M. 

The  engrossed  representation  and  remonstrance  to  the  Commons 
of  Great  Britain,  in  parliament  assembled,  was  read  ;  on  the  ques- 
tion whether  the  house  agree  to  the  same  ?  it  passed  in  the  affirma- 
tive. 

Ordered, 

That  Mr.  Speaker  sign  the  said  representation  and  memorial  in 
behalf  of  this  house. 
Ordered, 

That  the  said  petition  to  the  King's  most  excellent  Majesty  ;  the 
said  memorial  to  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal ;  and  the  said  rep- 
resentation and  remonstrance  to  the  commons  of  Great  Britain,  in 
parliament  assembled,  be  transmitted  by  the  Speaker,  with  all  conve- 
nient speed,  to  Edmund  Burke,  Esq.  agent  of  this  colony,  at  the 
court  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  that  a  letter  be  prepared,  to  be  ap- 
proved of  by  this  house,  to  the  said  agent,  with  directions  that  he 
present  the  same,  in  behalf  of  this  colony,  as  they  are  respectively 
directed,  as  soon  after  the  receipt  thereof  as  possible. 
Ordered, 

That  Mr.  Speaker  transmit,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  agent,  the 
state  of  the  grievances  of  this  colony,  and  the  resolutions  of  this 
house  thereupon. 

On  31st  March,  1775, 

Ordered, 

That  Mr.  Speaker  write  to  the  Speakers  of  the  several  Houses  of 
Assembly  on  this  continent,  as  soon  after  the  rise  of  this  house  as 
conveniently  may  be,  and  transmit  to  them  the  list  of  grievances 
stated  by  this  house,  and  the  resolutions  thereof,  in  consequence  ; 
together  with  the  petition  to  the  King's  most  excellent  majesty ;  the 
memorial  to  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal ;  and  the  representa- 
tion and  remonstrance  to  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  in  Parlia- 
ment assembled,  requesting  them  to  lay  the  same  before  their  respec- 
tive houses  of  Assembly,  at  their  first  meeting  after  the  receipt 
thereof. 

On  1st  April,  1775, 

Ordered, 

That  John  Cruger,  Esq.  Speaker,  James  De  Lancey,  James  Jaun- 
cey,  Jacob  Walton,  Benjamin  Seaman,  Isaac  Wilkins,  Frederick 
Philips,  Daniel  Kissam,  Zebulon  Seaman,  John  Rapelje,  Simon 
Boerum,  Samuel  Gale  and  George  Clinton,  Esqrs.  or  any  seven  of 
them,  whose  business  it  shall  be  to  obtain  the  most  early  and  authen- 
tic intelligence  of  all  such  acts  and  resolutions  of  the  British  parlia- 
ment, or  proceedings  of  administration,  as  do  or  may  relate  to  or 
affect  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  the 
British  colonies  in  America  ;  and  to  keep  up  and  maintain  a  con  t- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  533 

0 

spondence  and  communication  with  our  sister  colonies,  respecting 
these  important  considerations,  and  the  result  of  their  proceedings  to 
lay  before  the  house. 

The  following  are  the  petition  to  the  King's  most  excellent  Majesty  ; 
the  memorial  to  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal ;  and  the  repre- 
sentation and  remonstrance  to  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  in 
Parliament  assembled  ;  agreed  to  by  this  house  on  Saturday  the 
25th  ultimo,  to  wit. 

TO  THE  KING'S  MOST  EXCELLENT  MAJESTY. 

The  humble  Petition  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Colony  of  New 

York. 

Most  Gracious  Sovereign, 

1.  WE,  your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  colony  of  New  York,  beg  leave  most  humbly  to 
approach  your  Majesty. 

2.  Inviolably  attached  to  your  royal  person  and  government,  to 
which  we  are  bound  by  the  strongest  ties  of  duty  and  affection,  and 
in  the  fullest  assurance  that  your  paternal  care  is  extended  over  all 
your  people,  as  well  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  world,  as  those  who 
flourish  and  are  happy  under  your  more  immediate  influence  in  the 
old  ;  we  are  emboldened  to  throw  ourselves  at  your  Majesty's  feet, 
humble  petitioners,  in  behalf  of  the  loyal  colony  we  represent. 

3.  Vouchsafe  then,  most  gracious  Sovereign,  to  attend  to  the 
prayer  of  your  faithful  subjects,  and  while  we  are  pleading  our  own 
cause,  and  the  cause  of  liberty  and  humanity,  deign  to  consider  us 
as  advocates  for  our  sister  colonies  also. 

4.  The  present  unhappy  and  unnatural  disputes  between  the 
parent  state  and  your  Majesty's  American  dominions,  give  us  the 
deepest  and  most  unfeigned  concern. — We  lament  it  as  one  of  the 
greatest  misfortunes,  that  the  happy  and  peaceful  harmony,  which 
has  hitherto  subsisted  between  us,  should  now  by  any  means  be  in- 
terrupted ;  and  'tis  the  earnest,  and  first  wish  of  our  hearts,  that  it 
may  be  speedily  restored,  and  placed  upon  so  permanent  a  basis,  as 
that  neither  time  or  accidents  may  be  ever  able  to  disturb  it. 

5.  We  acknowledge,  with  the  warmest  gratitude,  the  favor  and 
protection  of  our  mother  country  ;  which  flowing  from  policy,  dic- 
tated by  wisdom  and  humanity,  hath  enabled  us  to  become  so  im- 
portant a  part  of  the  British  empire  ;  and  we  beseech  your  Majesty 
to  believe  us,  when  we  assure  you,  that  we  still  retain  the  duty  and 
affection  of  children — that  we  love  and  reverence  our  venerable 
parent,  and  that  no  calamity  would  be  so  truly  afflicting  to  us,  as  a 
separation  from  her.  We  acknowledge  there  are  appearances  which 
may  be  construed  to  our  disadvantage,  and  that  several  of  the  meas- 
ures pursued  by  the  colonies,  are  by  no  means  justifiable  ;  yet  while 


534 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


we  disapprove  and  condemn  them,  we  entreat  you,  as  the  indulgent 
father  of  your  people,  to  view  them  in  the  most  favorable  light,  and 
to  consider  them  as  the  honest,  though  disorderly  struggles  of  liberty, 
not  the  licencious  efforts  of  independence. 

6.  Your  Majesty's  American  subjects  have  hitherto  been  in  a  state 
of  infancy,  and  till  lately  have  submitted  implicitly,  and  without  re- 
pining, to  the  authority  of  the  parent  state ;  they  have  now  reached 
the  period  of  maturity,  and  think  themselves  entitled  to  their  birth- 
right, an  equal  participation  of  freedom  with  their  fellow  subjects  in 
Britain.  It  is  with  this  view  we  now  address  your  Majesty.  We 
mean  not  to  become  independent  of  the  British  Parliament ;  on  the 
contrary,  we  cheerfully  acknowledge  our  subordination  to  it,  as  the 
grand  legislature  of  the  empire  ;  we  wish  only  to  enjoy  the  rights  of 
Englishmen,  and  to  have  that  share  of  liberty,  and  those  privileges 
secured  to  us  which  we  are  entitled  to,  upon  the  principles  of  our 
free  and  happy  constitution.  Permit  us  therefore,  most  gracious 
Sovereign,  to  lay  our  grievances  before  you,  which  we  now  do  with 
the  greatest  humility,  and  in  the  fullest  assurance,  that  your  royal 
justice  and  clemency  will  be  exerted  in  our  behalf. 

7.  Your  Majesty's  subjects  in  this  colony,  think  it  essential  to  free- 
dom, and  the  undoubted  right  of  Englishmen,  that  no  taxes  should 
be  imposed  on  them  without  their  consent  given  personally,  or  by 
their  representatives.  This  right  we  do  not  at  present  enjoy,  inas- 
much as  the  British  Parliament,  in  which  we  have  no  representation, 
have  claimed  and  exercised  a  right  of  making  laws  binding  upon  us 
in  all  cases  whatsoever.  This  claim,  and  this  exercise  of  unlimited 
power  by  the  Parliament,  we  esteem  a  grievance  of  the  most  danger- 
ous nature,  and  directly  tending  to  the  subversion  of  our  constitu- 
tional liberties.  We  are  willing,  to  the  utmost  of  our  abilities,  to 
contribute  our  proportion  to  the  support  of  government  ;  but  we 
would  do  it  in  a  constitutional  manner,  by  the  interposition  of  the 
Colony  Legislature. 

8.  We  likewise  beg  leave  to  declare  to  your  Majesty,  that  we  con- 
sider the  acts  of  Parliament  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  but  more 
especially  those  to  provide  for  the  support  of  civil  government,  and 
the  administration  of  justice  in  the  colonies,  and  extending  the  courts 
of  admiralty  beyond  their  ancient  limits,  giving  them  a  concurrent 
jurisdiction,  in  causes  heretofore  cognizable  only  in  the  courts  of 
common  law,  and  by  that  means  depriving  the  American  subject  of 
a  trial  by  jury,  as  grievous  and  destructive  of  our  rights  and  privi- 
leges. 

9.  That  the  act  of  Parliament  authorising  the  apprehension  of 
persons  resident  in  the  colonies,  on  suspicion  of  certain  offences,  and, 
sending  them  out  of  the  same  to  be  tried,  is  dangerous  to  the  lives 
and  liberties  of  your  Majesty's  American  subjects,  as  it  deprives  them 
of  a  trial  by  a  jury  of  the  vicinage,  which  in  all  cases  is  the  grand 
security  and  birth-right  of  Englishmen. 

10.  That  we  humbly  conceive,  the  act  requiring  the  legislature  of 
this  colony  to  provide  for  the  services  therein  mentioned,  and  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  535 

other  for  suspending  the  legislative  power  thereof,  till  such  requisi- 
tion should  be  complied  with,  were  unconstitutional,  and  tended  to 
destroy  that  confidence  which  we  had  always  reposed  in  the  mother 
country. 

11.  'That  the  imposition  of  duties  upon  articles  of  commerce  im- 
ported from  Great  Britain,  is  oppressive  and  impolitic,  as  it  gives  the 
greatest  encouragement  to  illicit  trade,  and  appears  as  a  prohibition 
on  our  commerce  with  the  mother  country,  which,  for  the  mutual  ad- 
vantage of  both,  we  conceive  ought  to  be  free  and  unrestrained. 

12.  That  the  act  passed  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  your  Majesty's 
reign,  imposing  duties  upon  certain  articles  imported  into  the  pro- 
vince of  Quebec  (the  limits  whereof,  by  an  act  of  the  same  year,  are 
so  extended  as  to  comprehend  all  the  Indian  country,  from  Hudson's 
Bay  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river)  and  restricting  the  importation 
of  those  dutied  articles  to  the  port  of  St.  John's,  on  the  river  Sorel, 
is  injurious  to  this  colony,  as  it  almost  entirely  destroys  our  import- 
ant Indian  trade  ;  that  port  being  so  very  remote  from  this  and  the 
other  colonies,  that  the  conveyance  of  goods  thither,  for  the  prosecu- 
tion of  that  traffic,  must  unavoidably  be  attended  with  so  enormous 
an  expense,  as  well  nigh  amounts  to  a  total  prohibition  ; — the  un- 
merited discrimination  made  by  the  first  above  mentioned  act  in 
favor  of  the  sugar  colonies,  by  subjecting  the  continental  colonies  to 
a  larger  duty  on  particular  articles,  is  so  detrimental  to  the  interest 
of  this  colony,  that  we  cannot  avoid  complaining  of  it  to  your  Ma- 
jesty, as  a  grievance. 

13.  We  likewise  think,  the  act  prohibiting  the  legislature  of  this 
colony  from  passing  any  law  for  the  emission  of  paper  currency  to  be 
a  legal  tender  therein,  is  disadvantageous  to  the  growth  and  com- 
merce thereof;  an  abridgement  of  your  Majesty's  prerogative  (in  the 
preservation  of  which  we  are  deeply  interested)  and  a  violation  of 
our  legislative  rights  ;  and  may  hereafter  disable  your  Majesty's  sub- 
jects, upon  proper  requisition,  and  upon  certain  emergencies,  from 
granting  such  aids  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  general  safety  of  the 
empire. 

14.  The  act  for  the  regulation  of  the  government  of  Quebec,  we 
must  beg  leave  to  mention  also  to  your  Majesty,  as  the  extension  of 
that  province  and  the  indulgence  granted  to  it  by  Roman  Catholics, 
have  given  great  uneasiness  to  the  minds  of  many  of  your  Majesty's 
American  subjects. 

15.  The  late  acts  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston,  and  altering 
the  charter  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  we  presume  not  to  mention  to 
your  Majesty,  without  first  assuring  you  that  we,  in  many  instances, 
disapprove  of  the  conduct  of  that  province,  and  beseeching  your 
gracious  interposition  in  their  favor ;  we  cannot  however  help  ob- 
serving that  those  acts  to  establish  a  dangerous  precedent,  by  inflict- 
ing punishment  without  the  formality  of  a  trial. 

10.  With  the  highest  satisfaction,  most  gracious  Sovereign,  we  re- 
flect on  your  royal  declaration  from  the  throne  at  your  happy  acces- 
sion, that  it  was  essential  to  the  impartial  administration  of  justice, 


536 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


and  one  of  the  best  securities  to  the  rights  and  liberties  of  your  sub- 
jects, that  your  judges  should  hold  their  commissions  during  good 
behavior ;  permit  us  then  to  pray  that  you  will  be  graciously  pleased 
to  remove  the  distinction  between  your  subjects  in  England  and  ^ 
those  in  America,  by  commissioning  your  judges  here  to  hold  their 
offices  on  the  same  tenure  ;  in  which  case  we  beg  leave  to  assure 
your  Majesty,  that  we  stand  ready  to  give  them  such  adequate  and 
permanent  salaries  as  will  render  them  independent  of  the  people. 

1 7.  We  have  now,  most  gracious  Sovereign,  stated  our  grievances 
to  your  Majesty ;  we  have  done  it,  we  trust,  with  all  the  respect  due 
to  the  best  of  Kings,  and  with  that  decent  freedom  becoming  the 
representatives  of  a  faithful,  ancient  and  loyal  colony  ;  and  we  have 
not  the  least  doubt,  but  that  by  your  merciful  mediation  and  interpo- 
sition, we  shall  obtain  the  desired  redress,  and  have  such  a  system  of 
government  confirmed  to  us  by  your  Majesty,  and  your  two  houses 
of  parliament,  as  will  sufficiently  ascertain  and  limit  the  authority 
claimed  by  the  British  legislature  over  this  colony,  and  secure  to  us 
those  just  and  invaluable  rights  and  privileges  which  all  your 
Majesty's  subjects  are  entitled  to.  This,  most  gracious  Sovereign,  is 
the  sum  of  our  wishes,  and  the  end  of  our  desires  ;  and  we  beg  leave 
to  assure  your  Majesty,  that  we  are  convinced  this  will  be  the  only 
effectual  method  of  quieting  the  minds  of  your  Majesty's  faithful 
American  subjects,  and  of  restoring  that  harmony  and  cordial  union 
between  the  mother  country  and  us,  which  is  so  essential  to  the  wel- 
fare and  prosperity  of  both. — We  beseech  your  Majesty  to  believe, 
that  our  earnest  prayer  to  Heaven  is,  that  your  Majesty  may  continue 
long  the  happy  and  beloved  Monarch  of  a  brave,  a  free,  a  virtuous 
and  united  people  ;  and  that  your  children  after  you  may  continue  to 
fill  the  British  throne  to  the  latest  generations. 


TO  THE  RIGHT  HONORABLE  THE  LORDS  SPIRITUAL 
AND  TEMPORAL  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  IN  PARLIA- 
MENT ASSEMBLED. 

The  Memorial  of  his  Majesty's  faithful  subjects,  the  Representatives 
of  the  Colony  of  New  York,  in  General  Assembly  convened. 

MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  LORDSHIPS, 

1.  We,  his  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects,  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  colony  of  New-York,  in  General  Assembly  convened, 
are  conscious,  when  we  address  your  lordships,  that  we  are  applying 
to  a  body  who  have  ever  been  distinguished  for  the  firmest  attach- 
ment to  the  principles  of  liberty,  and  that  happiest  result  of  them, 
the  British  constitution. 

2.  We  acknowledge  ourselves,  and  the  people  we  represent, 
strictly  bound  by  the  ties  of  faith  and  allegiance  to  our  most  gracious 
Sovereign,  that  we  justly  owe  the  same  faith  and  allegiance  as  are 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


537 


due  to  him  from  his  subjects  in  Great  Britain  ;  that  we  regard  him 
with  the  utmost  veneration,  and  that  we  shall  ever  be  ready  to  con- 
tribute to  his  service,  and  to  support  the  dignity  of  his  crown  and 
government. 

3.  We  esteem  ourselves  happy  in  our  connection  with  the  parent 
state,  whose  true  interests  are  inseparably  united  with  our  own  ;  and 
we  are  fully  sensible,  that  none  but  the  enemies  of  both  countries 
could  ever  wisli  to  disjoin  them. 

4.  Impressed  with  these  sentiments,  we  consider  ourselves  as  parts 
of  one  great  empire,  in  which  it  is  necessary  there  should  be  some 
supreme  regulating  power.  Hut  though  we  acknowledge  the  exist- 
ence of  such  power,  yet  we  conceive  it  by  no  means  comprehends  a 
right  of  binding  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever;  because  a  power  of  so 
unbounded  an  extent  would  totally  deprive  us  of  security,  and  reduce 
us  to  a  state  of  the  most  abject  servitude. 

5.  The  colonies,  as  your  lordships  know,  were  not  in  contempla- 
tion when  the  forms  of  the  Hritish  constitution  were  established  ;  it 
followed,  therefore,  from  its  principles,  when  colonization  took  place, 
that  the  colonists  carried  with  them  all  the  rights  they  were  entitled  to 
in  the  country  from  which  they  emigrated  ;  but  as  from  their  local 
circumstances,  they  were  precluded  from  sharing  in  the  representa- 
tion in  that  legislature  in  which  they  had  been  represented,  they 
of  right  claimed  and  enjoyed  a  legislature  of  their  own,  always 
acknowledging  the  King,  or  his  representative,  as  one  branch 
thereof:  this  right  they  have  pointedly,  repeatedly  and  zealously 
asserted,  as  what  only  could  afford  them  that  security  which  their 
fellow  subjects  in  Great  Britain  enjoy,  under  a  constitution,  at  once 
the  envy  and  admiration  ot  surrounding  nations  ;  because  no  money 
can  be  raised  upon  the  subject  in  Great  Britain,  nor  any  law  made 
that  is  binding  on  him,  without  the  concurrence  of  those  who  have 
been  elected  by  the  people  to  represent  them. 

6.  For  what  happiness  can  the  colonists  expect,  if  their  lives  and 
properties  are  at  the  absolute  disposal  of  others,  and  that  power 
which  when  restrained  within  its  just  bounds,  would  dispense  light  and 
heat  to  the  whole  empire,  may  be  employed  like  a  devouring  flame, 
to  consume  and  destroy  them. 

7.  Your  lordships  will  excuse,  nay,  we  doubt  not,  will  commend  us 
for  speaking  at  this  important  juncture,  with  the  freedom  becoming 
the  representatives  of  a  free  people,  when  addressing  ourselves  to  this 
most  illustrious  body. 

8.  We  therefore  beg  leave,  on  this  occasion,  to  declare  that  we 
conceive  the  people  of  the  colonies  entitled  to  equal  rights  and 
PRIVILEGES  with  their  fellow  subjects  in  Great  Britain. 

9.  That  upon  these  principles  it  is  a  grievance  of  a  most  alarming 
nature,  that  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain  should  claim  a  right  to 
enact  laws  binding  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

10.  Incompatible  as  this  claim  is  with  the  very  idea  of  freedom,  your 
lordships  cannot  wonder  that  the  colonies  should  express  an  invincible 
repugnance  to  it.     Absolute  and  uncontrollable  power  in  any  man, 


538 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


or  body  of  men,  necessarily  implies  absolute  slavery  in  those  who 
are  subject  to  it,  even  should  such  a  power  not  be  carried  into  execu- 
tion ;  yet  let  it  be  remembered,  that  the  liberties  of  an  Englishman 
are  his  riglits  ;  and  that  freedom  consists  not  in  a  mere  exemption  from 
oppression,  but  in  a  right  to  such  exemption,  founded  on  law  and  the 
principles  of  the  constitution. 

1 1.  But  your  lordships  cannot  be  ignorant  that  this  claim  has  been 
exercised  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  the  colonists  the  utmost  un- 
easiness, and  the  most  unexceptionable  grounds  of  complaint. 

12.  Duties,  for  the  express  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in 
America,  have  been  imposed  upon  several  articles  imported  directly 
from  Great  Britain,  or  the  British  colonies,  and  on  foreign  wines,  an 
article  which  does  not  in  the  least  interfere  with  the  products  of 
Great  Britain,  or  any  of  its  colonies. 

13.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  admiralty  courts,  has  been  extended  be- 
yond its  ancient  limits  ;  the  judges  of  those  courts  invested  with  new 
and  unconstitutional  powers  ;  the  subject  in  America,  in  many  cases, 
divested  of  that  invaluable  privilege,  A  trial  by  jury,  and  a  dis- 
crimination highly  injurious,  held  up  between  us  and  our  fellow-sub- 
jects in  Great  Britain. 

14.  Acts  have  been  passed  for  the  purpose  of  suspending  the  legis- 
lature of  this  colony  from  the  exercise  of  its  constitutional  powers, 
till  it  should  comply  with  requisitions  which  it  had  before  judged  im- 
proper ;  and  laying  an  unreasonable  restraint  upon  us,  with  respect 
to  the  emission  of  a  paper  currency  to  be  a  legal  tender  within  the 
colon}'. 

15.  Officers  employed  in  the  administration  of  justice  have  been 
rendered  independent  of  the  people,  with  respect  both  to  their  salaries 
and  the  tenure  of  their  commissions,  whereby  they  are  freed  from 
those  checks  to  which,  as  servants  of  the  public,  they  ought  to  be 
subject,  although  the  representatives  of  the  people  have  ever  been 
ready,  and  now  declare  their  willingness  to  make  suitable  provision 
for  their  support. 

16.  New  and  unconstitutional  acts  have  been  passed,  and  con- 
structions made  of  an  old  one,  by  which  the  American  subject  is 
directed  to  be  tried  for  offences,  either  real  or  supposed  ;  not  in  the 
place  where  the  fact  was  committed,  where  his  witnesses  reside,  and 
their  characters  are  known,  but  in  a  strange  country,  where  his 
witnesses  may  not  attend,  and  where  their  credibility  cannot  be  as- 
certained. 

1 7.  We  are  extremely  unhappy  that  occasion  has  been  given  us 
to  add  to  the  catalogue  of  our  grievances,  the  laws  enacted  in  the  r 
last  session  of  the  late  Parliament,  for  shutting  up  the  port  of  Bos- 
ton— for  altering  the  government  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay — and 
for  the  impartial  administration  of  justice  in  certain  cases  in  that 
province. 

18.  Although  it  is  not  our  intention  to  enter  into  a  justification  of 
the  measures  which  occasioned  those  acts,  or  to  intimate  an  appro- 
bation of  the  mode  pursued  for  redressing  the  grievances  of  which 


HISTORV  OF  NEW  YORK. 


539 


they  have  been  productive  ;  yet  we  cannot  help  viewing  them  as 
forming  precedents  of  so  dangerous  a  nature  as  must  render  the  privi- 
leges, the  property,  and  even  the  lives  of  all  His  Majesty's  American 
subjects  precarious  and  insecure. 

19.  By  other  acts  of  the  same  session,  the  bounds  of  the  province 
of  Quebec  are  considerably  extended  ;  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
may  be  construed  to  be  established  throughout  that  province  ;  and 
such  regulations  are  enacted  respecting  its  trade,  as  not  only  hold  up 
a  discrimination  between  the  continental  and  other  colonies,  injurious 
to  the  former,  but  in  the  establishment  of  the  port  of  entry,  cannot 
fail  totally  to  deprive  this  colony  of  an  extensive  and  important  com- 
merce, which  it  formerly  carried  on  with  the  native  Indian  inhabi- 
tants of  that  vast  tract  of  country,  now  included  within  the  bounds 
of  that  government. 

20.  These  are  the  principal  grievances  under  which  our  constitu- 
ents at  present  labor  ;  but  though  we  conceive  it  our  duty  thus  fully 
to  lay  them  before  your  lordships,  we  beg  leave  to  assure  you,  that 
we  shall  always  cheerfully  submit  to  the  constitutional  exercise  of 
the  supreme  regulating  power,  lodged  in  the  King,  Lords  and  Com- 
mons of  Great  Britain  ;  and  to  all  acts  calculated  for  the  general 
weal  of  the  empire,  and  the  due  regulation  of  the  trade  and  commerce 
there*  if. 

21.  We  conceive  this  power  includes  a  right  to  lay  duties  upon  all 
articles  imported  directly  into  the  colonies,  from  any  foreign  country 
or  plantation,  which  may  interfere  with  products  or  manufactures  of 
(beat  Britain,  or  any  other  part  of  his  Majesty's  dominions  ;  but 
that  it  is  essential  to  freedom,  and  the  undoubted  rights  of  our  con- 
stituents, that  no  taxes  be  imposed  on  them  but  with  their  consent, 
given,  personally  or  by  their  lawful  representatives. 

22.  Whilst  therefore  we  entertain  such  dispositions  of  obedience  to 
the  lawful  powers  of  government  ;  of  allegiance  to  our  most  gracious 
Sovereign,  and  attachment  to  the  parent  country  :  We  humbly  hope 
that  your  lordships  will  aid  and  concur  in  redressing  our  griev  ances — 
removing  all  causes  of  dissention  with  Great  Britain — and  establish- 
ing Our  RIGHTS  AND  PRIVILEGES  UPON  A  SOLID  AND  LASTING  FOUNDA- 
TION. 

And  your  memorialists  shall  ever  pray. 

TO  THE  HONORABLE  THE  KNIGHTS,  CITIZENS  AND 
BCRGESSES  OE  GREAT  BRITAIN,  IN  PARLIAMENT 
ASSEMBLED. 

The  Representation  ami  Remonstrance  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Colony  of  New-  York. 

1.  Impressed  with  the  warmest  sentiments  of  loyalty  and  affection 
to  our  most  gracious  Sovereign,  and  zealously  attached  to  his  person, 
family  and  government,  we,  his  Majesty's  faithful  subjects,  the  repie- 


54° 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


sentatives  of  his  ancient  and  loyal  colony  of  New- York,  behold  with 
the  deepest  concern,  the  unhappy  disputes  subsisting  between  the 
mother  country  and  her  colonies,  convinced  that  the  grandeur  and 
strength  of  the  British  empire,  the  protection  and  opulence  of  his 
Majesty's  American  dominions,  and  the  happiness  and  welfare  of 
both,  depend  essentially  on  a  restoration  of  harmony  and  affection 
between  them  ;  we  feel  the  most  ardent  desire  to  promote  a  cordial 
reconciliation  with  the  parent  state,  which  can  be  rendered  permanent 
and  solid  only  by  ascertaining  the  line  of  parliamentary  authority  and 
American  freedom,  on  just,  equitable  and  constitutional  grounds.  To 
effect  these  salutary  purposes,  and  to  represent  the  grievances  under 
which  we  labor,  by  the  innovations  which  have  been  made  in  the 
constitutional  mode  of  colonial  government,  since  the  close  of  the 
late  war,  we  shall  proceed  with  that  firmness  which  becomes  the 
descendants  of  Englishmen,  and  a  people  accustomed  to  the  blessings 
of  liberty,  and  at  the  same  time  with  that  deference  and  respect 
which  is  due  to  this  august  assembly  to  shew. 

2.  That  from  the  year  1683,  till  the  above  mentioned  period,  this 
colony  has  enjoyed  a  legislature  consisting  of  three  distinct  branches, 
a  Governor,  Council  and  General  Assembly  ;  under  which  political 
frame  the  representatives  of  the  people  have  uniformly  exercised  the 
right  of  granting  aids  to  the  crown,  and  providing  for  the  support  of 
their  own  civil  government,  and  the  administration  of  justice  in  the 
colony. 

3.  It  is  therefore  with  inexpressible  grief  that  we  have  of  late  years 
seen  measures  adopted  by  the  British  Parliament  subversive  of  that 
constitution  under  which  the  good  people  of  this  colony,  have  always 
enjoyed  the  same  rights  and  privileges  so  highly  and  deservedly 
prized  by  their  fellow  subjects  in  Great  Britain  ;  a  constitution  in  its 
infancy,  modelled  after  that  of  the  parent  state  ;  in  its  growth  more 
nearly  assimilated  to  it,  and  tacitly  implied,  and  undeniably  recog- 
nized in  the  requisitions  made  by  the  crown,  with  the  consent  and 
approbation  of  Parliament. 

4.  An  exemption  from  internal  taxation,  and  the  exclusive  right  of 
providing  for  the  support  of  our  own  civil  government,  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  in  this  colony,  we  esteem  our  undoubted  and  unalien- 
able rights  as  Englishmen  ;  but  while  we  claim  these  essential  rights, 
it  is  with  equal  pleasure  and  truth  we  can  declare,  that  we  ever  have 
been  and  ever  will  be  ready  to  bear  our  full  proportion  of  aids  to  the 
crown  for  the  public  service,  and  to  make  provision  for  these  neces- 
sary purposes,  in  as  ample  and  adequate  a  manner  as  the  circum- 
stances of  the  colony  will  admit.  Actuated  by  these  sentiments, 
while  we  address  ourselves  to  a  British  house  of  commons,  which  has' 
ever  been  so  sensible  of  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  so  tenacious  of 
preserving  them  from  violation,  can  it  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  we 
should  feel  the  most  distressing  apprehensions  from  the  act  of  the 
British  Parliament  declaring  their  right,  to  bind  the  colonics  in  all  cases 
whatever,  a  principle  which  has  been  actually  exercised  by  the  stat- 
utes made  for  the  sole  and  express  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


54' 


America  ;  especially  for  the  support  of  government,  and  the  other  use- 
ful and  ordinary  services  of  the  colonies. 

5.  The  trial  by  a  jury  of  the  vicinage,  in  causes  civil  and  criminal, 
arising  within  the  colony,  we  consider  as  essential  to  the  security  of 
our  lives  and  liberties,  and  one  of  the  main  pillars  of  the  constitu- 
tion ;  and  therefore  view  with  horror,  the  construction  of  the  statute 
of  the  35th  of  Henry  the  8th,  as  held  up  by  the  joint  address  of 
both  houses  of  parliament,  in  1769,  advising  his  Majesty  to  send  four 
persons  guilty  of  treasons  and  misprisions  of  treason,  in  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  in  order  to  be  tried  in  England  ;  and  we  are 
equally  alarmed  at  the  late  acts  empowering  his  Majesty  to  send  per- 
sons guilty  of  offences  in  one  colony  to  be  tried  in  another,  or  within 
the  realm  of  England. 

6.  When  we  consider  that  the  cognizance  of  causes  arising  on  the 
land,  has  bv  the  wisdom  of  the  English  constitution,  been  appropriated 
to  the  courts  of  common  law,  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  admiralty 
confined  to  causes  purely  marine,  we  regard  the  great  alterations  that 
have  been  made  in  that  wholesome  system  of  laws,  by  extending  the 
powers  of  the  courts  of  admiralty  ;  authorising  the  judges'  certificates 
to  indemnify  the  prosecutor,  from  damages  he  might  otherwise  be 
liable  to,  giving  them  a  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  courts  of  com- 
mon law,  and  by  that  means  depriving  the  American  subject  of  a 
trial  by  a  jury,  as  destructive  to  freedom,  and  injurious  to  our  pro- 
perty. 

7.  We  must  also  complain  of  the  act  of  7th  of  Geo.  3d,  chap,  the 
59th,  requiring  the  legislature  of  this  colony  to  make  provision  for  the 
expense  of  supplying  the  troops  quartered  amongst  us,  with  the  neces- 
saries prescribed  by  that  law,  and  holding  up  by  any  other  act  a 
suspension  of  our  legislative  powers,  till  we  should  have  complied,  as 
it  would  have  included  all  the  effects  of  a  tax,  and  implies  a  distrust 
of  our  readiness  to  contribute  to  the  public  service. 

8.  Nor  in  claiming  these  essential  rights  do  we  entertain  the  most 
distant  desire  of  independence  on  the  parent  kingdom  ;  we  acknowl- 
edge the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  necessarily  entitled  to  a  su- 
preme direction  and  government  over  the  whole  empire,  for  a  wise, 
powerful  and  lasting  preservation  of  the  great  bond  of  union  and 
safety  among  all  the  branches  ;  their  authority  to  regulate  the  trade 
of  the  colonies,  so  as  to  make  it  subservient  to  the  interest  of  the 
mother  country,  and  to  prevent  its  being  injurious  to  the  other  parts 
of  his  Majesty's  dominions,  has  ever  been  fully  recognized  ;  but  an 
exemption  from  duties  on  all  articles  of  commerce  which  we  import 
from  Great  Britain,  Ireland  and  the  British  plantations,  or  on  com- 
modities which  do  not  interfere  with  their  products  or  manufactures, 
we  can  justly  claim  ;  and  always  expect  that  our  commerce  will  be 
charged  with  no  other  than  a  necessary  regard  to  the  trade  and 
interest  of  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies  evidently  demands  ;  at  the 
same  time,  we  humbly  conceive  that  the  money  arising  from  all 
duties  raised  in  this  colony  should  be  paid  into  the  colony 


542 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


treasury,  to  be  drawn  by  requisitions  of  the  crown  to  the  General 
Assembly,  for  the  security  and  defence  of  the  whole  empire. 

o.  We  cannot  avoid  mentioning,  among  our  grievances,  the  act  for 
prohibiting  the  legislature  of  this  colony,  from  passing  any  law  for  the 
emission  of  a  paper  currency  to  be  a  legal  tender  in  the  colony  ;  our 
commerce  affords  so  small  a  return  of  specie,  that  without  a  paper 
currency,  supported  on  the  credit  of  the  colony,  our  trade  and  the 
change  of  property,  must  necessarily  decrease :  Without  this  ex- 
pedient, we  never  should  have  been  able  to  comply  with  the  requisi- 
tions of  the  crown  during  the  last  war  ;  or  to  grant  read)-  aids  on  any 
sudden  emergencies.  The  credit  of  our  bills  has  ever  been  secured 
from  depreciation  by  the  short  periods  limited  for  their  duration,  and 
sinking  them  by  taxes  raised  on  the  people  ;  and  the  want  of  this 
power  may,  in  future,  prevent  his  Majesty's  faithful  subjects  here, 
from  testifying  their  loyalty  and  affection  to  our  gracious  Sovereign, 
and  from  granting  such  aids  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  general  weal 
and  safety  of  the  British  empire  ;  nor  can  we  avoid  remonstrating 
against  this  act  as  an  abridgement  of  the  royal  prerogative,  and  a 
violation  of  our  legislative  rights. 

10.  We  must  also  complain  of  the  act  of  the  last  session  of  Parlia- 
ment, imposing  duties  on  certain  articles  imported  into  the  province 
of  Quebec,  and  restricting  the  importation  of  them  to  the  ports  of 
Quebec  and  St.  Johns,  on  the  river  Sorel,  by  which  the  commerce 
formerly  carried  on  by  this  colony  with  the  Indians,  is  in  a  great 
measure  diverted  into  another  channel.  As  by  the  extension  of  the 
bounds  of  that  province  from  Hudsobs  Bay  to  the  Ohio,  by  a  statute 
of  the  same  session,  a  great  extent  of  country  is  cut  off  from  this 
colony,  in  which  hitherto  the  most  lucrative  branches  of  the  Indian 
trade  were  pursued  ;  and  by  directing  the  duties  on  the  articles  neces- 
sary for  that  commerce,  to  be  paid  only  at  the  above  ports,  which  are 
so  very  remote  from  this  and  the  other  colonies,  that  the  importation 
of  them,  by  those  places,  will  be  attended  with  such  a  heavy  expense, 
as  to  amount  to  a  total  prohibition.  These  acts,  in  our  opinion,  bear 
with  peculiar  hardship  on  the  people  of  this  colony,  when  we  reflect 
on  the  vast  sums  of  money  which  have  been  expended  by  our  legisla- 
ture in  conciliating  the  friendship  of  the  savages,  and  the  essential 
services  which  were  derived  to  the  British  arms  during  the  last  war, 
from  our  alliance  with,  and  influence  over  them,  founded  on  a  free 
and  unrestrained  commerce.  We  are  at  a  loss  to  account  why 
articles  imported  from  the  continental  colonies,  and  imported 
into  the  province  of  Quebec,  should  be  loaded  with  heavier  duties 
than  those  brought  from  the  West-India  islands,  by  which,  while 
we  are  deprived  of  a  most  lucrative  branch  of  commerce,  we  be- 
hold a  discrimination  made  between  us  and  the  sugar  colonies,  to 
our  prejudice,  equally  injurious  and  unmerited. 

11.  Nor  can  we  forbear  mentioning  the  jealousies  which  have 
been  excited  in  the  colonies,  by  the  extension  of  the  limits  of  the 
province  of  Quebec,  in  which  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  has  re- 
ceived such  ample  supports. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


543 


1 2.  Interested  as  we  must  consider  ourselves  in  whatever  may 
affect  our  sister  colonies,  we  cannot  help  feeling  for  the  distresses  of 
our  brethren  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  from  the  operation  of  the 
several  acts  of  parliament,  passed  relative  to  that  province,  and  of 
earnestly  remonstrating  in  their  behalf ;  at  the  same  time  we  also 
must  express  our  disapprobation  of  the  violent  measures  that  have 
been  pursued  in  some  of  the  colonies,  which  can  only  tend  to  increase 
our  misfortunes,  and  to  prevent  our  obtaining  redress. 

13.  We  claim  but  a  restoration  of  those  rights  which  we  enjoyed 
by  general  consent,  before  the  close  of  the  last  war  ;  we  desire  no 
more  than  a  continuation  of  that  ancient  government,  to  which  we 
are  entitled  by  the  principles  of  the  British  constitution,  and  by  which 
alone  can  be  secured  to  us  the  rights  of  Englishmen.  Attached 
by  every  tie  of  interest  and  regard  to  the  British  nation,  and  accus- 
tomed to  behold  with  reverence  and  respect,  its  excellent  form  of 
government,  we  harbor  not  an  idea  of  diminishing  the  power  and 
grandeur  of  the  mother  country,  or  lessening  the  lustre  and  dignity 
of  Parliament ;  our  object  is  the  happiness,  which  we  are  convinced 
can  only  arise  from  the  Union  of  both  countries  :  To  render  this 
union  permanent  and  solid,  we  esteem  it  the  undoubted  right  of  the 
colonies,  to  participate  of  that  constitution,  whose  direct  end  and  aim 
is  the  liberty  of  the  subject ;  fully  trusting  that  this  honorable  house 
will  listen  with  attention  to  our  complaints,  and  redress  our  griev- 
ances, by  adopting  such  measures  as  shall  be  found  most  conducive 
to  the  general  welfare  of  the  whole  empire,  and  most  likely  to  re- 
store union  and  harmony  among  all  the  different  branches. 

By  order  of  the  General  Assembly, 

JOHN  CRUGER,  Speaker. 
Assembly  Chamber,  city  of  New-  York,  ) 
the  2$t/i  day  of  March,  1775.  J 


NOTE  XX. 

THE  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  CONTROVERSY. — 
SURPRISE  OF  TICONDEROGA. — BENEDICT  ARNOLD. — 
ETHAN  ALLEN.— THE  RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  CONTINEN- 
TAL CONGRESS  UPON  THE  CAPTURE  DISOBEYED. — THE 
SURPRISE  OF  THE  FORT  AT  LAKE  GEORGE  BY  NEW 
YORKERS. 

Volume  I.,  page  47. 

Governor  Tryon's  proclamation,  issued  March  9th,  1775. 
offered  a  reward  of  £100  for  the  arrest  of  Allen  and  Baker, 


544 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


and  £50  each  for  Seth  Warner,  Robert  Cochrane,  Peleg  Sun- 
derland, Sylvanus  Brown,  James  Brackenridge,  and  John 
Smith — £S°°  in  all.1  It  was  issued  pursuant  to  a  vote  of  the 
Assembly  of  New  York  on  the  5th  February,  1774,  after  a 
committee,  of  which  George  Clinton  4  was  Chairman,  had  in- 
vestigated and  reported  the  facts  of  the  outrages  referred  to 
in  the  text,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  guilty  of  them.3 

Action  had  been  taken  in  1 773  m  the  New  York  Legisla- 
ture calling  for  a  body  of  regular  troops  to  garrison  Ticonde- 
roga,  in  order  to  overawe  the  New  Hampshire  rioters,  but  the 
fort  being  found  untenable  as  winter  quarters  for  more  than 
about  fifty  men,  the  idea  was  given  up.  It  was  the  fear  of  the 
fort  being  repaired  and  garrisoned  that  caused  Allen's  desire 
to  capture  it.  In  the  third  volume  of  the  Documentary  His- 
tory of  New  York  will  be  found  the  official  documents  in  full, 
showing  these  and  the  other  facts  of  this  Vermont  matter. 

The  following  statements  give  a  vivid  idea  of  Allen  and 
the  ways  of  his  Green  Mountain  Boys.  Charles  Hutche- 
son  makes  an  affidavit  on  the  12th  November,  1771,  in  which 
he  says  : 

''The  Deponent  being  at  work  upon  a  Lott  of  200  acres  of  land 
granted  him  by  a  Patent  under  the  seal  of  this  Province  of  New 
York,  said  land  being  vacant,  lying  about  15  miles  east  of  Hudson 
River  and  4  miles  north  of  New  Perth  township,  in  County  Al- 
bany :  There  assembled  Nine  men,  who  call  themselves  New  Hamp- 
shire Men,  about  the  Deponent's  house,  which  he  had  built  on  said 
Lott,  and  the  Deponent  observing  all  having  firearms  and  attempt- 
ing to  demolish  his  house,  he  left  his  work,  came  and  earnestly  de- 
sired them  to  stop,  whereupon  one  Sirnamed  Allen,  another  Baker, 
and  one  Sevil  with  Robt.  Cochran  and  5  other  names  unknown  to 
the  Deponent  said  that  they  would  burn  it,  for  that  morning  they  had 
resolved  to  offer  a  burnt  saerifice  to  the  Gods  of  the  World  in  burn-  • 
ing  the  logs  of  that  house.  That  then  they  kindled  4  fires  on  the  logs 
of  the  house,  said  Allen  and  Baker  holding  2  clubs  over  the  Depo- 
nents head  ready  to  strike,  commanded  him  to  leave  that  land  and 
not  say  one  word  to  them.  That  if  ever  he  returned  he  should  be 
barbarously  used.   That  the  fires  being  kindled  said  Allen  and  Baker' 

1  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  II.,  p.  872. 
'  Subsequently  Governor  Clinton. 

s  N.  Y.  Ass.  Journals,  1766  to  1776,  January  Session,  1774,  p.  210.  Doc. 
Hist.  N.  Y.,  p.  S69.    The  date,  however,  given  in  the  latter,  is  an  error. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  545 

insolently  said  to  the  Deponent — Go  your  way  now  and  complain  to 
that  damned  Scoundrel  your  Governor.  God  damn  your  Governor, 
Laws,  King,  Council,  and  Assembly.  That  when  the  deponent  re- 
proved them  for  it,  the  said  Allen  said,  God  Damn  your  soul,  are 
you  going  to  preach  to  us — and  further  said  That  if  ever  any  constable 
attempted  to  arrest  them  they  would  kill  him.  That  if  any  of  them 
were  ever  put  in  Albany  Gaol  they  would  break  it  down  and  rescue 
him.  That  then  deponent  fled  to  New  Perth  where  he  now  resides 
with  his  family."  ' 

Lt.-Col.  John  Rcid,  of  the  42d  Highlanders,  had  re- 
ceived a  military  grant  after  the  French  war,  on  Otter  Creek, 
not  very  far  from  Crown  Point,  upon  which  he  had  settled, 
and  built  mills  and  houses,  upon  which  he  had  numerous  ten- 
ants. This  settlement,  in  August,  1773,  Allen  and  his  "  Ben- 
nington Mob  "  destroyed.  James  Henderson,  one  of  Reid's 
settlers,  in  an  affidavit,  after  giving  an  account  of  the  affair, 
and  the  burning  of  his  house,  proceeds  : 

"  Deponent  then  took  out  his  memorandum-book  and  desired 
their  Ringleader's  (or  Captain's)  name,  to  which  Deponent  was  an- 
swered, Who  gave  you  authority  to  ask  for  my  name,  he  the  Depo- 
nent replied  that  as  he  took  him  to  be  the  Ringleader  of  the  mob 
and  as  he  had  in  such  riotous  and  unlawful  manner  dispossessed  him, 
ne  had  a  right  to  ask  his  name  that  he  might  represent  him  to  Col. 
Reid,  who  had  put  him  the  deponent  in  peaceful  possession  of  the 
premises  as  his  just  property.  To  which  Allen  answered,  that  he 
wished  they  had  catch'd  Col.  Reid,  that  they  would  whip  him  se- 
verely, that  his  name  was  Ethan  Allen  Captain  of  that  Mob,  and 
his  authority  was  his  arms,  pointing  to  his  gun,  that  he  and  his  com- 
panions were  a  Lawless  Mob,  their  Law  being  Mob  Law.  The  de- 
ponent replied  that  the  Law  was  made  for  Lawless  and  Riotous  peo- 
ple, and  that  he  must  know  it  was  death  to  Ringleaders  of  Lawless 
and  Riotous  Mobs,  to  which  Allen  answered,  that  he  had  run  these 
woods  in  the  same  manner  these  seven  years  past  and  never  was 
catch'd  yet,  and  told  the  Deponent  that  if  any  of  Col.  Reid's  settlers 
offered  hereafter  to  Build  any  house  and  keep  possession  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  as  they  call  themselves  would  burn  their  houses  and 
whip  them  into  the  bargain."  J 

James  Duane  was  the  most  active  advocate  and  expositor 
of  the  rights  and  jurisdiction  of  New  York  to  the  New  Hamp- 
shire grants,  afterward  the  State  of  Vermont,  before,  during, 

'Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.  vol.  IV.  p.  745. 
s  Doc.  Hist  N.  Y.,  IV.,  pp.  851-2. 

35 


54^ 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


and  after  the  Revolution.  He  drew  that  most  full  and  able 
"  State  of  the  Rights  of  New  York  zvith  respect  to  its  East- 
ern Boundary  on  Connecticut  River  "  which  was  reported  to 
the  New  York  Assembly,  unanimously  approved  March  8th, 
1773,  and  inserted  at  length  in  its  Journal,1  an  exhaustive  ab- 
stract and  history  of  all  the  claims  and  titles  of  all  the  parties 
to  the  controversy.  And  he,  John  Morin  Scott,  Philip  Schuy- 
ler, and  George  Clinton  were  the  strongest  advocates  for  the 
action  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  and  the  proclamation 
of  Tryon,  putting  a  price  cn  the  heads  of  Allen  and  the  other 
leaders  of  the  "  Green  Mountain  Boys." 

The  proper  name  of  the  third  of  Allen's  companions  was 
Remember  Baker,  not  Barker,  as  the  text  gives  it.  The 
movement  to  surprise  Ticonderoga  originated  with  some 
members  of  the  Connecticut  Assembly  in  April,  1775.  The 
project  was  communicated  to  the  Committee  of  Safety  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  where  the  American  army  then 
lay.  They  appointed  Benedict  Arnold  Colonel  and  Com- 
mander-in-Chief over  a  body  not  exceeding  400  men,  to  re- 
duce the  Fort. 

The  original  appointment,  or  commission,  to  Arnold,  and 
a  report  of  his  to  that  Committee,  of  the  14th  May,  1 775 ,  are 
here  given  from  the  original  MS.  in  the  possession  of  Jona- 
than Edwards,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  to  whose  courtesy  I  am 
indebted  for  their  examination. 

ARNOLD'S  APPOINTMENT. 

In  Committee  of  Safety,  ) 
Cambridge,  May  3,  1775.  J 

To  Benedict  Arnold,  Esq. ,  Commander  of  a  body  of  Troops  on  an 
expedition  to  subdue  &*  take  possession  of  the  Eort  op  Ticonde- 
roga : 

Sir  :  Confiding  in  your  Judgement,  fidelity  &  Valor,  we  do  by 
these  Presents  constitute  &  appoint  you  Colonel  and  Commander-in- 
Chief  over  a  Body  of  Men  not  exceeding  four  hundred,  to  proceed 
with  all  expedition  to  the  Western  parts  of  this  and  the  neighboring 
Colonies,  where  you  are  directed  to  enlist  those  Men  &  with  them 
forthwith  to  march  to  the  Fort  at  Tyconderoga  and  use  your  best  en- 

1  N.  Y.  Assembly  Journals,  1766-76,  January  Session,  1773,  p.  90. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


547 


deavor  to  reduce  the  same,  taking  possession  of  the  Cannon,  Mortars 
Stores,  and  also  the  vessel  and  the  other  Cannon  and  Stores  upon 
the  Lake  ;  you  are  to  bring  back  with  you  such  of  the  Cannon  and 
Mortars,  Stores,  &c,  as  you  shall  judge  may  be  serviceable  to  the 
Army  here,  leaving  behind  what  may  be  necessary  to  secure  the  Post 
with  a  sufficient  Garrison.  You  are  to  procure  suitable  Provisions 
and  Stores  for  the  Army,  and  draw  upon  the  Committee  of  Safety 
for  the  amount  thereof,  and  to  act  in  every  exigence  according  to 
your  best  skill  and  discretion  for  the  publick  interest — for  which  this 
shall  be  your  sufficient  Warrant. 

Benja.  Church,  Jun'r. 

Chairman  Com1  tee  of  Safety. 
By  Order,  William  Cooper,  Sec'y. 

ARNOLD'S  REPORT  OF  14  MAY. 

TIC,  14th  May,  1775. 
Gentlemen:  My  last  was  the  nth  instant,  per  express,  since 
which  a  party  of  men  have  seized  on  Crown  Point,  in  which  place 
took  eleven  prisoners  and  found  sixty-one  pieces  cannon  serviceable, 
and  the  others,  fifty-three  unserviceable.  I  ordered  a  party  to  Skenes- 
burg,  who  have  made  him  (Skene)  a  prisoner,  and  seized  a  small 
schooner  which  is  just  arrived  here.  I  intend  setting  out  directly  in 
her,  and  Samuel  Bates,  with  fifty  men.  to  take  possession  of  the 
sloop,  which  by  [a  few  words  are  here  unintelligible]  are  advised  is 
loaded  at  St.  John  with  provisions,  &c,  and  waiting  a  wind  for  this 
place.  Inclosed  is  a  list  of  cannon.  &c,  here,  not  so  Perfect  as  I 
could  wish. 

I  am  making  Provision  at  Fort  George  for  transporting  those  that 
will  be  serviceable  to  our  army  to  Albany.  I  have  ab't  100  men. 
and  expect  more  every  minute.  Mr.  Allen's  Party  is  decreasing,  and 
the  Dispute  between  us  is  subsiding.  1  am  extremely  sorry  matters 
have  not  been  transacted  with  more  prudence  and  judgment.  Have 
done  everything  in  my  power  |  here  follow  a  few  words  relating  to 
the  writer's  efforts  for  the  "Publick  Service,''  and  complaining  of  his 
having  been  "grossly  insulted,"  which  were  subsequently  erased]  to 
preserve  peace  have  put  up  with  every  insult  [word  torn  out]  and 
have  it  in  my  power  to  save  the  [word  lost]  I  hope  soon  to  be  re- 
lieved from  this  Trouble,  and  see  matters  on  a  solid  and  good  foun- 
dation here,  until  which,  and  I  receive  your  orders,  I  am  very  Re- 
spectfully, Gentn,  Your  Hble  Servt,  B.  Arnold. 

P.  S. — Since  writing  the  above,  Mr.  Roman  concludes  going  to 
Albany  to  forward  carriages  for  the  cannon,  previous  to  which  will 
be  soon  [word  torn  outj  I  beg  leave  to  observe  he  has  been  [words 
torn  out]  service  here.  I  think  him  a  very  [word  torn  out]  spirited 
gent'n,  who  has  the  service  at  heart,  and  hope  he  will  meet  with 
proper  encouragement.  B.  A. 


548 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


A  memorial  of  Samuel  Holden  Parsons,  presented  to  the 
Connecticut  Assembly  in  May,  1/77,  states  "  that  in  April, 
1775,  himself  together  with  Col.  Samuel  Wyllys,  Silas  Dean. 
Esq.,  and  others  did  undertake  surprising  and  seizing  the 
enemy's  fort  at  Ticonderoga,  without  the  knowledge  of  said 
Assembly,  and  for  that  purpose  took  a  quantity  of  money 
from  the  Treasury  and  gave  their  notes  and  receipts  for  said 
money,  all  which  had  been  expended  in  said  service  ;  and 
prayed  the  Assembly  to  cancel  said  notes  and  receipts  so 
given  to  the  Treasurer  which  amounted  to  the  sum  of  .£812 
(Connecticut  currency).  The  persons  who  signed  said  notes, 
&c.,were  said  Parsons,  Deane,  Wyllys,  Samuel  Bishop,  jr. , 
William  Williams,  Thomas  Mumford,  Adam  Babcock,  Joshua 
Porter,  Jesse  Root,  Ezekiel  Williams,  and  Charles  Webb  ; 
which  sum  was  directed  to  be  charged  over  to  the  General 
Government."  1  Sixteen  men  only  started  from  Connecticut 
on  the  expedition.  At  Pittsfield  in  Berkshire  County,  Mass- 
achusetts, they  were  joined  by  forty  or  fifty  more.  Thence 
they  marched  to  Bennington,  where  Allen,  Warner  and  Ba- 
ker with  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  of  the  "  Bennington 
Mob  "  or  "  Green  Mountain  Boys  "  united  with  them,  Allen 
insisting  on  having  the  command.  A  few  more  men  joined  at 
Castleton  where  they  arrived  on  the  seventh,  and  where  their 
organization  was  perfected.  Here,  too,  Arnold  joined  them, 
and  attempted  to  take  the  command  by  virtue  of  the  above 
commission,  but  Allen  violently  insisted  on  retaining  it,  and 
Arnold  sullenly  acquiesced.  Early  on  Sunday  morning,  the 
tenth  of  May,  1775,  Allen  with  eighty-three  men  only — all 
who  had  first  crossed  the  lake — surprised  and  took  the  Fort.' 

Allen'  did  not  believe  in  Christianity,  and  in  1774  pub- 

1  Hinman's  Historical  Records  of  Connecticut,  p.  31,  note. 
*  Rivington's  Gazette  of  May,  1775. 

3  Allen's  birth  and  his  non-religious  tenets  are  thus  stated  in  a  letter  by  his 
brother  Ira  :  "  Genl.  Ethan  Allen  was  Born  in  Litchfield  in  the  State  of  Connec- 
ticut, his  father  Jos-eph  Allen  was  born  in  Coventry,  his  Mother  Mary  Baker  — 
Born  in  Woodbury.  When  my  Brother  was  about  three  years  of  age  My  Father 
Moved  to  Cornwell  in  Connecticut.  My  Brother  had  just  began  to  Prepare  for 
College  when  my  Father  died  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  Ethan's  age,  the  circum- 
stances of  the  family  were  such  that  he  proceeded  no  further  in  his  studies.  My 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  549 

-» 

lished  at  Bennington,  a  volume  of  over  four  hundred  pages  in 
opposition  to  it,  entitled,  "  Reason  the  only  Oracle  of  Man  ; 
or,  a  Compenduous  System  of  Natural  Religion."  He  is 
stated  to  have  believed  in  the  Pythagorean  doctrine  of  a 
transmigration  of  souls,  and  to  have  said  that  he  expected  to 
live  again  as  a  large  white  horse.  Notwithstanding  his  non- 
belief  in  religion  he  attended  the  Presbyterian  meeting  house 
at  Bennington  the  Sunday  following  his  capture  of  Ticon- 
deroga.  The  clergyman  preceded  his  sermon  with  a  long 
prayer  giving  all  the  glory  of  the  exploit  to  the  God  of  Bat- 
tles. Allen's  idea  of  the  share  of  Providence  in  the  affair  was 
very  different.  He  kept  quiet  for  some  time,  but  at  last  gave 
way  to  his  feelings,  and  rising  up  exclaimed  :  "  Parson 
Dewey,  please  mention  the  fact  that  Ethan  Allen  was  there." 

Allen,  Baker  and  Warner  were  not  natives  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, as  the  author  states,  but  were  all  born  in  Connecticut, 
and  emigrated  to  New  Hampshire. 

At  Philadelphia,  on  May  1 8th,  1775,  the  "President  laid 
before  Congress  some  important  intelligence  he  received  last 
night  1  by  express,  relative  to  the  surprising  and  taking  of  Ti- 
conderoga  by  a  Detachment  from  Massachusetts  Bay  and  Con- 
necticut, which  was  read."  Brown,  the  "  Express,"  was  then 
called  in  and  questioned,  and  dismissed.  After  discussion  a 
resolution  was  passed  "  that  this  Congress  earnestly  recom- 
mend it  to  the  Committees  of  the  Cities  and  Counties  of  New 
York  and  Albany,  immediately  to  cause  the  said  cannon  and 
stores  to  be  removed  from  Ticonderoga  to  the  south  end  of 
Lake  George ;  and  if  necessary  to  apply  to  the  Colonies  of 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  Connecticut  for  such 
an  additional  body  of  forces  as  will  be  sufficient  to  establish  a 
Strong  Post  at  that  place,  and  effectually  to  secure  said  can- 
Father  was  of  the  Church  of  England.  Ethan  began  early  in  life  to  dispute  and 
argue  on  religious  matters,  after  an  acquaintance  with  Doct.  Thos.  Young  a  Deist. 
My  brother  embraced  the  same  sentiments." — Letter  of  Ira  Allen  to  Samuel 
Williams  of  jlune,  1 795,  Hist.  Mag.,  June,  1S6S,  p.  281.  An  essay  expressing 
modified  views  on  the  "  science  of  the  soul "  as  expounded  in  the  "  Oracles,"  writ- 
ten after  that  work  had  been  issued,  was  first  published  in  the  Hist.  Magazine,  111 
the  numbers  from  April  to  July,  1873,  from  Allen's  original  MS. 

1  It  then  took  seven  days  for  the  news  to  come  by  express  to  Philadelphia. 


55° 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


non  and  stores,  or  so  many  of  them  as  it  may  be  judged  proper 
to  keep  there.  And  that  an  exact  inventory  be  taken  of  all 
such  cannon  and  stores,  that  they  may  be  safely  returned 
when  the  restoration  of  the  former  Harmony  between  Great 
Britain  and  their  Colonies,  so  ardently  wished  for  by  the 
latter,  shall  render  it  prudent  and  consistent  with  the  over- 
riding law  of  self -preservation."  v  The  New  Englanders, 
however,  had  no  idea  of  obeying  the  Congress,  and  they  car- 
ried the  guns,  as  directed  in  Arnold's  "  appointment"  above 
given,  to  the  American  army  at  Boston. 

In  a  letter  from  Adiel  Sherwood  to  Gov.  Tilden  of  New 
York,  dated  "  Kirkwood,  Missouri,  near  St.  Louis,  July, 
1875,  and  endorsed  as  received  at  the  Executive  Depart- 
ment July  17th,  1875,  and  now  filed  in  Vol.  IV.  Miscellane- 
ous MSS.,  in  the  State  Library,  giving  accounts  of  revolution- 
ary incidents  he  had  collected  in  Northern  New  York  and 
elsewhere,  is  the  following  account  of  the  surprise  and  cap- 
ture of  Fort  William  Henry  at  the  head  of  Lake  George  by 
a  party  of  New  Yorkers.  It  is  not  mentioned  in  any  history, 
and  may  explain  the  reason  why  Congress  ordered  there  the 
captured  cannon  of  Fort  Ticonderoga. 

"  About  the  time  that  Ethan  Allen  took  Ticonderoga,  a  company 
of  some  ten  men  in  the  garb  of  hunters,  commanded  by  Captain 
Pitcher,  the  father  of  Gov.  Nathaniel  Pitcher,  and  Samuel  Parks  as 
Lieutenant,  captured  Fort  Win.  Henry  at  the  head  of  Lake  George. 
Only  4  or  5  men  were  in  the  Fort,  and  the  object  of  the  Americans 
was  not  suspected.  These  facts  I  had  from  Gov.  Pitcher  in  1835, 
also  from  Mr.  Parkes,  who  resided  in  Saratoga  Co.  just  opposite 
Sandy  Hill." 

The  original  Fort  William  Henry  was  demolished  by 
Montcalm  after  he  captured  it  in  1757,  and  never  rebuilt. 
Fort  George,  built  in  its  stead  afterwards  by  the  English  on 
the  rising  ground  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  old  site,  was,  and 
is,  often  called  "  William  Henry,"  by  mistake,  and  is  doubt- 
less the  fort  so  called  in  the  above  account. 

Governor  Nathaniel  Pitcher,  of  New  York,  the  authority 
for  the  above  account,  was  in  the  New  York  Assembly,  1806, 


'Journals  of  Congress,  1774  to  1775,  p.  103. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


551 


r$*i5,  and  1817;  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1 82 1 . 
He  was  elected  Lieut. -Governor  in  1826,  and  succeeded  to 
the  Governorship  on  the  death  of  DcWitt  Clinton,  February 
1 1,  1828,  and  held  the  office  for  the  unexpired  term.  He  was 
in  the  United  States  Congress  from  1814  to  1823,  and  from 
1831  to  1833,  and  died  at  Sandy  Hill,  Washington  Co.,  N.  Y., 
25th  May,  1836,  aged  59. — Hough's  Am.  Biog.  Notes,  p.  326. 


NOTE    XXI . 

LEXINGTON  AND  BUNKER'S  HILL. —HARRINGTON'S  ACCOUNT 
OF  THE  FORMER,  AND  BURGOYNE'S  VIEWS  OF  THE 
LATTER. 

Volume  I.,  page  39,  and  page  51. 

The  author's  brief  account  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  on 
page  39,  agrees  generally  with  the  affidavits  of  eye-witnesses 
taken  during  the  week  following  the  event,  by  order  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  and  forwarded  to  the 
Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  and  printed  in  their  Jour- 
nals for  1774-75,  pp.  81-95,  except  in  saying  that  the  British 
were  first  attacked,  which  was  not  the  case.  Simon  YVinship, 
one  of  the  affiants,  swears  that  he  was  stopped  by  the  troops 
in  the  road,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  Meeting-House 
and  Green,  and  compelled  to  dismount,  and  march  with  the 
troops,  "  and,"  in  his  own  words,  "  that  he  marched  with  said 
troops  till  he  came  within  about  half  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of 
said  Meeting-House,  where  an  officer  commanded  the  troops 
to  halt,  and  then  to  prime  and  load.  This  being  done  the 
said  troops  marched  on  till  they  came  within  a  few  rods  of 
Captain  Parker's  company,  who  were  partly  collected  on  the 
place  of  parade,  when  said  YVinship  observed  an  officer  at 
the  head  of  said  troops  flourishing  his  sword  and  with  a  loud 
voice  giving  the  word,  fire,  fire,  which  was  instantly  followed 
by  a  discharge  of  arms  from  said  regular  troops,  and  said 
Winship  is  positive,  and  in  the  most  solemn  manner  de- 


552 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


clares,  that  there  was  no  discharge  of  arms  on  either  side 
till  the  word,  fire,  was  given  by  said  officer  as  above. 

"  Simon  Winship."  1  , 

In  1844,  the  writer  of  this  note,  then  a  student  of  the  Dane 
Law  School  of  Harvard  University,  at  Cambridge,  with  a 
fellow  student,  Mr.  Cantwell  of  South  Carolina,  visited  Lex- 
ington and  saw  there,  at  his  own  house,  in  the  main  street  of 
Lexington,  the  very  road  by  which  the  British  troops  came 
and  went,  Harrington,  the  last  survivor  of  Parker's  Company 
present  at  the  time  of  the  battle.  He  was  in  good  health  of 
body  and  mind.  He  said  he  was  present ;  that  he  was  the 
fifer  of  the  company,  and  stood  at  one  end  of  the  line  and 
Parker  near  the  other,  when  the  British  came  up  ;  that  they 
were  drawn  up  on  the  Green,  about  where  the  monument 
now  stands,  in  two  ranks,  and  stood  obliquely  to  the  road, 
Parker  being  nearest  to  it ;  that  the  officer  in  command  of  the 
British  rode  up  and  ordered  them  to  disperse  instantly  ;  that 
they  stood  still,  Parker  making  no  reply  ;  that  the  order  was 
given  a  second  time  to  disperse  ;  that  they  still  stood  still  in 
silence.  Then  the  order  to  fire  was  given  and  obeyed,  upon 
which,  in  his  own  words,  "  we  all  turned  and  ran  away,  and 
I  believe  they  fired  over  our  heads  on  purpose  for  none  of  us 
were  hit ;  "  that  the  officer  instantly  cried  out,  fire  at  them, 
fire  at  them.  When  the  second  fire  was  given  two  or  three 
towards  the  end  of  the  Green  were  shot.  He  also  said  that 
not  over  35  or  40  men  were  drawn  up  under  Parker,  and  that 
more  were  killed  in  Lexington  during  the  attack  on  the  Brit- 
ish, on  their  return  through  it  from  Concord,  than  were  killed 
in  the  morning. 

Such  was  the  story  as  Harrington  gave  it,  and  as  such  it  is 
here  given.  At  the  time  of  the  interview  the  writer  had  never 
seen  the  affidavits  trtken  just  after  the  battle,  and  did  not  know 
they  existed,  and  Harrington  did  not  refer  to  them.  His  name 
appears  as  one  of  thirty-four  who  make  an  affidavit  that  their 
company  were  called  out  at  two  in  the  morning,  but  "  were 
dismissed  by  our  Captain,  John  Parker,  for  the  present,  with 

'  Journals  of  Congress,  1774-75,  P-  86- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


553 


orders  to  attend  at  the  beat  of  the  drum.  We  further  testify 
and  declare  that  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  hearing 
our  drum  beat,  we  proceeded  towards  the  parade,  and  soon 
found  that  a  large  body  of  troops  were  marching  towards  us. 
Some  of  our  Company  were  coming  up  the  parade,  and 
others  had  reached  it,  at  which  time  the  Company  began  to 
disperse.  Whilst  our  backs  were  turned  on  the  troops  we 
were  fired  on  by  them,  and  a  number  of  our  men  were  in- 
stantly killed  and  wounded.  Not  a  gun  was  fired  by  any  per- 
son in  our  Company  on  the  Regulars,  to  our  knowledge,  before 
they  fired  on  us ;  and  they  continued  firing  till  we  all  made 
our  escape. 

Signed  by  each  of  the  above  deponents. 1 

Lexington  and  Bunker's  Hill  were  the  first  battles  in  which 
Englishmen  fought  with  Englishmen  since  Edgehill  in  the 
time  of  Charles  the  First.  And  both  sides  found  that  Anglo- 
Saxon  courage  and  Anglo-Saxon  endurance  flourished  as 
vigorously  in  the  new  world  as  in  the  old.  Referring  to  Lex- 
ington, Lord  Albemarle,  in  his  Life  of  Lord  Rocki7igharn , 
well  says  :  "  More  than  a  century  and  a  half  had  elapsed 
since  Englishmen  had  met  Englishmen  in  a  war  embrace. 
In  both  places,  Edgehill  as  at  Lexington,  the  aggressions  of 
prerogative  were  the  original  cause  of  feud.  In  both  cases  a 
great  experiment  was  put  to  the  issue,  whether  individual  or 
national  will  should  prevail.  In  both,  a  controversy  which,  a 
few  months  earlier,  reason  and  moderation  would  have  ad- 
justed, was  determined  by  the  fierce  tribunal  of  war  ;  and  in 
both  cases,  jealousy  and  memory  of  wrong  done,  cut  the  ties, 
and  marred  the  features  of  natural  brotherhood." 

A  few  days  after  Bunker's  Hill,  Gen.  Burgoyne  wrote  Lord 
Rochfort,  then  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  and  a 
personal  friend,  a  long  letter  (given  at  length  by  de  Fon- 
blanque,  in  his  Political  and  Military  Episodes  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  derived  from  the  Life  and 
Correspondence  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  John  Burgoyne,  published  in 

1  Journals  of  Congress,  1774-75,  p.  88. 


554- 


IIISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


1876,)  in  which  he  speaks  of  these  two  battles  in  this  lan 

guage : 

"It  is  not  therefore  from  the  principle  of  the  measure  of  the  19th 
of  April,  but  from  the  plan  of  the  execution,  and  the  want  of  pre- 
paration for  the  consequences,  that  I  think  may  be  derived  great 
part  of  the  perplexity  and  disgrace  which  followed."  *  *  *  "At 
last,  the  enemy  advanced  works  upon  the  height  which  commands 
the  town  and  harbor ;  and  there  seemed  to  want  only  the  opening 
of  batteries  to  produce  a  more  singular  and  shameful  event  than  can 
be  found  in  the  history  of  the  world — a  paltry  skirmish  (for  the  af- 
fair of  the  19th  of  April  was  no  more)  inducing  circumstances  as 
rapid  and  as  decisive  as  the  battle  of  Pharsalia,  and  the  colours  of 
a  fleet  and  army  of  Great  Britain,  not  wrested  from  us,  but  without  a 
conflict  kicked  out  of  America."  *  *  *  "  Turn  your  eyes  first,  my 
lord,  to  the  behaviour  of  the  enemy.  The  defence  was  well  con- 
ceived and  obstinately  maintained  ;  the  retreat  was  no  flight  ;  it  was 
even  covered  with  bravery  and  military  skill,  and  proceeded  no  far- 
ther than  the  next  hill,  when  a  new  post  was  taken,  new  intrench- 
ments  instantly  begun,  and  their  numbers  affording  constant  reliefs 
of  workmen,  they  have  been  continued  day  and  night  ever  since. 

View  now,  my  lord,  the  side  of  victory  ;  and  first  the  lists  of 
killed  and  wounded.  If  fairly  given  it  amounts  to  no  less  than 
ninety-two  officers,  many  of  them  an  irreparable  loss — a  melancholy 
disproportion  to  the  numbers  of  the  private  soldiers — and  there  is  a 
melancholy  reason  for  it :  Though  my  letter  passes  in  security,  I 
tremble  while  I  write  it ;  and  let  it  not  pass  even  in  a  whisper  from 
your  Lordship  to  more  than  one  person  ; 1  the  zeal  and  intrepidity  of 
the  officers,  which  was  without  exception  exemplary,  was  ill-seconded 
by  the  private  men.  Discipline,  not  to  say  courage,  was  wanting.  In 
the  critical  moment  of  carrying  the  redoubt,  the  officers  of  some  corps 
were  left  almost  alone  ;  and  what  was  the  worst  part  of  the  confusion 
of  these  corps — all  the  wounds  of  the  officers  were  not  received 
from  the  enemy.  I  do  not  mean  to  convey  any  suspicion  of  back- 
wardness in  the  cause  of  the  Government  among  the  soldiery,  which 
ignorant  people  in  England  are  apt  to  imagine  ;  and  as  little  would 
1  be  understood  to  imply  any  dislike,  or  ill-will,  to  the  officers.  I 
believe  the  men  attached  to  their  regiments  and  exasperated  against 
the  enemy — that  there  has  not  been  a  desertion  since  the  19th  of 
April  is  a  proof  of  it — I  only  mean  to  represent  that  the  men  in  the 
defective  corps  being  ill-grounded  in  the  great  points  of  discipline, 
and  the  men  in  all  the  corps  having  twice  felt  their  enemy  to  be 
more  formidable  than  they  expected,  it  will  require  some  training 
under  such  generals  as  Howe  and  Clinton  before  they  can  prudently 
be  intrusted  in  many  exploits  against  such  odds  as  the  conduct  and 
spirit  of  the  leaders  enabled  them  in  this  instance  to  overcome."  s 

1  Query,  the  King  or  Lord  North  ? — Ed. 
s  De  Foublanque's  Burgoyne.    pp.  143-7. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


555 


NOTE  XXII. 

INIQUITIES  AND  PLUNDERINGS  OF  BRITISH  MILITARY  OFFI- 
CIALS BEFORE  AND  AT  THE  EVACUATION  OF  BOSTON. 

Volume  I. ,  page  54. 

BuRGOYNE's  letter  to  a  friend  (not  named)  of  Sept.  2d, 
177S>1  complains  bitterly  of  the  inefficiency  or  worse  of  the 
quarter-master,  adjutant-general's  department,  and  says  that 
"  °f  £S°<000  that  General  Gage  was  officially  informed  was 
issued,"  he  received  but  £10,000.  "  Not  a  guinea  more  is 
come.  In  what  contractor  or  clerk's  hands  is  the  interest  of 
that  sum  ?  " 

In  a  previous  letter  to  Lord  Rochfort  written  in  July,* 
speaking  of  the  proposed  evacuation  of  Boston,  he  says, 
"  The  execution  of  the  measure  would  demand  great  fore- 
sight, secrecy  and  other  management.  The  inhabitants 
friends  to  the  Government  must  not  be  left  behind  ;  they 
would  require  a  vast  quantity  of  shipping.  The  merchandise 
in  the  town,  great  part  of  which  belongs  to  absentees,  and 
ought  to  be  confiscated,  amounts,  I  am  told,  to  £300,000. 
That  deposit  ought  surely  to  be  detained  ;  to  preserve  it  to 
the  proprietors,  if  innocent,  to  the  public,  where  these  should 
be  guilty  ;  and  from  the  use  of  the  enemy  in  both  cases." 


NOTE  XXIII. 

THE  DOUBLE  RECEPTION  OF  WASHINGTON  AND  TRYON  ON 
THE  25TH  JUNE,  1775,  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  NEW  YORK 
PROVINCIAL  CONGRESS. 

Volume  I.,  pages  55  and  56. 

The  following  official  proceedings  from  the  Journals  of  the 

1  De  Fonblanques's  Political  and  Military  Episodes  from  Burgoyne's  Corre- 
spondence, p.  203. 
-  Ibid.,  181. 


556 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Provincial  Congress  of  New  York,  vol.  I.,  p.  54,  shows  the 
extraordinary  action  related  in  the  text. 

June  25th,  1775. 

The  Congress  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 
Opened  with  prayers  by  the  Revd.  Mr.  Inglis. 
Present. — Peter  van  Brugh  Livingston,  Esq.,  President. 
List  of  the  Members  was  not  called. 

A  letter  from  General  Schuyler,  dated  at  New  Brunswick,  June 
24th,  1775,  informing  this  Congress  that  General  Washington,  with 
his  retinue,  would  be  at  Newark  this  morning,  and  requesting  this 
Congress  to  send  some  of  its  members  to  meet  him  there,  and  ad- 
vise the  most  proper  place  to  cross  Hudson's  River  in  his  way  to 
New  York. 

Ordered,  That  Messrs.  Thos.  Smith,  Hobart,  Morris,  and  Mont- 
gomerie,  go  immediately  to  Newark  and  recommend  to  General 
Washington  the  place  that  they  shall  think  most  prudent  for  him  to 
cross  at. 

And  information  being  received  that  Governor  Tryon  is  at  the 
Hook,  and  will  land  at  about  one  o'clock,  Colo.  Lasher  was  called  in 
and  requested  to  send  one  company  of  the  militia  to  Powle's  Hook 
to  meet  the  Generals. 

That  he  have  another  company  this  side  [of]  the  ferry  for  the 
same  purpose  ;  that  he  have  the  residue  of  his  battalion  ready  to  re- 
ceive either  the  Generals  or  Governor  Tryon,  whichever  shall  first 
arrive,  and  to  wait  on  both  as  well  as  circumstances  will  allow. 

The  address  of  the  Provincial  Congress  to  Washington, 
probably  drafted  by  Gouverneur  Morris,  was  presented  by 
him  and  Isaac  Low,  on  the  26th,  and  a  copy  of  Washington's 
reply  was,  as  the  record  has  it,  "  obtained  to  prevent  mis- 
takes," and  entered  on  the  Journal  and  ordered  published  the 
same  afternoon.1 


NOTE  XXIV. 

THE   COUSINSHIP   OF   SCHUYLER   AND    WILLIAM    SMITH  A 
MISTAKE. — TRYON  AND  SCHUYLER. 

Volume  I. ,  page  58. 

THE  author  is  mistaken  if  he  means  that  Schuyler  and 
Smith  were  cousins  by  blood,  for  they  were  not;  but  there 

1  Journals  Prov.  Congress,  pp.  55,  56. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


557 


■was,  it  is  believed,  a  remote  connexion  between  their  re- 
spective wives.  They  were,  however,  intimate  and  lifelong 
friends.  Tryon  had  rather  favored  the  Livingston  party  in 
the  politics  of  New  York  and  promoted  Schuyler's  political 
interest.  He  had  also  sent  him  on  a  mission  to  Boston  rela- 
tive to  the  New  Hampshire  controversy,  upon  which  he  was 
accompanied  by  Mrs.  Schuyler,  and  met  with  marked  atten- 
tion from  Governor  Hutchinson. 


NOTE  XXV. 

SEARS  AND  THE  SUPPLIES  SENT  TO  GENERAL  GAGE  FROM 
NEW  YORK. 

Volume  I.,  page  58,  note. 

Sears's  business  was  trading  by  sea  to  Boston  and  other 
places.  Paschal  N.  Smith,  his  son-in-law,  commanded  the  ves- 
sel. There  was  no  objection  made  to  any  trading,  till  April, 
1775,  when  it  began  with  opposition  to  sending  nails,  boards, 
and  plank, — not  provisions.  After  Bunker's  Hill,  the  only 
supplies  received  in  Boston  were  by  sea,  and  the  coasting 
trade  was  the  sole  reliance  of  the  inhabitants  for  sustenance, 
except  what  could  be  spared  from  the  supplies  sent  from 
England  for  the  army.  The  following  address  of  Ralph 
Thurman,  and  affidavit  of  Sears  and  Smith,  shed  light  on 
this  subject.  The  paper  which  Thurman  discusses  bearing  no 
signature,  except  "  By  order  of  the  meeting,"  was  dated 
April  13,  1775  ;  his  address  is  dated  April  15th.  The  result 
of  such  a  public  notice  by  him  of  the  fact  referred  to  in  the 
author's  note  on  page  58,  was  an  excitement  which  caused 
Sears  and  Smith  to  issue  an  affidavit  in  the  form  of  a  placard 
dated  the  17th  of  April,  denying  the  charge  on  oath.  All 
three  papers  were  issued  as  placards,  and  the  originals  are  in 
Vol.  I.  of  Broadsides,  in  the  New  York  Historical  Society. 
The  first  is  so  fully  set  forth  in  Thurman's  address  that  it  is 
not  necessary  to  give  it  in  full. 


558 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


[Thurnian's  Address.] 

TO  THE  INHABITANTS  OF  THE  CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Friends  and  Fellow  Citizens, 

A  Paper  addressed  to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  City  and  County  of 
New  York,  dated  the  13th  Instant,  in  which  the  Sin  of  Messrs. 
[/sticks  selling  nails,  is  declared  supplying  General  Gage  and  the 
Army  carrying  on  the  Siege  of  Boston,  with  implements  of  war; 
(such  a  Farce)  said  to  be  published  by  Order  of  a  Meeting  of  a 
Number  of  Freemen,  Freeholders,  Merchants  and  others,  met  at  the 
Widow  Van  De  Water 's,  to  devise  the  most  prudent  and  efficacious 
means  for  averting  the  impending  Ruin  that  such  a  Conduct  must 
inevitably  involve  us  in,  and  to  the  eternal  Reproach  of  the  Commu- 
nity. Such  Meetings  I  think  are  a  Reproach  to  the  Community  and 
an  Insult  to  the  present  Committee.1 

After  which  Boards  and  Straw  are  declared  Implements  of  War  ; 
and  that  Robert  Harding  and  Ralph  Thurman  are  employed  to  fur- 
nish the  aforesaid  Articles.  Then  comes  an  Invitation  to  the  Free- 
men, Freeholders  and  other  Inhabitants  of  the  City  and  County,  to 
meet  at  6  o'clock  this  Evening,  at  the  Liberty  Pole,  in  order  to  sig- 
nify their  Sense  on  the  present  Occasion.  I  am  informed  Isaac 
Sears,  Alexander  McDougal,  and  Marinus  Willett  were  the  chief 
Speakers  at  this  Meeting  ;  that  King  Sears  desired  they  would  arm, 
and  have  twenty-four  rounds,  (this  Son  of  Thunder  makes  a  terrible 
Roaring)  ;  Mr.  McDougall  advised  milder  Measures,  that  the  Mouths 
of  their  Persecutors  might  be  closed  ;  who  this  great  Orator  meant 
by  their  Persecutors  is  not  clear  ;  but  clear  it  is  to  me,  those  Enemies 
to  Peace  and  good  Order  shall  not  rule  over  me ;  1  despise  their 
Threats,  and  if  the  Civil  Authority  of  this  City  will  not  keep  the 
Peace  and  good  Order  thereof,  and  restrain  the  licentious  Spirit  of 
those  arbitrary  Sons  of  Discord,  I  am  determined  to  do  Justice  to 
Liberty  ;  I  will  die  in  her  Cause,  as  I  would  wish  and  hope  every 
brave  American  would  do.  He  that  will  not  defend  his  personal 
Safety,  and  that  Liberty  which  the  Laws  of  Society  secure  to  him,  is 
unworthy  of  her  Blessings. 

The  Falsehoods  contained  in  this  anonymous  Paper,  are  not  worth 
refuting  ;  nor  shall  I  accuse  King  Sears,  or  his  son  Paschal  Smith, 
with  supplying  the  Troops  with  Provisions  ;  yet  cannot  doubt  if  any 
other  Person  was  to  do  it,  they  would  make  it  an  Implement  of  War, 
and  declare  them  Enemies  to  their  Country. 

It  is  my  earnest  Request  to  the  good  Inhabitants  of  the  City  and 
County  of  New  York,  that  should  this  King  head  a  Party,  to  visit  my 
House  at  Night,  they  will  not  mix  with  them  :  I  shall  defend  my 
House,  as  I  would  the  Liberties  of  my  Country,  as  long  as  Life  re- 
mains. 

Ralph  Thurman. 

April  15,  1775. 

Printed  by  James  Rivington. 
1  Of  Fifty-one. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


559 


[Affidavit  of  Sears  &  Smith.] 

City  of  > 
New  York,  j 

Personally  appeared  before  me  Benjamin  Blagge,  one  of  his  Maj- 
esty's Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  City  and  County  of  New  York, 
Isaac  Sears,  and  Paschal  N.  Smith,  of  the  said  City,  Merchants,  who 
being  severally  sworn,  depose  and  say,  that  since  the  shutting  up  of 
the  Port  of  Boston,  neither  of  them  have,  directly  or  indirectly,  nor 
any  other  Person  for  or  under  them,  supplied,  or  caused  to  be  sup- 
plied the  Army  at  Boston,  with  any  Manner  or  Kind  of  Provisions 
whatsoever;  and  that  neither  of  them  have  received,  nor  in  future 
expect  to  receive  any  kind  of  Emolument  or  Advantage  in  any  Re- 
spect, from  the  Flour,  Pease,  and  other  Provisions  shipped  for  the 
Use  of  the  Army  at  Boston,  since  the  shutting  up  of  the  said  Port 
of  Boston. 


Isaac  Sears, 
Paschal  N.  Smith. 


Sworn  this  17th  of  April,  1775,  before  me 

B.  Blagge. 


NOTE  XXVI. 

THE  INFORMATION  FROM  EGBERT  DUMOND  WHICH  CAUSED 
GOVERNOR  TRYON  TO  TAKE  REFUGE  ON  BOARD  SHIP. 

Volume  /.,  page  61. 

On  the  12th  Oct.,  1775,  a  letter  and  several  enclosures  from 
John  Hancock,  President  of  the  Continental  Congress,  were 
read  in  the  New  York  Provincial  Congress.  One  of  the  lat- 
ter was  this  resolution  : 

"  On  motion  made, 

"Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  several  Provincial  As- 
semblies, or  Conventions,  and  Councils,  or  Committees  of  Safety,  to 
arrest  and  secure  every  person  in  their  respective  Colonies  who  is 
going  at  large,  as  may  in  their  opinion  endanger  the  safety  of  the 
Colonies  or  the  liberties  of  America. 

"A  true  copy  from  the  minutes. 

M  Charles  Thompson,  Secy. 
"  To  be  kept  as  secret  as  its  nature  will  admit." 


560 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Another  enclosure  was  an  "  Extract  from  a  letter  from  Lon- 
don, Aug.,  1775,"  giving  a  resume  of  a  plan  for  the  Cam- 
paign of  1775,  said  to  have  been  given  by  Tryon  to  the  Min- 
istry when  in  England,  and  closing  with  this  phrase:  "It 
would  be  a  capital  stroke  to  get  possession  of  Tryon's  per- 
son." 1  Dumond  sent  copies  of  these  papers  to  Tryon,  who 
after  a  correspondence  with  the  Mayor,  Whitehead  Hicks,  in 
which  he  vainly  endeavoured  to  obtain  a  pledge  or  assurance 
of  protection  from  the  Corporation  and  citizens,  on  the  19th 
of  October  removed  on  board  the  "Halifax,"3  Packet  ship, 
"  where,"  as  he  informs  the  Mayor  the  same  day,  "  I  shall  be 
ready  to  do  such  business  of  the  Country  as  the  situation  of 
the  Times  will  permit."3  On  the  30th  of  October  he  re- 
moved to  the  ship  "Duchess  of  Gordon,"  lying  under  the 
protecting  guns  of  the  Asia,  man-of-war.  "This  measure, 
though  expensive,  was  necessary,"  he  tells  Lord  Dartmouth 
on  Nov.  11,  1775/  "  as  I  could  not  have  kept  up  any  com- 
munication with  the  country  had  I  gone  on  board  the  Asia 
Man-of-war.  Whereas  in  the  present  situation  the  Friends  of 
Government  freely  come  to  me."  At  the  same  time  he  en- 
closed him  a  copy  of  the  "  Extract  of  a  letter  from  London 
Aug.,  1775,"  above  mentioned,  with  this  significant  remark, 
referring  to  its  reception  :  "  The  paper  marked  A,  was  re- 
ceived from  the  Fountain-Head,  and  was  the  ground  of  my 
subsequent  conduct  in  removing  on  board  the  Packet.''  4 

From  October,  1775,  until  the  occupation  of  New  York 
after  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  in  September,  1776,  when 
British  civil  rule  was  superseded  by  British  Military  rule, 
Governor  Tryon  remained,  and  the  Council  of  the  Province 
held  its  sessions,  on  board  the  ship  Duchess  of  Gordon. 

'Journal  Prov.  Congress,  pp.  172,  173. 

*  Not  the  Asia,  as  the  text  states,  though  the  Asia  was  then  the  protecting  man- 
of-war  in  the  harbor. 

3  See  the  Correspondence,  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  Vol  VIII.,  pp.  638-641. 

4  Ibid.  643. 

5  Ibid.  644. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  501 


NOTE  XXVII. 

SEARS  AND  RIVINGTON— CONCERNING  THE  LIBERTY  OF 
THE  PRESS— WHY  THE  FORMER  DESTROYED  THE  LAT- 
TER'S  PRINTING  HOUSE  ;  AND  HOW  SAMUEL  LOUDON 
BECAME  THE  FIRST  "STATE  PRINTER"  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Volume  I.,  pages  65-66. 

Sears's  animosity  to  Rivington  was  of  long  standing.  The 
following  documents  explain  the  cause  of  his  violence  and  de- 
sire for  the  vengeance  he  inflicted  upon  him  as  described  in 
the  text,  as  soon  as  he  had  the  opportunity  and  the  power. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Seabury  was  one  of  the  strongest  writers  in 
Rivington's  paper,  and  Underbill  and  Fowler  were  among 
Seabury's  warm  friends.  The  power  of  the  paper  was  very 
great,  and  its  very  extraordinary  circulation  for  that  period 
is  shown  by  the  following  notice  which  appears  in  Riving- 
ton s  N.  Y.  Gazetteer  for  Oct.  13,  1774,  No.  78  : 

J^f^The  weekly  impression  of  this  Gazetteer  is  lately  increased 
to  three  thousand  six  hundred,  a  number  far  beyond  the  most 
sanguine  expectations  of  the  Printer's  warmest  friends;  as  the 
presses  of  very  few,  if  any  of  his  brethren,  including  those  of  Great 
Britain,  exceed  it.  This  paper  is  constantly  distributed  thro'  every 
colony  of  North  America,  most  of  the  English,  French,  Spanish, 
Dutch,  and  Danish,  West  India  Islands,  the  principal  cities  and 
towns  of  Great  Britain.  France,  Ireland,  and  in  the  Mediterranean. 
Such  an  extensive  circulation  fully  evinces  the  great  advantage  found 
by  every  one  who  sends  advertisements  to  be  published  in  it.  And 
whilst  the  printer  continues  to  do  ample  justice  to  all  opinions  in  the 
unhappy  dispute  with  the  mother  country,  he  doubts  not  of  being 
honored  with  the  unremitted  approbation  and  patronage  of  all  those 
whom  it  is  his  highest  ambition  to  please.  The  subscribers  acquired 
by  him  since  the  9th  of  June  last,  amount  to  upwards  of  five  hundred, 
after  allowing  for  every  one  who,  by  death  or  other  causes,  has 
diminished  the  number;  for  which,  and  every  other  instance  of  the 
public  favour,  he  takes  this  oppotunity  of  fervently  expressing  his 
grateful  acknowledgements. 

j.  R. 

36 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


From'  Rivillgtoris  New  York  Gazetteer,  &>c,  for  Aug.  18,  1774, 

No.  70. 

Extract  of  a  Letter1  from  "A  Merchant  of  New  York,  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence  for  the  Town  of  Hartford  in  Connec- 
ticut." 

But  hitherto  I  have  given  you  no  sufficient  reasons  for  the  silence 
of  our  Committee,  and  lest  you  should  attribute  it  to  the  conse- 
quence of  the  threats  you  have  bestowed  upon  them,  I  must  inform 
you,  that  they  would  not  even  suffer  your  letter  to  be  read  before 
them  ;  to  account  for  this  I  must  call  your  attention  back  to  the 
superscription.  We  could  not  boast  of  more  than  one  Sir  Francis 
Wrongkead  in  this  city,  and  you  have  found  him  out ;  and  to  this 
alone  was  owing  the  uncommon  disgrace  that  befell  your  epistle. 
This  quidnunc  in  politicks,  who  is  forever  thrusting  himself  forward 
as  a  person  of  the  greatest  consequence,  without  sense  to  observe  the 
ridiculous  appearance  he  puts  on,  and  without  penetration  enough  to 
discover  that  he  is  the  butt  of  every  pony  jester,  and  the  laughing- 
stock of  the  whole  town  ;  this  profound  politician  being  possessed  of 
your  letter,  which  he  knew  ought  to  have  been  directed  to  the  Chair- 
man, and  could  not  otherwise  be  received  by  the  Committee,  might 
either  have  suppressed  the  letter,  or  have  informed  you  of  the  mis- 
take ;  but  then  he  would  have  acted  consistently,  which  is  more  than 
his  enemies  could  ever  lay  to  his  charge.  To  attempt  this  man's 
character  would  be  undertaking  a  task  too  difficult,  since  it  presents 
you  with  nothing  but  a  continued  chain  of  absurdities. 

He  would  appear  as  a  leading  man  amongst  us,  without  perceiving 
that  he  is  enlisted  under  a  party  as  a  tool  of  the  lowest  order  ;  a  po- 
litical cracker,  sent  abroad  to  alarm  and  terrify,  sure  to  do  mischief 
to  the  cause  he  means  to  support,  and  generally  finishing  his  career 
in  an  explosion  that  often  bespatters  his  friends. 

I  have  known  a  Statute  of  Lunacy  taken  out,  upon  a  degree  of 
conduct  less  exceptionable  than  this  I  have  described  :  If  the  rela- 
tions of  our  politician,  should  find  his  estate  wasted  by  means  of  his 
patriotism,  and  they  choose  to  improve  upon  this  hint,  1  assure  them, 
it  is  heartily  at  their  service. 

A  Merchant  of  New  York. 

New  York,  Aug.  15. 


From  Rivinglon's  Ne7u  York  Gazetteer ;  or,  Connecticut,  Hudson's 
River,  New  Jersey,  and  Quebeck  Weekly  Advertiser.  September 
2,  1774- 

The  writer  of  two  of  the  following  letters,  by  giving  me  permission 
to  print  the  last,  seems  to  intimate  a  desire  of  laying  the  'whole  be- 
fore the  public.    I  have  no  objection  to  such  a  proposal  ;  it  is  a 

1  The  letter  was  directed  to  I  c  S  s,  Esq. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  563 

Tribunal,  to  which  I  am  ever  ready  to  submit  my  conduct :  my  only 
request  is,  that  judgment  may  be  suspended  until  a  reply  appears, 
which  for  want  of  room  must  be  deferred  till  next  week. 

James  Rivington. 

Sir, 

Personal  abuse  has  no  tendency  to  advance  the  interest  of  the 
Community  and  therefore  the  most  strenuous  advocates  for  the  Lib- 
erty of  the  Press  have  not  contended  for  that  Licence. 

I  was  therefore  Greatly  Surprised  at  the  illiberal  and  Unprovoked 
abuse,  which  you  inserted  against  me  in  Your  Gazetteer  of  the  i8ih 
Instant,  under  the  signature  of  a  Merchant  of  New  York.  You 
Cannot  hope  such  treatment  will  pass  unnoticed.  The  true  &  salu- 
tary Liberty  of  the  Press  is  not  Concerned  and,  therefore  I  shall  be 
glad  to  Know  without  dilay  my  abuser,  the  merchant  of  new  york  or 
shall  Consider  you  the  Author  and  do  myself  Justice. 

I  am  Sir, 

Fryday  26th  Aug.  your  hume.  Servt. 

10  o'clock.  Isaac  Sears. 

To  Mr.  James  Rivington  present. 

New  York,  August  27,  1774. 

Sir, 

After  having  been  concerned  so  many  years  in  conducting  a  news- 
paper, it  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  now  be  told  what  belongs  to 
the  liberty  of  the  press  ;  and  if  you  will  be  at  the  trouble  of  inspect- 
ing a  few  of  the  English  news  papers,  or  those  printed  at  Boston, 
Philadelphia,  and  in  this  City,  you  will  find  the  first  characters  in  his 
Majesty's  dominions  are  treated  with  greater  freedoms  than  any  you 
can  discover  in  the  piece,  which,  with  so  much  unnecessary  and 
forcible  construction  you  have  applied  to  yourself. 

Conscious  of  having  done  nothing  but  what  is  warranted  by  my 
profession,  I  make  no  hesitation  in  refusing  to  deliver  up  any  author, 
without  his  permission,  and  I  am  ready  to  defend  the  freedom  of  the 
press,  whenever  attacked  in  my  person. 

James  Rivington. 

Mr.  Isaac  Sears. 
Sir, 

After  having  published  in  your  paper  of  the  iSth  Instant,  a  piece, 
wherein  the  authors  intentions  of  mischief  to  the  Publick,  and  of 
Injury  to  me  are  Equally  conspicuous,  I  find  your  Letter,  in  answer 
to  my  demand  of  the  author,  that  you  refuse  to  Discover  him  and 
intend  to  screen  him  and  your  Self  from  the  effects  of  Just  resent- 
ments, by  Sculking  behind  your  press,  and  pleading  its  Liberty,  the 
Limets  of  which  you  Boastingly  pretend  to  be  well  acquainted  with. 
However  well  satisfied  you  may  be  with  your  own  abilities  in  that 
respect,  it  is  probable  you  will  not  find  many  with  whom  you  may 


5<H 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


presufne  to  take  such  Liberties  as  you  have  with  me,  who  will  be 
disposed  to  acquiesce  in  your  Decision.  As  to  myself,  I  believe 
you  to  be  either  an  ignorant  impudent  pretendor  to  what  you 
do  not  understand,  or  a  base  Servile  Tool,  ready  to  do  the  dirty 
work  of  any   Knave  who  will  purchase  you.     A  press  in  Such 

Turne  over 

Such  hands  as  yours,  instead  of  being  beneficial  to  Society,  may  be 
Justly  considered  as  a  nuesance,  tending  to  do  both  publick  and  pri- 
vate Mischief — Free  only  to  do  Evil,  restrained  from  doing  good. — 
As  a  test  you  may  publish  this  Letter  in  your  paper,  and  vindicate 

yourself,  if  you  can.  you  and  the  Author  Signed  a  merch't  of  New 

York,  in  your  paper  of  the  1 8th,  I  am  well  convinced,  are  a  couple 
of  base  poltroons,  who  have  disposition's  to  do  rascally  actions,  and 
dare  not  appear  to  own  them,  and  are  therefore  allmost  below  re- 
sentment as  such  I  shall  Know  and  Esteem  you. 
August  30th,  1774.  Isaac  Sears. 

To  Mr.  James  Rivington  present. 

From  Rivington' s  New  York  Gazetteer;  or,  The  Connecticut,  Hudson's  River, 
New  yersey,  and  Quebec  Weekly  Advertiser.    September  8,  1 774.    No.  73. 

Cum  tot  sustineas,  et  tanta  negotia  solus, 
Res  Italas  armis  tuteris,  moribus  ornes, 
Legibus  emendes,  in  publica  commoda  peccem, 
Si  longo  sermone  morer  tua  tenipora  Caesar. 

Hor.  ad  Aug. 

1  Whilst  you  the  charter  of  our  rights  maintain, 
Storm  through  each  ward,  and  bawl  thro'  every  lane, 
With  strenuous  zeal  support  the  good  old  cause, 
Adorn  with  manners,  and  improve  with  laws, 
Much  would  the  public  suffer  from  the  song, 
That  should,  O  mighty  Chief,  detain  thee  long. 

'  That  the  Printer  may  not  be  accused  of  plagiarism,  he  confesses  himself  in- 
debted for  the  greatest  part  of  this  paraphrase  to  the  ingenious  Mr.  Anstie,  au- 
thor of  the  ode  to  BUCKHORSE  the  mirror  of  link-bearers,  the  terror  of  elections, 
and  generalissimo  of  all  blackguards,  however  distressed  or  dispersed — Billingsgate 
and  St.  Giles's  contend  for  the  honour  of  this  heroe's  birth,  Wapping  and  Covent 
Garden  for  that  of  his  education.  The  author  of  St.  Giles's  Biography  says  (vide 
St.  Giles's  Bio.  p.  97)  "  His  great  and  daring  spirit  burst  through  the  cloud 
which  enveloped  the  dawn  of  his  life,  till  like  a  comet  carrying  fire  in  the  rear,  he 
blazed  amongst  the  first  characters  in  the  British  empire."  As  both  heroes  be- 
long to  the  tribe  of  Firebrands,  and  as  there  is  a  strong  similarity  in  their  man- 
ners and  language,  the  Printer  claims  one  merit  in  the  application  of  the  motto. 
The  only  dissimilitude  which  can  be  observed  in  the  features  of  these  two  charac- 
ters, is,  that  Buckhorse  (having  probably  kept  less  company  with  gentlemen  of  the 
law)  did  not  confine  himself  to  the  mere  eloquence  of  words,  but,  like  the  ancient 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


565 


Sire, 

As  I  bear  all  the  respect  to  the  dignity  of  your  character,  which  it 
so  justly  deserves,  I  flatter  myself  you  will  not  impute  it  to  neglect 
that  I  omitted  answering  your  letter  in  my  last  paper.  To  confess 
the  truth,  as  it  was  written  in  hieroglyphics,  and  on  a  new  system  of 
orthography,  I  found  some  difficulty  in  expounding  it.  With  the 
assistance  however  of  an  ingenious  friend,  well  versed  in  all  the  char- 
acters of  the  Eastern  Magi,  I  have  at  length  effected  it.  This  gen- 
tleman informs  me  that  it  a  kind  of  cabalistical  mode  of  writing 
which  many  sages  like  yourself  make  use  of  to  conceal  their  sublime 
mysteries  from  the  understandings  of  the  non-initiated.  Whilst  I 
feel  a  pride  in  being  considerd  by  you  in  a  different  light,  I  cannot 
but  express  my  gratitude  in  being  relieved  from  the  panic  with  which 
your  first  letter  had  struck  me.  The  intolerable  heat  of  the  weather, 
and  the  rays  of  your  royal  indignation  collected  into  a  focus  on  my 
devoted  head,  had  nearly  reduced  me  to  a  cinder  ;  but  (thanks  to 
your  lenity  !)  I  am  now  restored  to  life,  and  liberty.  Surely,  great 
Sire,  it  was  too  much  for  a  personage  of  your  known  moderation  to 
thunder  out  so  terrible  an  anathema.  It  has  been  obvious  to  the 
whole  town,  that  I  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  deserting  my 
shop,  and  sculking  behind  the  narrow  limits  of  my  press,  to  avoid 
your  resentment  ;  and  who  but  a  person  of  your  spirit,  or  an  arrant 
madman  (pardon  the  tautology)  would  not  have  done  the  same? 
You  confess  yourself,  that  I  might  have  met  with  some  choleric 
enemy,  not  so  disposed  as  yourself  to  acquiesce  in  my  decision,  with 
such  a  one  it  would  have  been  a  word  and  a  blow.  As  for  you,  you 
are  no  Hotspur,  but  a  lover  of  peace.  Whatever  opinion  I  once  had 
of  you,  this  good  quality  and  your  literary  abilities  hold  an  equal 
place  in  my  present  estimation. 

Considering  your  talents  and  discernment  in  so  high  a  point  of 
light,  I  am  not  a  little  surprised  that  you  should  be  at  a  loss  to  de- 
termine whether  "I  am  an  ignorant  impudent  pretender  to  what  I 
don't  understand,  or  a  base  servile  tool  ready  to  do  the  dirty  work 
of  any  knave  who  will  purchase  me."  It  is  in  your  power  to  dis- 
cover whether  I  am  the  latter,  by  graciously  condescending  to  offer 
me  the  office  of  printer  to  your  Most  Excellent  Majesty  :  with  re- 
spect to  the  former  character,  Self  love  would,  I  flatter  myself,  pre- 
vent your  considering  it  as  an  objection.  Should  the  salary  tendered 
be  in  any  wise  proportionable,  I  may  perhaps  give  up  the  pension, 
Which  you  knotu  I  enjoy  from  the  Court  of  Great  Britain. 

orators,  used  to  enforce  his  arguments  with  strong  and  repeated  action  both  of 
hands  and  feet.    This  it  must  be  confessed  is  a  striking  difference. 

Hac  in  re  scilicet  una 
Mullum  dissimiles,  ad  csetcra  paene  gemelli. 

Hor. 


In  this  alone  they  differ  from  each  other, 
Like  in  all  else,  as  one  egg  to  another. 


566 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Pardon,  greate  Sire,  the  freedom  of  your  servant,  if  he  presumes  to 
remark  that  you  do  yourself  great  injustice  in  desiring  him  to  print 
your  letter,  as  a  test  that  his  press  is  free  to  do  evil,  and  restrained 
from  doing  good.  Laughter  is  certainly  one  of  the  greatest  goods 
which  the  sons  of  care  can  possibly  enjoy,  and  I  will  venture  to  as- 
sure you  that  the  publication  of  your  elaborate  epistle  has  given  the 
town  an  ample  dose  of  it. 

With  respect  to  your  offer  of  friendship  and  esteem  in  the  close  of 
your  letter,  in  consequence  of  a  fancied  similarity  which  you  have 
discovered  in  our  dispositions,  I  must  beg  leave  to  decline  them. 
However  we  may  agree  in  other  respects  1  am  an  e?ietny  to  riots  and 
discord,  and  am  apprehensive  of  the  truth  of  the  old  adage,  that  two 
of  a  trade  can't  agree.  Upon  this  principle,  however  honorable  the 
proposal,  I  cannot  possibly  accept  it.  I  am  Sire,  with  profound 
humility, 

Your  devoted  servant 

James  Rivington. 

P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above,  a  friend  of  mine  (a  waggish  Fel- 
low) has  observed  that  you  have  made  good  your  promise  in  your 
first  letter. — -"Why,  says  he,  my  Master,  he  threatened  you  with  his 
just  resentment  if  you  did  not  give  up  your  author,  and  he  now  offers 
you  his  friendship.  In  the  name  of  Fortune  what  greater  mark  of 
vengeance  could  he  inflict?"  Your  Majesty  will  pardon  my  jocular- 
ity— whilst  you  seemed  in  earnest,  I  was  really  so  ;  but  as  I  find  you 
are  only  in  joke,  I  am  tempted  to  be  facetious  likewise. 

The  outrage  upon  Loudon  for  printing  the  pamphlet  in  re- 
ply to  Paine's  "  Common  Sense,"  described  on  page  64  and 
65,  was  reported  by  him  to  the  New  York  Committee  of 
Safety,  on  20  March,  1776.  After  stating  that  it  was  nearly 
completed  he  said,  "  that  the  Committee  of  Mechanics  had 
yesterday  morning  prevented  his  going  on  with  that  work, 
and  that  some  of  them  with  some  other  persons  have  since 
destroyed  the  whole  impressions  by  which  he  has  sustained  a 
loss  of  at  least  1 50  pounds.  The  Committee  desired  him  to 
make  his  complaint  in  writing  under  oath.1  On  the  13th  of 
the  succeeding  April,  "  the  memorial  of  Samuel  Loudon, 
printer,  with  remarks  on  the  subject,  were  read  and  filedp' 
which  was  all  that  the  Committee  of  Safety  did  in  the  matter. 
Loudon  says  in  the  memorial,  that  on  the  1 8th,  Christopher 
Duyckinck,  the  Chairman,  interrogated  him  at  a  meeting  of 


1  Journals  Com.  of  Safety,  Vol.  I.,  p.  377. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


567 


the  Mechanics'  Committee,  to  which  he  had  been  summoned, 
as  to  the  author's  name.  "  I  told  them  that  I  did  not  know 
the  author,  and  that  I  got  the  manuscript  from  a  gentleman 
of  this  city  whose  name  in  my  opinion  they  had  no  right  to 
demand."  The  same  night  they  sent  six  of  their  number  to 
his  house,  who  nailed  up  the  printed  sheets  in  boxes,  except 
a  few  which  were  drying  in  an  empty  house,  which  they 
locked  up  and  took  the  key  with  them.  The  next  evening 
he  was  summoned  before  the  General  Committee  of  Inspec- 
tion, Samuel  Hroone,  Chairman,  who  advised  him  not  to 
publish  it  or  his  personal  safety  might  be  endangered.  He 
promised  not  to  do  so,  but  the  same  night  "  the  same  Mr. 
Duyckinck,  without  any  commission  from  the  Committee, 
attended  by  a  considerable  number,  to  appearance  more  than 
forty  persons,  who  rushed  into  my  house  ;  some  of  them  ran 
up  stairs  to  the  printing  office,  while  others  guarded  the 
doors,  and  took  away  the  whole  impression  of  said  pamphlets 
being  about  1,500,  which  at  a  very  moderate  calculation 
amounts  to  ;  they  carried  them  to  the  Commons  and 
there  burnt  them  as  I  have  been  informed."  He  then  de- 
mands protection  and  compensation.  In  the  "remarks"  he 
says,  "  It  is  at  any  rate  self-evident  that  if  any  set  of  unau- 
thorized men  shall  be  permitted  to  assume  the  power  of  legis- 
lating for  their  fellow-citizens,  and  punishing  them  as  they 
please,  our  legal  Conventions  and  Committees,  with  all  the 
precious  liberties  for  which  we  are  contending  will  be  in  effect 
annihilated,  and  we  will  be  in  a  more  miserable  slavery  than 
would  arise  from  the  most  successful  exertion  of  all  the 
tyrannic  acts  of  the  British  Parliament. 

"The  freedom  of  the  press  is  now  insulted  and  infringed 
by  some  zealous  advocates  for  liberty.  A  few  more  noctur- 
nal assaults  upon  printers  may  totally  destroy  it,  and  Amer- 
ica in  consequence  may  fall  a  sacrifice  to  a  more  fatal  despot- 
ism than  that  with  which  we  are  threatened."  1 

"  The  following  are  all  the  names  I  have  as  yet  been  able  to 
collect  of  the  persons  who  took  away  and  burnt  my  pamph- 
lets, viz.:  Christopher  Duychinck,  John  Gilbert,  Thomas 
1  Journals  Com.  of  Safety,  Vol.  I.  pp.  405,6. 


568 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Pratt,  John  Buchanan  tavern  keeper  of  the  new  slip,  Brower 
the  carpenter,  Becker  an  officer,  Malcolm  McEuen,  a  pew- 
terer." 

No  action  on  this  memorial  appears  in  the  Journals,  but 
in  the  next  December,  on  the  12th,  the  Committee  of  Safety 
appointed  Loudon  its  official  printer  at  a  salary  of  "  200 
pounds  per  annum  in  quarterly  payments,"  to  publish  in  a 
weekly  paper  "  such  acts  and  publications  "  as  they  or  a 
future  Legislature  should  direct,  the  first  quarterly  payment 
to  be  "  advanced  to  him  on  his  publishing  his  first  news- 
paper."1 This  was  the  origin  of  the  famous  journal,  com- 
monly styled  "  Sam  Loudon's  New  York  Packet,"  and  thus 
"  Deacon  Loudon,"  as  he  was  called,  became  the  first 
New  York  "  State  Printer."  1 


NOTE  XXVIII. 

POLITICAL  OPINION  OF  QUEENS  COUNTY— HEARD'S  EXPE- 
DITION THERE — THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  LEE  AND  SEARS. 

Volume       page  68. 

On  Nov.  7th,  1775,  an  election  was  held  at  Jamaica,  to 
determine  whether  Queens  County  should  send  delegates  to 
the  Provincial  Convention.  This  election,  like  all  elections 
of  that  day,  was  viva  voce;  each  man  openly  declaring,  at 
the  hustings,  on  which  side  he  voted.  Elections  by  ballot 
were  not  introduced  till  long  afterwards.  The  number  of 
inhabitants  who  appeared  and  voted  were  1,009,  of  whom 
there  voted,  for  deputies,  221,  and  against  deputies,  788. 
The  poll-list  of  those  voting  "  against  deputies,"  certified  by 
Joseph  Robinson,  Inspector  of  the  Polls,  was  sent  to  the 
Provincial  Congress,  which  on  2ist  December,  1775.  passed 
resolutions  that  they  "  be,  and  hereby  are,  entirely  put  out 
of  the  protection  of  this  Congress,"  and  sent  the  list  and 

1  Journals,  Vol.  I.,  p.  750. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


569 


their  resolutions  to  the  Continental  Congress  at  Philadel- 
phia.1 

The  Continental  Congress,  on  the  3d  of  the  succeeding 
January,  adopted  resolutions,  declaring  all  who  voted  against 
deputies  "  out  of  the  protection  of  the  United  Colonies  ;  that 
all  trade  and  intercourse  with  them  cease  ;  that  none  of  the 
inhabitants  travel  out  of  the  county  without  a  certificate  of  the 
Convention  of  New  York  that  such  inhabitant  is  a  friend  of  the 
American  cause,  and  not  of  the  number  of  those  who  voted 
against  sending  deputies  to  the  Convention  ;  "  and  that  any  in- 
habitant found  out  of  the  county  without  such  certificate  be 
"  apprehended  and  imprisoned  three  months  ;  "  that  no  attor- 
ney or  lawyer  "  ought  to  prosecute  or  defend  actions  for  any 
one  voting  against  deputies,"  and  that  if  they  did  so  they  were 
"  enemies  to  the  American  cause,  and  ought  to  be  treated 
accordingly  ;  "  that  the  names  of  all  voting  against  deputies 
be  published  "  for  a  month  in  all  their  gazettes  and  news- 
papers;"2 "  that  Colonel  Nathaniel  Heard,  of  Woodbridge, 
in  the  Colony  of  New  Jersey,  taking  with  him  five  or  six 
hundred  men,  under  discreet  officers,  do  march  to  the  west- 
ern part  of  Queens  County,  and  that  Colonel  Watcrbury,  of 
Stamford,  in  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  with  the  like  number 
of  minute  men,  march  to  the  eastern  side  of  said  county  ; 
that  they  enter  the  county  on  one  day,"  and  "  proceed  to 
disarm  every  person  in  said  county  who  voted  against  send- 
ing deputies  to  Convention,  cause  them  to  deliver  up  their 
arms  and  ammunition  on  oath,"  and  "  confine  in  safe  custody 
until  further  orders  all  such  as  refuse  compliance  ;  "  that 
"  they  apprehend  and  secure  till  further  orders,"  of  Jamaica, 
Benjamin  Whitehead.  Charles  Arden,  Joseph  French,  Johan- 
nes Polhemus  ;  of  Newtown,  Nathaniel  Moor,  John  Moor, 
Sr.,  Samuel  Hallett,  John  Moor,  Jr.,  William  Weyman, 
John  Shoals,  Jeromus  Rapalje  ;  of  Flushing,  John  Willet  ; 
of  Hempstead,  Justice  Gilbert  Van  Wyck,  Daniel  Kissam, 
Esq.,Capt.  Jacob  Mott,  Thomas  Cornhill  ;  of  Rockaway, 

1  Journal  N.  Y.  Pro  v.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  230. 

s  The  account  of  the  election  proceedings  and  the  names  are  to  be  found  in  the 
newspapers  of  the  day. 


5/0 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Gabriel  G.  Ludlow,  Richard  Hewlett,  Capt.  Charles  Hicks, 
Dr.  Samuel  Martin,  Justice  Samuel  Clowes  ;  of  Oyster  Bay, 
Justice  Thomas  Smith  ;  of  Hog  Island,  Justice  John  Hewlett, 
Capt.  George  Weeks,  Dr.  David  Brooks,  and  Justice  John 
Townsend. 1 

Gen.  Charles  Lee,  the  traitor,  however,  had,  on  his  own 
responsibility,  begun  the  system  of  "  arresting,  disarming, 
and  swearing  the  inhabitants  "  in  Rhode  Island,  in  December, 
1775,  and  on  his  return  to  Cambridge  the  beginning  of  Janu- 
ary, 1776,  strongly  urged  Washington,  in  a  letter  of  the  fifth 
of  that  month,  to  adopt  the  same  course  in  New  York  and 
on  Long  Island,  and  detach  him  for  the  service,  saying  that 
the  Connecticut  volunteers,  "  who  will  offer  themselves  for 
the  service,  will  expect  no  pay  but  their  expenses."  a  Washing- 
ton assented,  and  on  the  8th  of  January,  1776,  gave  him  writ- 
ten "  instructions  "  to  secure  New  York  and  Long  Island,  in 
which  he  says  :  "  You  are  to  put  that  city  into  the  best  pos- 
ture of  defence  which  the  season  and  circumstances  will 
admit,  disarming  all  such  persons  upon  Long  Island  and  else- 
where (and,  if  necessary,  otherwise  securing  them)  whose 
conduct  and  declarations  have  rendered  them  justly  suspected 
of  designs  unfriendly  to  the  views  of  Congress."  5 

The  real  object  of  this  severity  was  to  get  arms  and  money. 
Lee's  language  to  Hancock,  in  a  letter  from  Stamford  of  22d 
January,  1776,  leaves  no  doubt  of  this.  His  "  scheme,"  as 
he  calls  it,  he  thus  describes  :  "It  is,  Sir,  in  the  first  place,  to 
disarm  all  the  manifestly  disaffected,  as  well  of  the  lower  as  the 
higher  class  ;  not  on  the  principle  of  reducing  them  to  impo- 
tence (for  this,  as  I  observed  before,  will  not  be  the  case)  but 
to  supply  our  troops  with  arms  of  which  they  stand  in  too 
great  need.  Secondly,  to  appraise  their  estates,  and  oblige 
them  to  deposit  at  least  the  value  of  one-half  of  their  respec- 
tive property,  in  the  hands  of  the  Continental  Congress,  as  a 
security  for  their  good  behaviour.  And  lastly,  to  administer, 
the  strongest  oath  that  can  be  devised,  to  act,  defensively,  and 

1  Journals  Congress,  1776,  pp.  7,  8,  and  9. 
s  Lee  Papers,  Vol.  I.,  p.  235. 
8  Lee  Papers,  Vol.  I.,  p.  236. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  57 1 

-» 

offensively,  in  support  of  the  common  rights."  1  In  Septem- 
ber, 1775,  preceding,  the  N.  Y.  Council  of  Safety  had  ordered 
all  arms  in  the  hands  of  non-associators  to  be  "  impressed," 
"  appraised,"  and  paid  for  to  the  owners,  but  this  was  not 
found  stringent  enough.'1 

The  Continental  Congress,  on  the  14th  March,  1776,  by  a 
resolution  recommended  all  the  Colonics  to  disarm  the  "  dis- 
affected," as  it  calls  them,  "  and  to  apply  the  arms  taken  from 
such  persons  in  each  respective  colony  in  the  first  place  to 
the  arming  the  Continental  troops  raised  in  said  Colony,  in 
the  next  to  the  arming  of  such  troops  as  arc  raised  by  the 
Colony  for  its  own  defence,  and  the  residue  to  be  applied  to 
the  arming  of  the  associators  (those  signing  the  "  association  " 
or  agreement  to  support  Congress)  ;  that  the  arms  when 
taken  be  appraised  by  indifferent  persons,  and  such  as  are 
applied  to  the  arming  the  Continental  troops  be  paid  for  by 
the  Congress,  and  the  residue  by  the  respective  assemblies, 
conventions,  or  councils,  or  committees  of  safety."5 

Thus  the  captors,  or  rather  "  disarmers,"  had  a  ready  mar- 
ket for  all  they  could  get,  a  fact  which  explains  the  popularity 
of  "  disarming,"  and  the  readiness  of  the  "  Connecticut  vol- 
unteers," as  Lee  calls  them,  to  serve  without  pay. 

The  arms  taken  from  the  people  of  Queens  County  by 
Heard's  expedition  were  given  by  Congress  to  Col.  Dayton, 
of  New  Jersey.' 

The  order  to  Waterbury's  regiment  was  countermanded, 
and  a  detachment  of  Stirling's  troops,  with  volunteers  from 
New  York  City,  accompanied  Heard,  who  crossed  from 
Horn's  Hook,  now  g2d  Street,  and  entered  Queens  County 
at  Hallet's  Cove,  now  Astoria.  How  thoroughly  they  did 
their  work  the  text  shows. 

Lee  "  appointed  "  Isaac  Sears,  who  was  to  collect  the 
Connecticut  volunteers,  as  he  says  himself,  in  a  letter  to  Wash- 
ington of  February  14th,  1776,  "  most  impudently  by  the  vir- 

1  Lee  Papers,  Vol.  I.,  p.  249. 

'Journal  N.  Y.  Convention,  Vol.  I.,  p.  149. 

*  Journals  Congress,  1776,  p.  91. 

4  Journals  Congress,  1776,  p.  63  and  p.  [OI. 


572 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


tue  of  -the  power  deputed  by  you  to  me  (which  power  you 
never  deputed),"  "  Adjutant-General  with  rank  of  Lieut. -Colo- 
nel, for  the  expedition.  It  can  have  no  bad  consequences, 
the  man  was  much  tickled  and  it  added  spurs  to  his  head. 
He  is  a  creature  of  much  spirit  and  public  virtue  and  ought 
to  ha^e  his  back  clapped  "l 

On  5th  March,  1776,  Lee  directed  Sears  to  "  offer  the  in- 
closed tests  to  every  individual  "  upon  a  list  sent  him,  and,  in 
case  of  refusal  to  take  the  oath,  "  immediately  to  seize  their 
persons  and  send  them  up  without  loss  of  time  to  Connecti- 
cut, where  they  can  be  no  longer  dangerous."  a 

The  following  test  was  published  at  the  time  as  the  oath 
imposed  by  General  Lee  upon  certain  obnoxious  persons  in 
Rhode  Island,  and  is  probably  the  same  as  that  referred  to  in 
the  text  here  and  in  previous  letters  : 

"  I,  ,  here,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  as  I  hope  for 

ease,  honor,  and  comfort  in  this  world,  and  happiness  in  the  world  to 
come,  most  earnestly,  devoutly,  and  religiously  do  swear,  that  I  will 
neither  directly  nor  indirectly  assist  the  wicked  instruments  of  minis- 
terial tyranny  and  villany,  commonly  called  the  king's  troops  and 
navy,  by  furnishing  them  with  provisions  and  refreshments  of  any 
kind,  unless  authorized  by  the  Continental  Congress  or  Legislature, 
at  present  established  in  this  particular  colony  of  Rhode  Island. 

"  I  do  also  swear,  by  the  tremendous  and  Almighty  God,  that  I 
will  neither  directly  nor  indirectly  convey  any  intelligence,  nor  give 
any  advice  to  the  aforesaid  enemies  described  ;  and  that  I  pledge 
myself,  if  I  should  by  any  accident  get  knowledge  of  such  treasons, 
to  inform  immediately  the  committee  of  safety. 

"And,  as  it  is  justly  allowed  that  when  the  rights  and  sacred  liber- 
ties of  a  nation  or  community  are  invaded,  neutrality  is  not  less  base 
and  criminal  than  open  and  avosved  hostility,  I  do  further  swear  and 
pledge  myself,  as  I  hope  for  eternal  salvation,  that  I  will,  whenever 
called  upon  by  the  voice  of  the  Continental  Congress,  or  by  the 
Legislature  of  this  particular  colony  under  their  direction,  take  up 
arms,  and  subject  myself  to  military  discipline  in  defence  of  the 
common  rights  and  liberties  of  America.    So  help  me  God."  ' 

Scars's  report  to  Lee  of  his  proceedings  is  in  these  words,  ' 
verbatim,  and  strikingly  depicts  the  man  and  his  character- 
istics : 


1  Lee  Papers,  Vol.  I.,  p.  296.  5  Lee  Papers,  Vol.  I.,  p.  345. 

3 Lee  Papers.  Vol.  I.,  p.  346. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


573 


"Jamaica,  March  17,  1776. 

"Sir, 

"  It  is  a  duty  that  I  owe  to  my  Command'  to  aquaint  him  of  my 
proceedings  in  execut*  the  order  he  gave  me.  Yesterday  afternoon 
1  arived  at  Newtown,  and  tendered  the  oath  to  four  of  the  grate 
Tomes,  which  they  swallowed  as  hard  as  if  it  was  a  four  pound  shot, 
that  they  ware  trying  to  git  down.  On  this  day  at  11  o'clock,  I 
came  here,  whare  I  sent  out  scouting  parties,  and  have  ben  able  to 
ketch  but  five  Torries,  and  they  of  the  first  rank,  which  swallowed 
the  oath.  The  houses  are  so  scatering  it  is  impossible  to  ketch  many 
without  hnsses  to  rid  after  thim.  But  I  shall  exert  myself  to  ketch 
the  gratest  part  of  the  ringledors,  and  beleve  I  shell  effect  it,  but 
not  less  then  five  days  fiom  this  time.  I  can  asure  your  honor  they 
are  a  set  of  villins  in  this  country,  and  beleve  the  better  half  of 
them  are  wateing  for  soport  and  intend  to  take  up  arms  against  us. 
And  it  is  my  oppinion  nothing  else  will  do  but  removeing  the  ring- 
ledors to  a  place  of  secuerty. 

"  From  your  most  obl  Humle  Sir1 

"  Isaac  Sears."  1 

It  is  illustrative  of  the  truth  of  the  old  saying,  that  "his- 
tory repeats  itself,"  that  the  loyalists  and  friends  to  gov- 
ernment, in  the  late  rebellion  of  the  Southern  States,  very 
often  administered  the  famous  "iron-clad  oath"  of  that  pe- 
riod, and  a  little  later,  in  a  not  dissimilar  manner. 


NOTE  XXIX. 

THE  TREATY  OF  THE  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS  WITH  THE 
INDIANS  AT  ALBANY  IN  AUGUST,  1775. — SIR  JOHN 
JOHNSON  PROTECTED  BY  THE  MOHAWKS,  WHO  DECIDE 
FOR  NEUTRALITY. — THE  STOCK  BRIDGES  TAKE  UP  THE 
HATCHET  FOR  THE  COLONIES. 

Vol.  /.,  /.  71. 

THE  Treaty  with  the  Indians  referred  to  by  the  author  was 
held  at  Albany,  between  the  23d  of  August  and  the  1st  of 


1  Lee  Papers,  Vol.  I.,  p.  359 


574 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


September,  1775. 1  It  began,  however,  at  the  "German 
FlattS  "  on  the  15th  of  August,  but  was  adjourned  to  Albany, 
as  only  a  few  Oneidas  attended  ;  and  in  the  meantime  mes- 
sengers were  sent  to  the  different  nations  urging  their  coming 
to  Albany.  Some  of  the  Mohawks,  and  Oneidas,  and  Stock- 
bridges  appeared,  but  none  of  the  other  tribes  of  the  Six 
Nations.  It  was  held  by  the  Commissioners  appointed  by 
the  Continental  Congress  for  the  Northern  Department,3  who 
were  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler,  Major  Joseph  Hawley,  Mr.  Tur- 
butt  Francis,  Mr.  Oliver  Wolcott,  and  Mr.  Volkert  P.  Douw. 
The  place  was  the  old  Dutch  church  of  Albany,  which  was 
in  the  middle  of  State  Street,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  upon 
which  the  capitol  now  stands. 

The  speech  of  the  Commissioners,  which  was  simply  the 
"  talk  "  adopted  by  Congress  on  13th  July,  1 77 5 ,  urged  neu- 
trality upon  the  Indians  in  strong  terms,  but  said  also,  "  We 
are  determined  to  drive  away  the  King's  soldiers,  and  to  kill 
and  destroy  all  those  wicked  men  we  find  in  arms  against  the 
peace  of  the  Twelve  Colonies  upon  this  island."  "Island" 
was  the  term  used  by  the  Indians  to  denote  the  whole  of 
America,  and  Congress,  therefore,  employed  it  in  their 
"  talk." 

On  July  1 2th,  1775,  the  day  before  Congress  adopted  this 
"  talk,"  that  body,  however,  had  voted,  that  in  case  the  Com- 
missioners of  any  district  "  shall  have  satisfactory  proof  that 
the  King's  Superintendants,  their  Deputies,  or  Agents,  or 
any  other  Person  whatsoever,  are  active  in  stirring  up  or  in- 
citing the  Indians,  or  any  of  them,  to  become  inimical  to 
the  American  Colonies,  such  Commissioner  or  Commissioners 
ought  to  cause  such  Superintendants  or  other  Offender  to  be 
seized  and  kept  in  safe  custody,  until  order  be  taken  therein 
by  a  majority  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Districts  where 

■Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  605,  where  the  treaty  is  given  in  full.  It  . 
was  first  published  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  V.,  75. 

s  Congress  divided  the  colonies  into  three  [ndian  departments,  Northern,  Mid- 
dle, and  Southern,  and  appointed  Commissioners  to  manage  each,  and  adopted 
**  talks"  to  be  made  by  the  Commissioners  to  the  Indians,  on  July  12-15,  1775. — - 
Journals  1775,  pp.  162-168. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


575 


such  seizure  is  made,  or  by  the  Continental  Congress,  or  a 
Committee  of  said  Congress,  to  whom  such  seizure,  with  the 
causes  of  it,  shall,  as  soon  as  possible  after,  be  made  known."  1 

No  hint  whatever  of  this  was  given  to  the  Indians  at  the 
Council,  as  the  proceedings  show. 

The  Commissioners  had  requested  the  Indians  to  appoint  a 
sachem  as  a  speaker,  to  communicate  what  they  should  lay 
before  them,  to  the  Six  Nations.  This  the  Indians  courteously 
declined,  and  asked  the  Commissioners  to  make  a  selection 
themselves.  They  did  so,  and  chose  Abraham,  a  Mohawk," 
who  replied  to  their  "talk  "  at  length,  in  a  speech  of  great 
eloquence  and  power,  in  which  he  used  the  following  remark- 
able language  : 

"  Brothers, 

"  After  stating  your  grievances,  and  telling  us  you  had  not  been 
"  able  to  obtain  redress,  you  desired  us  to  take  no  part,  but  to  bury 
"  the  hatchet.  You  told  us  it  was  a  family  quarrel  ;  therefore  said, 
"  '  You  Indians  sit  still  and  mind  nothing  but  peace.'  Our  great 
"  man  Col.  Johnson3  did  the  same  thing  at  Oswego  ;  he  desired  us 
"  to  sit  still  likewise.  You  likewise  desired  us  that  if  application 
"  should  be  made  to  us  by  any  of  the  King's  officers,  we  would  not 
"join  them.  Now  therefore  attend  and  apply  your  ears  closely. 
"  \Vre  have  fully  considered  this  matter.  The  resolutions  of  the  Six 
"  Nations  are  not  to  be  broken  or  altered.  When  they  resolve  the 
"  matter  is  fixed.  This,  then,  is  the  determination  of  the  Six  Na- 
"  tions,  not  to  take  any  part,  as  it  is  a  family  affair,  but  to  sit  still 
M  and  see  you  fight  it  out.  We  beg  you  will  receive  this  as  infallible, 
"  it  being  our  full  resolution  ;  for  we  bear  as  much  affection  for  the 
"King  of  England's  subjects  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  as  for 
"you  born  on  this  Island.  One  thing  more  we  request,  which  is 
"  that  you  represent  this  in  a  true  light  to  the  delegates  from  all  the 
"  Colonies,  and  not  vary,  and  that  you  observe  the  same  regard  for 
"  truth  when  you  write  to  the  King  about  these  matters ;  for  we 
"  have  ears,  and  shall  hear,  if  you  represent  anything  in  a  wrong 
"  point  of  light.  We  likewise  desire  you  would  inform  our  brothers 
"  at  Boston  of  our  determination. 

"  Brothers,  it  is  a  long  time  since  we  came  to  this  resolution.  It 
"  is  the  result  of  mature  deliberation.    It  was  our  declaration  to  Col. 

1  Journals  Congress,  1 775,  p.  162. 
"Col.  Hist.  N.  Y,  p.  610. 

3  Guy  Johnson,  who  had  been  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  Indians,  after 
the  death  of  his  uncle,  Sir  William  Johnson,  on  July  1 1,  1774.  Sir  John  was 
the  son  of  the  latter,  but  not  his  successor  as  Superintendent. 


5/6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"Johnson.1  We  told  him  we  should  take  no  part  in  the  quarrel  and 
"hoped  neither  side  would  desire  it.  Whoever  applies  first  we  shall 
"  think  in  the  wrong.  The  resolutions  of  the  Six  Nations  are  not  to 
"  be  broken.  Of  the  truth  of  this  you  have  a  late  instance.  You 
"  know  what  the  Shawanese  have  of  late  been  engaged  in.  They 
"  applied  to  us  for  assistance  but  we  refused  them.  Our  love  for 
"  you  has  induced  us  not  to  meddle.  If  we  loved  you  less  we  should 
"  have  been  less  resolute. 

"Brothers,  attend!  We  beg  of  you  to  take  care  what  you  do. 
'  You  har'e  just  now  made  a  good  path  ;  do  not  so  soon  defile  it  with 
"  blood.  There  are  many  round  us  Caughnawagas'  who  are  friends 
"  to  the  King.  Our  path  of  peace  reaches  quite  there.  We  beg  all 
"  that  distance  may  not  be  defiled  with  blood.  As  for  your  quarrels 
"  to  the  eastward  along  the  sea-coast  do  as  you  please.  But  it  would 
"  hurt  us  to  see  those  brought  up  in  our  own  bosoms  ill-used.  In 
"  particular  we  would  mention  the  son  of  Sir  William  Johnson.  He 
"is  bom  among  us  and  is  of  Dutch  extraction  by  his  mother.1  He 
"  minds  his  own  affairs  and  does  not  intermeddle  with  public  disputes. 
"  We  would  likewise  mention  our  father  the  minister  who  resides 
"  among  the  Mohawks  and  was  sent  them  by  the  King.*  He  does 
"  not  meddle  in  civil  affairs,  but  instructs  them  in  the  way  to  heaven. 
"  They  beg  he  may  continue  in  peace  among  them."6 

The  Commissioners,  in  their  reply,  thanked  them  for  their 
determination  to  remain  quiet,  and  said  that  they  were  desi- 
rous the  missionary  should  not  be  disturbed,  but  ivcre  silent 
altogether  as  to  Sir  John  Join, son. 

They  were  followed  by  Captain  Solomon,  chief  of  the 
Stockbridgc  Indians,  who  announced,  that  that  tribe  wouid 
take  up  the  hatchet  for  the  Colonies.    He  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  Brothers  appointed  by  the  Twelve  United  Colonies, 

"  We  thank  you  for  taking  care  of  us  and  supplying  us  with  pro- 
"  visions  since  we  have  been  in  Albany.  Depend  upon  it  we  are 
"  true  to  you  and  mean  to  join  you.  Wherever  you  go  we  will  be  by 
"your  sides.    Our  bones  sliall  lie  with  yours.     We  are  determined 

1  Guy  Johnson,  the  Superintendent,  at  the  treaty  held  by  him  at  Oswego. 
5  These  were  the  Mohawks  of  Caughnawaga  on  the  Mohawk  River,  about  five 
miles  from  "  Johnson  Hall,"  Sir  John's  residence. 

3  Sir  John  was  the  only  son  of  Sir  William  Johnson  by  his  wife  Catherine  Wi- 
senberg,  of  a  Dutch  family  on  the  Mohawk.  Sir  William  had  also  by  her  two 
other  children,  both  daughters,  the  wives  of  Col.  Guy  Johnson  and  Col.  Daniel 
Claus,  sisters  of  Sir  John. 

4  The  Rev.  John  Stuart,  the  Church  of  England  missionary  at  Fort  Hunter. 
«  N.  Y.  Col.  Hist.,  Yol.  VIII.,  pp.  621-23. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


577 


"  never  to  be  at  peace  with  the  red  coats,  while  they  are  at  variance 
"  with  you.  We  have  one  favour  to  beg.  We  should  be  glad  if  you 
"  would  help  us  to  establish  a  Minister  among  us,  that  when  our  men 
"  are  gone  to  war,  our  women  and  children  may  have  the  advantage 
"of  being  instructed  by  him.  Jf  we  are  conquered  our  lands  go 
"with  yours;  but  if  we  are  victorious  we  hope  you  will  help  us  to 
"  recover  our  just  rights."  1 

To  which  the  Commissioners  replied  : 

"Brothers  of  Stockbridge, 

"  We  have  heard  what  you  have  said,  and  thank  you.  It  is  not 
"  in  our  power  to  answer  the  two  questions  you  have  put  to  us, — the 
"  first  respecting  a  Minister,  the  second  concerning  your  lands.  We 
"  say  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  give  you  an  answer  just  now ;  but  we 
"  will  represent  your  case  to  the  Continental  Congress,  and  we  dare 
"  say  they  will  re-establish  you  in  all  your  just  rights." 

The  following  certificate  is  appended  to  the  treaty : 

"Albany,  September  r,  1775. 
"  We  the  subscribers  appointed  by  the  honourable  the  Continental 
"  Congress  as  Commissioners  for  Indian  Affairs  for  the  Northern 
"  Department,  do  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  of  all  mat- 
"  ters  and  proceedings  relative  to  a  Treaty  began  with  the  Indians 
"  of  the  Six  Nations  and  their  allies  at  the  German  Flats,  on  Tues- 
"  day  the  fifteenth  day  of  August,  1775,  and  finished  at  the  City  of 
"Albany  on  Friday  this  first  day  of  September,  1775. 

"  Terbutt  Francis, 
"  Oliver  Wolcott, 
"  volkert  p.  douw."  ' 

The  treaty  was  received  by  Congress  on  14th  September, 
1775,  but  nothing  was  done  until  the  22A  of  November,  1775. 
when  the  committee,  to  whom  it,  and  a  letter  of  Mr.  Douvv, 
received  on  the  11th  of  November,  was  referred,  made  a 
report,  which  was  debated,  and  "deferred  till  to-morrow" 
— the  23d — when  it  was  confirmed.  The  report  directed  that 
the  Indian  trade  should  be  opened  as  formerly  at  Albany, 
that  Gen.  Schuyler  furnish  the  Indian  Commissioners  there 
with  powder  to  be  distributed  to  the  Indians,  that  the  action 
of  Albany  City  as  to  its  claim  to  Indian  lands  be  investigated, 
that  $750  for  expenses  of  entertaining  Indians  be  lodged  with 


1  N.  Y.  Col.  Hist.,  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  626. 
37 


■  Ibid.,  p.  627. 


5/8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


the  Commissioners,  that  two  blacksmiths  and  an  interpreter 
be  appointed,  and  three  members  be  added  to  the  committee 
to  devise  a  plan  for  trading  with  the  Indians  and  obtaining 
goods.1 

In  this  note  the  single  words  Italicised  are  so  in  the  original; 
the  other  Italics,  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader,  merely 
denote  the  more  important  parts. 


NOTE  XXX. 

SCHUYLER'S  EXPEDITION  TO  JOHNSTOWN,  HOW  IT  ORIGIN- 
ATED AND  WAS  CARRIED  OUT. 

Volume  /.,  pages  72  and  73. 

On  the  30th  of  December,  1775,  a  special  Committee  of 
Investigation  reported  to  the  Continental  Congress  that 
"  they  have  received  intelligence  that  a  quantity  of  arms  and 
ammunition  and  other  articles  are  concealed  in  Tryon  County, 
in  which  also  there  are  several  tories  armed  and  enlisted  in 
the  enemy's  service  ;  whereupon, 

Resolved,  That  the  said  Committee  be  directed  to  com- 
municate the  intelligence  to  General  Schuyler,  and  in  the 
name  of  Congress  desire  him  to  take  the  most  speedy  and 
effectual  measures  for  securing  the  said  arms  and  military 
stores,  and  for  disarming  the  said  tories,  and  apprehending 
their  chiefs."  3 

In  obedience  to  this  resolution  Schuyler  proceeded  as 
stated  in  the  text,  being  compelled  by  the  want  of  troops 
to  consult  the  Albany  Committee  how  to  raise  them,  first,  how- 
ever, swearing  that  body  to  secrecy.  A  letter  of  Isaac  Paris, 
Chairman  of  the  Tryon  County  Committee,  enclosing  an  affi- 
davit of  Jonathan  French,  Jr.,  that  a  woman  told  him  Sir 
John  Johnson  was  fortifying  his  house,  and  had  300  Indians 


1  Journals  Con.  1 775,  p.  255. 

3  Journals  of  Congress,  1775,  p.  310. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  579 

.  «* 

near  it,  both  subsequently  proved  false,  arrived  during  the 
consultations,  and  these  allegations  "  were  made  the  ostensible 
reasons  of  raising  the  militia,"  as  Schuyler  himself  states 
in  his  "  narrative  of  that  little  excursion,"  as  he  calls  the 
expedition,  from  which  the  following  citations  are  taken. 
And  so  excited  were  the  people  by  them,  and  so  great  was 
their  effect,  that  the  General  says,  "  I  had  very  near  if  not 
quite  three  thousand  men,  including  nine  hundred  of  the 
Tryon  County  militia.  The  author's  statement  of  4,000  men 
as  his  force,  is  therefore  erroneous,  as  well  as  Bancroft's 
that  he  had  2,000.  Schuyler  had  also  an  affidavit  of  one 
Conner,  that  he  was  present  and  saiv  arms  secreted  in  an 
island,  in  Sir  John's  duck-pond.  This  was  merely  the  Caya- 
dutta  creek,  running  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  Johnson 
Hall  stands,  which  had  been  dammed  and  made  into  an  orna- 
mental fish-pond  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  some  years  before 
his  death. 

The  Indians  living  at  Caughnawaga  on  the  Mohawk,  five 
miles  from  Johnson  Hall,  were  alarmed  by  the  approach  of 
the  armed  force,  and  a  delegation  met  Schuyler  at  Schenec- 
tady on  the  sixteenth  of  January,  when  Abraham,  the  Mo- 
hawk chief,  made  him  a  speech,  remonstrating  against  the 
invasion  as  a  breach  of  the  treaty  of  August,  1775.  and  stating 
that  at  Johnson  Hall,  Sir  John  was  not  fortifying,  and  that  all 
things  there  remained  as  they  were  in  the  lifetime  of  Sir 
William  ;  that  they  had  asked  him  not  to  be  the  aggressor, 
and  assured  him  if  he  was,  they  would  pay  no  more  attention 
to  him  ;  that  "  if  our  brothers  of  the  United  Colonics  were  the 
aggressors,  we  should  treat  them  in  the  same  manner." 

"  This  is  what  we  told  Sir  John,  as  we  look  upon  ourselves 
to  be  the  mediators  between  both  parties."  "  To  which  Sir 
John  replied  that  we  knew  his  disposition  very  well,  and  that 
he  had  no  mind  to  be  the  aggressor."  "  He  assured  us  that 
he  would  not  be  the  aggressor  ;  but  if  the  people  came  up  to 
take  away  his  life,  he  would  do  as  well  as  he  could,  as  the  law 
of  nature  justified  every  man  to  stand  in  his  own  defence." 

"We  beg  of  you,  brothers,"  Abraham  continued,  "to 
remember  the  engagement  that  was  made  with  the  twelve 


58o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


United  Colonies  at  our  interview  last  summer,  as  we  then 
engaged  to  open  the  path  of  peace,  and  to  keep  it  undefiled 
from  blood  ;  at  the  same  time  something  of  a  different  nature 
made  its  appearance.  You  assured  us,  brothers,  that  if  any 
were  found  in  our  neighborhood  inimical  to  us,  that  you 
would  consider  them  as  enemies.  The  Six  Nations  then 
supposed  that  the  son  of  Sir  William  was  pointed  at  by  that 
expression.  We  then  desired  particularly  that  he  might  not 
be  injured,  as  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  injure  the  cause,  and 
that  therefore  he  might  not  be  molested." 

He  also  said  that  some  of  their  warriors  were  alarmed  and 
ready  to  take  their  arms,  as  they  considered  the  unfriendly 
disposition  of  the  Colonies  verified,  and  would  think  themselves 
deceived  if  this  military  force  came  into  their  country,  and 
that  they  were  determined  to  be  present  at  the  interview  with 
Sir  John  ;  that  he,  Abraham,  had  persuaded  them  "  to  sit 
still  for  two  days,"  till  he  could  go  and  inquire  into  the  truth 
of  the  matter,  and  bring  them  an  answer.  General  Schuyler 
replied  that  he  did  not  mean  to  interfere  with  the  Six 
Nations  ;  that  he  had  "  full  proofs  that  many  people  in  Johns- 
town, and  the  neighborhood  thereof,  have  for  a  considerable 
time  past  made  preparations  to  carry  into  execution  the 
wicked  designs  of  the  king's  evil  counsellors;  that  it  was  by 
the  special  order  of  Congress  that  he  was  marching  up  to 
keep  the  path  open,  "  and  to  prevent  the  people  of  Johns- 
town from  cutting  off  the  communication  between  us  and  our 
brethren  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  our  other  brethren  living  on 
the  river;"  that  he  would  "  send  a  letter  to  Sir  John  inviting 
him  to  meet  us  on  the  road  between  this  place  and  his  house, 
which,  if  he  does,  we  make  no  doubt  but  everything  will  be 
settled  in  an  amicable  manner;"  and  that  he  "wished  their 
warriors  would  be  present  at  the  interview." 

Sir  John  and  some  of  his  Scotch  tenants  met  Schuyler 
about  sixteen  miles  from  Schenectady,  pursuant  to  Schuyler's 
written  request  in  a  letter  dated  Schenectady,  January  16, 
1776,  in  which,  after  stating  that  information  had  been  received 
"  that  designs  of  the  most  dangerous  tendency  to  the  rights, 
liberties,  properties,  and  even  lives  of  his  Majesty's  faithful 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  581 

_  0 

subjects  in  America,  who  are  opposed  to  the  unconstitutional 
measures  of  his  ministry,  have  been  formed  in  the  County  of 
Tryon,"  and  that  he  had  been  ordered  by  Congress  to  march 
troops  "  to  contravene  these  dangerous  designs  ;  "  and  wish- 
ing to  obey  his  orders  so  that  no  blood  may  be  shed,  he 
invites  him  to  meet  him  at  any  place  on  his  way  to  Johns- 
town ;  and  that  he  and  his  attendants  should  pass  and  repass 
in  safety  to  his  abode  upon  "  my  word  and  honor."  The 
letter  was  sent  by  Rutgers  Blecckcr  and  Henry  Glen,  and 
closes  thus  :  "  You  will  please  to  assure  Lady  Johnson,  that 
whatever  may  be  the  result  of  what  is  now  in  agitation,  she 
may  rest  perfectly  satisfied  that  no  indignity  will  be  offered 
her." 

Lady  Johnson  was  a  first  cousin  once  removed  of  General 
Schuyler,  being  Mary,  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  John  Watts 
of  New  York,  by  his  wife  Anne  (De  Lancey),  youngest 
daughter  of  Etienne  de  Lancey  (the  first  of  this  name  in 
America),  whose  wife  and  General  Schuyler's  mother  were 
sisters,  both  being  daughters  of  Stephanus  van  Cortlandt. 

The  first  terms  proposed  by  Schuyler,  and  the  counter  terms 
proposed  by  Sir  John,  were  rejected  by  each.  Schuyler  then 
wrote  Johnson  to  reconsider  the  matter,  and  gave  him  till 
twelve  at  night  on  Sept.  1 8th  for  an  answer. 

After  the  letter  was  sent,  the  Indian  sachems  called  upon 
Schuyler,  stated  that  Sir  John  had  told  them  the  contents  of 
all  the  terms  offered,  and  said  that  "  he  only  meant  to  guard 
himself  from  insults  by  riotous  people  ;  that  he  had  no 
unfriendly  intentions  against  the  country,"  and  begged  that 
his  terms  might  be  accepted.  Schuyler  declined,  and  told 
the  Indians  that  if  he  did  not  comply  by  twelve  that  night  he 
"  would  force  him,  and  whoever  assisted  him,  to  a  com- 
pliance." They  then  asked  Schuyler  in  case  his  answer  was 
not  satisfactory  to  give  him  till  four  A.M.,  "  that  they  might 
have  time  to  go  to  him  and  shake  his  head  (as  they  expressed 
it),  and  bring  him  to  his  senses,"  which  was  agreed  to. 

This  original,  or  rather  aboriginal,  operation,  proved  not  to 
be  necessary,  for  at  the  hour  first  appointed,  twelve  at  night, 
Sir  John's  answer  came.    The  next  morning  Schuyler  as- 


582 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


sented  to  certain  modifications  proposed,  and  the  affair  was 
settled  without  further  difficulty. 

On  the  19th,  the  arms  and  military  stores,  "  a  much  smaller 
quantity  than  I  expected,"  says  Schuyler,  "were  given  up." 
On  the  20th  the  Highlanders,  "  between  two  and  three  hun- 
dred," marched  to  the  front  and  grounded  their  arms,  which 
were  immediately  secured.  Schuyler  also  chose  six  of  their 
number  as  hostages  for  the  rest,  pursuant  to  the  terms  of 
the  treaty,  the  chief  of  whom  was  Allan  McDonald.  The 
same  afternoon  several  field  officers  and  Conner,  the  maker 
of  the  affidavit  before  mentioned,  were  sent  to  the  island 
in  the  duck  pond,  which  turned  out  to  be  only  twenty  by 
twenty-eight  feet  in  size,  and  about  three  feet  above  the 
water.  When  they  cleared  off  the  snow,  they  saw  that  the 
ground  had  not  been  broken  up.  They  dug  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  however,  and  probed  the  ground  with  sticks, 
swords,  and  other  instruments,  but  they  found  nothing.  The 
whole  charge  was  false,  and  the  officers  unanimously  reported 
that  they  were  convinced  Conner  was  an  impostor,  and  he 
was  confined  at  once  as  such. 

The  evening  of  the  20th  Schuyler  returned  to  Caughna- 
waga  ;  the  next  day  he  wrote  to  Sir  John  that  many  of  the 
Scotchmen  had  broadswords  and  dirks  which  had  not  been 
delivered  up,  either  from  inattention  or  wilful  omission,  and 
that  they  must  comply  with  the  treaty;  adding  :  "I  shall, 
however,  expect  an  eclaircissement  on  this  subject,  and  beg 
that  you  and  Mr.  McDonell  will  give  it  me  as  soon  as  may 
be,"  and  immediately  marched  back  to  Johnstown. 

As  to  whether  there  was  any  "  eclaircissement,"  or  any 
answer  or  action  at  all,  Schuyler's  report  is  entirely  silent. 
What  they  did  after  they  got  back  to  Johnstown,  as  described 
in  the  text,  the  pillaging,  etc.,  is  thus  mentioned,  "  I  have  had 
much  anxiety  and  an  incredible  deal  of  trouble  to  prevent 
so  large  a  body  of  men  collected  on  a  sudden,  with  so  little 
discipline,  from  running  into  excesses.  I  am,  however,  happy 
that  nothing  material  has  happened  that  can  reflect  disgrace 
on  our  cause." 

On  2d  Feb.,  1776,  Schuyler's  narrative  was  received  by  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  583 

r 

Continental  Congress,  and  on  the  5th  of  the  same  month  they 
passed  resolutions  of  thanks  for  the  service,'  and  that  his  nar- 
native  be  published  in  the  newspapers.  The  curious  reader 
will  find  it  at  length  in  the  fourth  series  of  Force's  Archives, 
Vol.  IV.,  pages  818  to  829. 

It  may  be  stated  that  the  "antipathy"  as  the  text  calls  it, 
of  General  Schuyler  and  his  friends  in  Albany  to  the  Johnson 
family,  notwithstanding  the  blood  relationship  between  him 
and  Lady  Johnson  above  mentioned,  arose  from  the  Indian 
trade.  The  Johnson  influence  was  always,  from  the  first  ar- 
rival of  Sir  William  in  America,  in  1738,  in  favor  of  the  In- 
dians and  against  the  Albany  traders,  many  of  whom  were 
the  friends  and  political  supporters  of  Schuyler,  and  some  of 
them  his  connections.  For  the  condition  of  Johnson's  tomb 
as  found  in  1862,  see  Vol.  II.,  page  644. 


NOTE  XXXI. 

WHY  SIR  JOHN  JOHNSON  LEFT  JOHNSTON  HALL. — RELEASED 
FROM  HIS  PAROLE  BY  SCHUYLER. — LADY  JOHNSON 
ARRESTED  AND  KEPT  AS  A  HOSTAGE.  —  ACTION  OF 
SCHUYLER,  WASHINGTON,  LADY  JOHNSON,  AND  THE 
NEW  YORK  CONVENTION. — THEIR  PERSONAL  AND  OF- 
FICIAL STATEMENTS. — THE  BIRTHS,  MARRIAGE,  AND 
DEATHS  OF  SIR  JOHN  AND  LADY  JOHNSON. 

Volume      pages  74-81. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1776,  one  John  Collins,  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  in  Tyron  County,  engaged  in  raising  a  company  for 
the  American  service,  took  the  affidavit  of  one  Asa  Chad  wick, 
stating  that  Sir  John  Johnson  told  him  he  had  heard  how  Collins 
was  employed,  which  would  be  worse  for  them  all  ;  that  he  had 
sent  for  the  Indians,  and  they  would  be  down  on  the  back  set- 
tlements in  six  weeks,  and  scalp  a  great  many  people.  This 
was  sent  to  the  Albany  Committee.2  It  was  subsequently 
found  to  be  as  baseless  as  those  charging  him  with  fortifying 

'  Journals  of  Congress,  1776,  pp.  47,  48,  49. 

2  Force's  Am.  Archives,  4th  Series,  vol.  V.,  p.  195 


584 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Johnson  Hall,  and  concealing  arms  on  an  island  in  his  fish- 
pond.1 

True  or  false,  the  Committee  cautiously,  on  March  nth, 
"  Resolved,  That  as  Sir  John  lives  out  of  the  county,  and  is 
at  present  under  parole  to  General  Schuyler,  the  said  affidavit 
be  laid  before  him  to  act  thereupon,  as  he  shall  see  con- 
venient." 

General  Schuyler  by  letter  of  the  12th  ordered  Sir  John  to 
Albany  to  meet  his  accusers,  and  answer  the  charge." 

On  the  19th  Schuyler  wrote  the  President  of  Congress  : 
"  Sir  John  Johnson  was  this  day  in  town  agreeable  to  my  re- 
quest ;  but  his  accusers  did  not  appear.  He  avows  that  he 
has  reported  that  the  Indians  have  thrown  out  threats  that 
they  would  fall  upon  us  ;  and  says  it  is  notorious  to  many  of 
our  friends  in  the  County  of  Tryon  that  they  have  repeatedly 
done  it. 

"  I  am  just  now  informed  that  the  Indians  are  already  on 
their  way  to  this  place  to  hold  a  conference  with  us.  We 
shall  be  greatly  distressed,  as  we  have  nothing  to  give  them."  * 

While  these  proceedings  were  being  had,  the  American 
army  was  still  before  Boston.  The  above  letter  of  Schuyler 
was  written  only  two  days  after  its  evacuation,  and  before 
that  event  was  known  in  Albany. 

The  driving  of  the  British  army  from  Boston  at  once  stimu- 
lated the  zeal  of  the  American  committees  and  officers  through- 
out the  colonies  against  their  opponents. 

Schuyler  felt  the  pressure  of  the  Albany  Committee,  and 
determined  to  seize  Sir  John  Johnson's  person.  As  he  held 
his  parole,  given  in  the  preceding  January,  this  could  only  be 
done  by  violating  it,  or  releasing  him  from  it.  On  May  10th, 
just  nineteen  days  after  the  above  interview  at  Albany, 
Schuyler  wrote  Sir  John,  from  Saratoga,  that  he  had  no 
doubt  of  his  hostile  intentions  against  the  country,  and,  "it 

1  See  note,  xxx. 

'  Force,  vol.  V.,  p.  196. 

'Ibid.  416.  The  affidavits  of  various  persons,  given  in  the  same  volume  of 
Force,  pp.  770.  771,  prove  the  truth  of  Sir  John's  statement  of  the  general  noto- 
riety of  the  Indian  threats  in  Tryon  County. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  585 

is  therefore  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  inhabitants  and 
the  weal  of  the  country  that  I  should  put  it  out  of  your 
power  to  embroil  it  in  domestic  confusion,  and  have  therefore 
ordered  you  a  close  prisoner,  and  sent  down  to  Albany,  to 
be  thence  conveyed  to  his  Excellency  General  Washington, 
thereby  discharging  you  from  your  parole."  '  Had  Schuyler 
really  believed  the  affidavits  and  information  received  from 
William  Ducr  against  Sir  John,  mentioned  in  the  following 
letter,  he  never  would  have  thus  formally  released  him  from 
his  parole,  for,  if  true,  it  was  entirely  unnecessary. 

The  letter  to  Sir  John  was  to  be  delivered  by  Col.  Dayton, 
the  officer  in  command  of  the  troops  sent  to  Johnstown,  who 
was  directed  to  arrest  him  "  as  soon  as  he  has  read  it."  He 
was  to  be  released  from  his  parole,  and  made  prisoner,  simul- 
taneously. 

Schuyler's  plan  is  thus  given  by  himself  in  a  letter  to 
General  Sullivan  :  1 

"Saratoga,  May  14th,  1776. 

"  Dear  Sir, 

"  Some  time  ago  an  information  on  oath  was  lodged  with  me 
against  Sir  John  Johnson,  charging  him  with  hostile  intentions  against 
us  ;  this  has  since  been  confirmed  by  further  information  from  per- 
sons whom  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  name. 

"  Judge  Duer,  who  has  taken  one  of  the  examinations,  and  was 
present  at  another,  will  inform  you  more  particularly.  This  has 
induced  the  enclosed  order  to  Col.  Dayton,  whom  I  beg  you  will 
detach  with  three  hundred  of  his  most  alert  men  to  execute  this 
business,  and  to  order  the  Commissary-General  to  furnish  him  with 
six  days'  provisions  and  carriages  to  convey  it,  and  to  prepare  to 
send  more  if  there  should  be  occasion.  77  is  necessary  that  Sir 
John  Johnson  should  not  be  apprised  of  their  real  design,  and  1  have 
therefore  written  him  on  the  subject  of  removing  the  Highlanders 
from  Tryon  County,  which  you  will  please  to  peruse  and  seal,  and 
send  to  him  by  express  the  soonest  possible. 

"  I  am,  &c, 

"  Philip  Schuyler. 

"  To  General  Sullivan." 

This  ruse  of  removing  the  Highlanders,  as  the  sequel  shows, 
ruined  the  wily  plan. 

1  Force,  Vol.  VI.,  Fourth  Series,  643.    The  Italics  are  the  editor's. 
4  Ibid.  641.    The  Italics  are  the  editor's. 


586 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Schuyler  on  the  14th  wrote  Lady  Johnson,  that  he  must  se- 
cure Sir  John's  person,  and  that,  if  she  accompanied  her  hus- 
band, all  due  care  and  attention  should  be  paid  her  ;  but  if  Sir 
John  wished  her  to  remain,  an  officer's  guard  would  be  left, 
"  to  prevent  any  insult  to  yourself  or  your  family."  1 

On  the  1 8th  Sir  John  wrote  from  Johnson  Hall  to  General 
Schuyler  :  "  Sir,  on  my  return  from  Fort  Hunter,  yesterday,  I 
received  your  letter 2  by  express,  acquainting  me  that  the  elder 
McDonald  had  desired  to  have  all  the  clan  of  his  name  in  the 
County  of  Tryon  removed  and  subsisted.  I  know  none  of 
that  clan  but  such  as  are  my  tenants,  and  have  been  for  near 
two  years  supported  by  me  with  every  necessary,  by  which 
means  they  have  contracted  a  debt  of  near  two  thousand 
pounds,  which  they  are  in  a  likely  way  to  discharge  if  left  in 
peace.  As  they  are  under  no  obligation  to  Mr.  McDonald, 
they  refuse  to  comply  with  his  extraordinary  request  ;  there- 
fore beg  there  may  be  no  troops  sent  to  conduct  them  to 
Albany,  otherwise  they  will  look  upon  it  as  a  total  breach  of 
the  treaty  agreed  to  at  Johnstown.'1  Mrs.  McDonald  showed 
me  a  letter  from  her  husband  written  since  he  applied  to  Con- 
gress for  leave  to  return  to  their  families,  in  which  he  men- 
tions he  was  told  by  the  Congress  it  depended  entirely  upon 
you  ;  he  then  desired  that  their  families  might  be  brought 
down  to  them,  but  never  mentioned  anything  with  regard  to 
moving  my  tenants  from  hence,  as  matters  he  had  no  right  to 
treat  of.  Mrs.  McDonald  requested  that  I  would  inform  you 
that  neither  herself,  nor  any  of  the  other  families,  would 
choose  to  go  down."  4 

Four  days  previously,  however,  on  the  14th  of  May,  1 776,* 

1  Force,  4th  Series,  vol.  VI.,  p.  643. 
8  Ibid.  642. 

3  In  January,  1 776,  as  stated  in  Note  XXX.,  McDonald  was  one  of  the  six 
prisoners  sent  under  the  treaty  to  Congress  as  hostages  for  the  Highlanders  at  that 
time. 

*  Ibid.  644. 

6  Schuyler's  letters  on  this  business,  except  that  of  the  10th  to  Sir  John,  are  dated 
May  14,  1776,  and  with  Dayton's  report,  were  sent  by  him  to  Washington  in  a  let- 
ter of  May  31,  1776,  the  very  letter,  oddly  enough,  in  which  he  says  that  about 
100  persons  on  the  New  Hampshire  grants,  "  have  had  a  design  to  seize  me  as  a 
Tory,  and  perhaps  still  have."    Force,  vol.  vi.,  4th  Series,  p.  641. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  587 

Schuyler  had  ordered  Col.  Elias  Dayton,  with  a  detachment 
of  his  regiment,  to  repair  to  Gilbert  Tice's  inn,  at  Johnstown, 
and  secure  there  the  Highlanders,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren. This  done,  the  order  continues,  "  You  will  let  Sir 
John  Johnson  know  that  you  have  a  letter  from  me,  which 
you  are  ordered  to  deliver  in  person,  and  beg  his  attendance 
to  receive  it.  If  he  comes,  as  soon  as  you  have  delivered  the 
letter,  and  he  has  read  it,  you  are  immediately  to  make  him 
a  close  prisoner,  and  carefully  guard  him  that  he  may  not 
have  the  least  opportunity  to  escape."  His  papers  were 
then  to  be  seized  and  examined  by  Dayton  and  Wm.  Duer. 1 
Copies  of  any  against  America  were  to  be  forwarded  to  Schuy- 
ler, and  Sir  John  was  to  be  sent  to  Albany  under  a  strong 
guard,  and  Schuyler  notified  of  his  arrival.  They  were  to 
take  especial  care  that  nothing  whatever  of  his  property  was 
to  be  injured  or  destroyed,  except  arms.1 

On  the  19th  Dayton  arrived  at  Johnstown,  but  found,  as 
he  himself  reports,  "  that  Sir  John  Johnson  had  received 
General  Schuyler's  letter  3  by  the  express  ;  that  he  had  con- 
sulted the  Highlanders  upon  the  contents,  and  that  they  had 
unanimously  resolved  not  to  deliver  themselves  as  prisoners, 
but  to  go  another  way,  and  that  Sir  Johnson  had  determined 
to  go  with  them."  4 

They  and  Sir  John  considered  that  the  treaty  of  the  pre- 
ceding January,  for  which  their  hostages  were  then  in  the 
hands  of  Congress,  had  been  thus  broken  by  the  action  of 
Schuyler,  the  Albany  Committee,  and  by  Congress,  and  that 
they  were  thereby  freed  from  their  paroles.  Moreover, 
Schuyler's  letter  of  May  10th,  quoted  above,  expressly  says 
he  has  discharged  Sir  John  Johnson  from  his  parole.  The 
common  charge  of  historical  writers  that  Sir  John  broke  his 
parole  is  therefore  without  foundation,  and  untrue. 

Dayton  at  once  took  possession  of  Johnson  Hall.    He  sent, 

1  Ibid.  642.  Duer  was  sent  with  Da)  ton  as  a  sort  of  civil  agent.  He  was  the 
Win.  Duer  who  married  the  youngest  daughter  of  Lord  Stirling — Lady  Kitty,  as 
she  was  styled — and  the  "  Judge  Duer  "  of  the  above  letter  of  Schuyler  to  Sullivan. 

*  Force.  4th  Series,  vol.  VI.,  pp.  447,  and  643. 

3  About  the  Highlanders. 

4  Force,  4th  Series,  vol.  VI.,  p.  51 1 


533 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


according  to  his  letter  of  the  2ist  to  Schuyler,  an  officer  with 
a  letter  to  Lady  Johnson,  informing  her  of  his  design,  and  re- 
questing all  the  keys.  Shortly  after,  he  and  two  other  officers 
called  upon  her.  She  immediately  produced  all  the  keys  ; 
they  searched  Sir  John's  papers,  and  the  house,  and  placed 
guards  all  around  it.  Col.  Dayton,  thinking  the  guards  about 
her  would  be  painful,  requested  her  to  remove  to  Albany, 
where  he  understood  she  had  friends  ;  but  she  was  averse  to 
it,  and  he  therefore  wrote  to  Schuyler  for  directions.1 

At  this  time  Lady  Johnson  was  far  advanced  in  pregnancy, 
and  had  with  her  a  sister,  a  young  lady,  and  two  small  chil- 
dren. 

The  next  day — the  25th — Schuyler  writes  Dayton  :  "I 
think  it  advisable  that  Lady  Johnson  should  be  moved  to 
Albany  without  delay,  in  the  most  easy  and  commodious 
manner  to  her.  You  will  also  move  all  the  Highlanders  and 
their  families  to  that  place  ;  this  done  you  will  post  yourself 
in  the  most  advantageous  place  on  the  Mohawk  River  to 
secure  that  part  of  the  country,  and  remain  there  until  further 
orders."2 

Lady  Johnson  was  accordingly  sent  down  under  the  eye  of 
an  officer,  with  her  sister,  children,  and  servants,  to  Albany, 
where  she  remained  with  her  relatives,  Mrs.  Judith  Bruce,  who 
was  by  birth  Judith  Bayard  (she  married  first,  Kilian  van 
Rensselaer  of  Greenbush,  and  secondly,  Dr.  Archibald  Bruce, 
R.  A.),  and  Mrs.  Stephen  de  Lancey  (who  was  a  niece  of 
Mrs.  Bruce,  and  whose  husband  was  also  a  first  cousin  of 
Lady  Johnson),  till  after  her  confinement,  and  until  Gen. 
Schuyler  permitted  her  to  leave  that  city. 

Schuyler,  writing  to  Washington  on  June  12th,  says:  "  It 
is  the  general  opinion  of  people  in  Tryon  County,  that  whilst 
Lady  Johnson  is  kept  a  kind  of  hostage,  Sir  John  will  not 
carry  matters  to  excess,  and  I  have  been  entreated  to  keep 
her  here."    Her  brother,  Robert  Watts,'  applied  to  Wash-' 

1  Force,  4th  Series,  vol.  VI.,  p.  646. 

2  Ibid.  647. 

3  Robert  Watts  was  the  brother-in-law  of  William  Duer,  above  mentioned,  his 
wife  being  "  Lady  Mary,"  Lord  Stirling's  eldest  daughter. 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  589 

ington  in  her  behalf,  who  was  willing  she  should  go  to  New 
York,  but  referred  him  to  Schuyler,  who  declined  to  let  her 
depart.  On  the  15th  of  June,  the  day  Watts  left  Albany,  he 
wrote  to  Schuyler,  saying  :  "  Mr.  Watts  will  mention  to  Gen- 
eral Washington  the  reasons  why  Gen.  Schuyler  does  not 
comply  with  his  request  for  Lady  Johnson  to  go  to  New 
York."  Schuyler  replied  he  would  write  Washington  him- 
self, and  that  "  you  will  therefore  please  not  to  give  yourseif 
the  unnecessary  trouble  of  giving  General  Washington  my 
reasons."  Watts  answered  :  "  As  you  will  not  consent  to  Lady 
Johnson  going  to  New  York,  without  giving  two  gentlemen 
as  securities,"  he,  Watts,  would  like  to  know,  "  what  engage- 
ments they  were  to  be  under,  as  I  cannot  apply  to  any  gen- 
tleman until  you  inform  me."  Schuyler  closed  the  corre- 
spondence by  saying  :  "  As  by  your  former  note  of  this  day's 
date,  you  seemed  altogether  to  decline  entering  into  such  a 
measure,  I  have  since  again  given  my  sentiments  to  his  Ex- 
cellency General  Washington  on  Lady  Johnson's  situation  in 
a  fuller  manner  than  I  did  in  my  former  letter  to  him  ;  and  I 
shall  not,  therefore,  proceed  any  further  till  I  receive  his 
commands."  1 

The  next  day  Lady  Johnson  wrote  to  Washington  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  sharply  complaining  of  Schuyler's  treatment, 
and  asking  to  be  put  under  his,  Washington's,  protection  : 

"Albany,  June  16th,  1776. 

"  Sir  : — I  take  the  liberty  of  complaining  to  you,  as  it  is  from  you 
I  expect  redress.  I  was  compelled  to  leave  home,  much  against  my 
inclination,  and  am  detained  here  by  General  Schuyler,  who,  I  am 
convinced,  acts  more  out  of  ill  nature  to  Sir  John  than  from  any 
reason  that  he  or  1  have  given  him.  As  I  am  not  allowed  to  return 
home,  and  my  situation  here  made  as  disagreeable  as  it  can  be  by 
repeated  threats  and  messages  from  General  Schuyler,  too  indelicate 
and  cruel  to  be  expected  fiom  a  gentleman,  I  should  wish  to  be  with 
my  friends  at  New  York,  and  would  prefer  my  captivity  under  your 
Excellency's  protection  to  being  in  the  power  of  General  Schuyler, 
who  rules  with  more  severity  than  could  be  wished  by  your  Excel- 
lency's Humble  servant, 

"  M.  Johnson."1 

1  Force,  4th  Series,  vol.  VI.,  p.  913. 
s  Force,  4th  Series,  vol.  VI..  p.  930. 


59° 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Four  days  afterwards,  on  June  20th,  1776,  Washington 
wrote  Schuyler  from  New  York,  enclosing  the  resolves  of 
Congress  for  the  employment  of  Indians,1  and  urging  the 
"  most  active  exertions  for  accomplishing  and  carrying  the 
whole  into  execution  with  all  possible  despatch  ;  "  a  postscript 
to  this  letter,  dated  June  21st,  says  : 

"  I  shall  only  add,  Lady  Johnson  may  remain  at  Albany  till  further 

directions. 

"  George  Washington.' 

"To  General  Schuyler." 

She  remained  therefore  in  charge  of  the  Albany  Committee 
until  the  succeeding  December,  six  months  longer. 

On  the  6th  of  December,  General  Schuyler  wrote  them  : 
"  If  the  Committee  agree  to  let  Lady  Johnson  go  down,  I  am 
sure  I  have  no  objections  ;  but  no  person  can  be  permitted 
to  go  to  New  York  without  a  pass  from  the  General  command- 
ing in  Westchester  County.  Her  Ladyship  should  therefore 
go  to  Fishkill,  and  from  thence  send  for  the  necessary  pass- 
port. No  ill  treatment  I  may  have  received  can  induce 
me  to  forget  the  laws  of  decorum  and  humanity.  You  will, 
therefore,  if  Lady  Johnson  chooses  to  be  attended  by  an 
officer,  apply  in  my  name  to  'Col.  Gansevoort  for  one.  On 
your  part  you  will  see  that  she  is  properly  accommodated  for 
her  passage." 3 

The  Albany  Committee  gave  her  a  pass  to  Fishkill,  which 
she  enclosed  (as  Mrs.  Bruce  did  likewise  with  a  similar  pass 
for  herself)  by  letter  of  the  15th  of  December  to  Pierre  van 
Cortlandt  (who  was  also  a  first  cousin  of  Lady  Johnson's 
mother,  and  of  Gen.  Schuyler),  President  of  the  Convention, 
requesting  the  favor  of  a  pass  "  to  proceed  with  Capt.  Man 
to  New  York."  4 

The  Convention  was  sitting  in  New  York,  but  soon  after 
adjourned  to  Fishkill,  where  they  sat  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land edifice.   Pierre  van  Cortlandt  laid  her  request  before  the 

1  Of  25th  May,  June  3d,  and  June  6th,  1776.  Secret  Journals  of  Congress,  vol. 

I.,  PP-  44.  45.  4°- 

-  Force,  4th  Series,  vol.  VI.,  p.  992. 

3  Journals  Piov.  Convention,  vol.  II.,  p.  251. 

4  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  vol.  II.,  p.  256. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  59 1 

Convention,  which  declined  to  allow  her  to  go  to  New  York, 
but  gave  her  the  choice  of  a  residence,  naming  four  places, 
the  houses  of  the  two  gentlemen  mentioned  in  the  text,  and 
that  of  Mr.  Barclay,  at  Walkill,  in  Ulster  County,  or  to 
remain  in  Fishkill.  All  three  gentlemen  were  her  friends 
and  family  connections,  and  she  chose  Mr.  Barclay's,  in 
Ulster  County.  At  Fishkill  she  had  lodgings  with  Mr. 
Petrus  Bogardus,  which  Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris  had  kindly 
obtained  for  her. 

Mr.  Tappen,1  of  Ulster  County,  was  appointed  a  Committee 
"  to  devise  means  for  escorting  Lady  Johnson  to  some  proper 
and  safe  place  of  residence. "  He  states  in  his  report,  made 
January  6th,  1777, 1  that  he  went  to  Mr.  Bogardus's  house, 
but  found  she  had  crossed  the  river  the  day  before  he 
arrived  ;  "  that  your  Committee  likewise  crossed  the  river, 
and  overtook  Lady  Johnson  at  the  house  of  Colonel  Jonathan 
Hasbrouck,  where  he  conferred  with  her  on  the  subject  of 
her  residence,"  when  she  told  him  that  she  had  chosen  the 
Walkill  for  two  reasons  :  the  season  of  the  year  would  not 
permit  her  three  infants  travelling  far  ;  and  second,  that  she 
was  nearly  connected  in  family  with  Mr.  Barclay,3  at  whose 
house  she  intended  to  put  up;  "  that  your  Committee  endea- 
vored as  much  as  in  their  power,  consistent  with  the  honor  of 
this  Convention,  to  dissuade  her  from  going  there.  But  she 
being  determined  to  take  the  advantage  of  the  resolves  of 
this  State,  your  Committee,  therefore,  at  Lady  Johnson's 
request,  procured  carriages,  for  which  she  paid  the  drivers. 
And  your  Committee  did  in  person  wait  on  her  and  escort 
her  and  her  family,  consisting  of  her  ladyship,  three  children, 
Miss  Watts,  a  nurse,  one  white  and  one  negro  servant,  to  the 
house  lately  occupied  by  Mr.  Barclay." 

The  Convention  ordered  Mr.  Tappen's  "  bill  of  expenses  in 
escorting  Lady  Johnson,  amounting  to  one  pound  nineteen 
shillings  and  nincpence,"  paid  by  the  Secretary  and  charged 
to  the  Convention. 

1  Dr.  Christopher  Tappen,  a  brother-in-law  of  Gov.  George  Clinton. 
1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  vol.  I.,  p.  761. 

'Thomas  H.  Barclay,  who  was  the  eldest  son  of  Dr.  Henry  Barclay  of  Trinity 
Church,  and  whose  wife,  Susanna  de  Lanccy,  was  a  first  cousin  of  Lady  Johnson. 


592 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


As  -the  Journal  of  the  New  York  Convention  from  Dec. 
14th,  1776,  to  Jan.  1st,  1777,  is  missing,  the  exact  language 
of  the  resolutions  regarding  Lady  Johnson  cannot  be  given. 
Tappen's  report,  and  the  author's  statement,  agreeing  gen- 
erally, show  the  action,  but  not  the  manner  of  it.  Cadwal- 
lader  Colden  and  Thomas  Barclay  lived  near  each  other,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Coldenham,  then  in  Ulster  County, 
now  in  Orange,  and  were  practically  one  family,  hence  the 
author  speaks  of  Mr.  Coldcn's  house  in  connection  with  Lady 
Johnson.  Mr.  Colden  being  a  relation  of  both  ladies,  Mrs. 
Barclay  and  Lady  Johnson.1 

The  "  Major  Abeel,"  whom  Lady  Johnson  so  strangely 
encountered  while  escaping  to  New  York,  as  stated  on  page 
81,  was  James,  son  of  David  Abeel,  of  the  old  New  York 
family  of  that  name,  and  Mary  Duychinck,  his  wife.  In 
early  life  a  clerk  in  the  counting-house  of  John  Watts,  of  New 
York,  Lady  Johnson's  father,  he  entered  the  army  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  as  a  Captain  in  Lasher's  regiment  in 
the  New  York  service,  became  Major,  Colonel,  and  Deputy 
Quarter-Master  General,  and  was  also  on  Washington's  Staff 
at  Morristown.  He  married  Gertrude  Neilson,  of  New  Jersey, 
and  died  at  the  house  of  his  son  David,  at  New  Brunswick, 
N.  J.,  April  25th,  1825,  at  the  ripe  age  of  93.  (MS.  letter 
of  his  grandson,  the  Rev.  Gnstavus  Abeel,  D.D.,  of  Newark, 
N.  J.) 

It  may  interest  the  reader  to  know  that  Sir  John  Johnson 
was  born  the  5th  of  November,  1742,  and  died  at  his  residence 
at  St.  Mary's,  Montreal,  on  Monday,  January  4th,  1830,  in 
the  88th  year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  on  the  8th  in  the 
family  vault  at  Mount  Johnson  (named  after  the  first  house  Sir 
William  built  on  the  Mohawk),  on  the  south  side  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  near  Montreal.  Lady  Johnson  was  born  in  New 
York,  29th  October,  1753,  and  died  at  Montreal,  August  7th, 

1  Mr.  Colden  and  Mrs.  Barclay  were  uncle  and  niece,  the  latter's  mother,  Mrs. 
Peter  de  Lancey,  of  West  Farms,  Westchester  County,  being  Mr.  Colden's  sister 
Elizabeth.  Mrs.  Barclay  and  Lady  Johnson  were  first  cousins,  the  father  of  th< 
former,  Mr.  Peter  de  Lancey,  of  West  Farms,  and  the  mother  of  the  latter,  Mrs. 
John  Walls,  of  New  York  (Anne  de  Lancey),  being  brother  and  sister. 


HISTORY  OK  NEW  YORK. 


593 


1 8 1 5 ,  in  her  6ist  year,  and  was  buried  by  her  husband  in  the 
vault  at  Mount  Johnson.  They  were  married  in  New  York 
in  1773- 


NOTE  XXXII. 

THE  RESOLUTION  OF  THE  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS  OF  THE 
6TH  OF  JANUARY,  1 776,  ON  THE  DEFENCE,  OR  DESTRUC- 
TION, OF  NEW  YORK,  AT  THE  APPROACH  OF  THE  BRI- 
TISH FORCES. 

Volume  /.,  page  S4. 

The  resolution  of  Congress1  referred  to  by  the  author  on 
page  84,  passed  the  26th  of  January,  1776,  is  in  these  words : 

'■•Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  repair  to 
New  York,  to  consult  and  advise  with  the  Council  of  Safety  of  the 
Colony,  and  with  General  Lee,  respecting  the  immediate  defence  of 
the  city  of  New  York  ;  and  that  General  Lee  be  directed  to  follow 
the  determination  of  the  said  committee  thereupon. 

That  it  be  an  instruction  to  the  said  committee,  in  case  the  city 
cannot  be  defended,  that  they  earnestly  recommend  it  to  the  inhab- 
itants immediately  to  remove  their  most  valuable  effects  to  a  place 
of  safety. 

That  the  said  committee  be  further  instructed  to  consult  with 
General  Lee,  and  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  New  York,  about  the 
fortifications  on  Hudson's  River,  and  about  fortifying  the  pass  at 
Hellgate  ; 

The  members  chosen,  Mr.  Harrison,  Mr.  Lynch  and  Mr. 
Allen."  a 

It  appears  singular  that  no  member  from  the  Colony  of 
New  York  in  the  Continental  Congress  should  have  been  ap- 
pointed by  that  body  upon  a  committee  thus  charged  with 
the  destiny  of  its  chief  city  and  seaport.  The  possibility 
that  the  destruction  of  New  York  might  be  ordered  by  the 

1  Journals  Congress,  1776,  pp  39-40. 

5  Benjamin   Harrison  of  Virginia,  Thomas  Lynch   of  South  Carolina,  and 
Andrew  Allen  of  Philadelphia,  son  of  Chief  Justice  Win.  Allen  of  Pennsylvania. 
38 


594 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Committee,  in  case  it  could  not  be  defended,  in  preference 
to  its  occupation  by  the  British,  sufficiently  explains  the 
mystery. 

The  New  York  Committee  of  Safety  wrote  a  letter  to  Lee, 
which  he  sent  to  the  Continental  Congress,  urging  him  not 
to  come  to  New  York  with  his  troops,  for  fear  the  British 
men-of-war  would  fire  upon  the  city,1  and  destroy  it,  and 
practically  saying  they  could  defend  themselves. 

Lee  refused,  and  in  his  reply  to  their  President*  says  : 

"  If  the  ships  of  war  are  quiet  I  shall  be  quiet,  but  I  declare 
solemnly  that  if  they  make  a  pretext  of  my  presence  to  fire  on  the 
town,  the  first  house  set  in  flames  by  their  guns,  shall  be  the  funeral 
pile  of  some  of  their  best  friends  ;  but  I  believe,  sir,  the  inhabitants 
may  rest  in  security  on  this  subject.  I  am  convinced,  and  every 
•man  who  considers  a  moment  must  be  convinced,  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  seaport  towns,  would,  if  possible,  be  a  severer  stroke  to 
the  Ministry  and  their  instruments,  than  to  the  inhabitants  themselves. 
The  seaport  towns  are  the  only  holds  they  have  in  America  ;  they 
are  considered  as  pledges  of  servitude  ;  the  menacing  destruction 
of  them  may  be  of  admirable  use,  but  the  real  destruction  of  them 
must  extinguish  all  hopes  of  success." 

On  the  receipt  of  Lee's  letter.  Duane,  Floyd  and  Wisner, 
the  New  York  delegates,  applied  to  Congress,  and  that  body 
appointed  the  above  committee  "to  examine  into  the  ex- 
pediency of  the  expedition  (Lee's)  and  to  give  such  directions 
as  upon  consulting  you  and  the  General  might  appear  most 
prudent  and  advisable  "  ;  the  delegates  also  commended  Harri- 
son, Lynch  and  Allen  to  the  New  York  Committee  of  Safety, 
"  because  the  employment  in  which  they  are  now  engaged 
immediately  regards  the  safety  and  preservation  of  the  capital 
of  our  own  Colony."3  This  Committee  of  Congress  claimed 
the  sole  command  of  Lee's  troops  in  New  York,  who  had  en- 
tered that  Colony  in  spite  of  the  Convention.  The  Committee 
of  Safety  strongly  objected,  and  contested  this  claim,  but  finally 
had  to  yield  the  point,4  and  Lee's  troops  took  possession  of 

1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  258. 
5  Ibid.,  p.  266. 

3  See  their  letter,  Journal  Com.  of  Safety,  Vol.  I.,  p.  275. 

4  Ibid.,  277,  and  279-2S3. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


595 


New  York  City,  to  the  horror  and  dismay  of  the  inhabitants, 
most  of  whom  fled  at  once. 

Frederick  Rhinelandcr,  in  a  letter  to  Peter  van  Schaack, 
of  23d  February,  1776,  thus  vividly  describes  the  state  of 
things  in  New  York  on  the  arrival  of  the  American  forces. 

"To  see  the  vast  numher  of  houses  shut  up,  one  would  think  the 
city  almost  evacuated.  Women  and  children  are  scarce  to  be  seen 
in  the  streets.  Troops  are  daily  coming  in  ;  they  break  open  and 
quarter  themselves  in  any  houses  they  find  shut  up.  Necessity 
knows  no  law.  Private  interest  must  give  way  to  the  public  good. 
Mr.  Jacob  Walton  was  ordered  to  remove  and  give  up  his  house, 
which  is  now  occupied  by  the  soldiers."  1 


NOTE  XXXIII. 

THK   MISSION   FROM   CONGRESS   TO   CANADA — ITS  ROMAN 
CATHOLIC  MEMBERS— ITS  RESULT. 

Volume  I.,  page  91. 

The  author  is  mistaken  in  his  statement  that  "  two  Roman 
Catholic  priests  from  Maryland,  by  the  name  of  Carroll," 
were  despatched  by  Congress  with  Franklin  to  Canada. 
There  were  two  Roman  Catholics  in  the  mission,  but  only 
one  was  a  priest,  the  Rev.  John  Carroll,  an  eminent  man,  and 
subsequently  the  first  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Balti- 
more. The  Committee  besides  Franklin,  were  Samuel 
Chase,  and  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  ;  both  the  latter 
delegates  in  Congress  from  Maryland,  and  the  last  a 
Roman  Catholic.  They  were  appointed  February  15th,  1776, 
and  on  the  same  day  Congress, 

Resolved,  That  Mr.  Carroll  be  requested  to  prevail  on  Mr.  John 
Carroll  to  accompany  the  Committee  to  Canada  to  assist  them  in 
such  matters  as  they  shall  think  useful."  8 

1  Life  Peter  van  Schaack,  p.  53. 
*  Journals  Congress,  1776,  p.  64. 


596 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  object  being  through  him  to  influence  the  priests  and 
people  of  Canada,  who  were  Roman  Catholics.  Father 
Carroll  yielded,  but  only  on  condition  that  he  was  to  do  no 
more  than  persuade  the  Canadians  to  remain  neutral.1  The 
"  instructions  "  of  Congress  to  the  Committee  were  voted 
March  20th,  1776,  and  are  quite  long.  Their  chief  object 
was  "  to  form  a  union  between  said  Colonies  and  the  people 
of  Canada."  2 

' '  They  took  the  alarm  and  instantly  returned  ;  "  "  instantly  " 
is  perhaps  too  strong  a  word  for  the  Committee's  return, 
though  their  stay  was  very  short.  They  arrived  at  Montreal 
April  29th,  1776,  and  held  their  first  council  the  30th. 
Franklin  and  Father  Carroll  left  that  city  on  their  way  back 
May  nth,  but  Charles  Carroll  and  Mr.  Chase  did  not  return 
to  Philadelphia  till  the  middle  of  June.3  The  Mission 
effected  nothing,  and  proved  an  entire  failure. 


NOTE  XXXIV. 

The  riding  of  Tories  on  rails  through  the  streets 
of  new  york. 

Volume  I.,  page  101. 

In  a  letter  of  Peter  Elting  to  his  brother-in-law,  Captain, 
afterwards  the  well  known  Colonel,  Richard  Varick,  written 
the  day  after  the  mob  procession  described  by  the  author, 
occurs  this  account  of  it : 

"New  York,  13th  June,  1776. 

M  Dear  Brother  : 

...  We  had  some  Grand  Toory  Rides  in  this  City  this  week  & 
in  particular  yesterday.  Several  of  them  were  handeld  veny  Roughly 

1  Brent's  Biographical  Sketch  of  Archbishop  Carroll. 

*  See  Journals  of  Congress,  1776,  p.  100,  for  the  instructions  in  full,  one  of 
which  is  a  strong  guaranty  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  and  the  property  of 
that  church. 

8  Force,  4th  Series,  Vol.  IV.,  pages  587  and  1027. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


597 


Being  Caried  triigh  the  streets  on  Rails,  there  Clooths  tore  from 
there  backs  and  there  Bodies  pritty  well  mingled  with  the  dust. 

Amongst  them  were  C  ,  Capt.  Hardenbrook,  Mr.  Rapllje,  Mr. 

Queen  the  Poticary,  and  Lessly  the  barber.  There  is  hardly  a  toory 
face  to  be  seen  this  morning."  1 

Surgeon  Solomon  Drovvne,  tben  at  tbe  hospital  established 
in  the  buildings  of  King's  College,  closes  a  letter  to  his 
father,  Solomon  Drowne  of  Providence,  dated  "  General 
Hospital  New  York  June  17th"  (1776),  in  these  words  : 

"  Hond  Sir2 

.  .  .  There  has  lately  been  a  good  deal  of  attention  paid 
the  Tories  in  this  City.  Some  of  the  worst  have  been  carried  thro' 
the  streets  (at  Noonday)  on  rails  &c. 

"  your  dutiful  son, 

Solomon." 

In  the  "  Upcott  Collection  "  in  the  New  York  Historical 
Society  Library,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  288,  is  a  letter  dated  "  Staten 
Island,  August  17,  1776,"  which  says: 

"The  persecution  of  the  loyalists  continues  unremitted.  Donald 
McLean,  Theophilus  Hardenbrook,  young  Fueter,  the  silversmith, 
and  Rem  Rapelje  of  Brooklyn,  have  been  cruelly  rode  on  rails,  a 
practice  most  painful,  dangerous,  and,  till  now,  peculiar  to  the 
humane  republicans  of  New  England." 

In  New  England,  too,  they  also  smoked  tories.  McFingal, 
Canto  III.,  (Andrus  ed.  Hartford,  1856,  p.  120),  says: 

"  Have  you  made  old  Murray  look  less  big, 
Or  smoked  old  Williams  to  a  Whig  ?  " 
And  the  note  states:  "The  operation  of  smoking  Tories  was  thus 
performed.    The  victim  was  confined  in  a  close  room  before  a  large 
fire  of  green  wood,  and  a  cover  applied  at  the  top  of  the  chimney." 

Generals  Mifflin  and  Putnam  endeavoured  to  stop  the  cruelty 
stated  in  the  text,  but  in  vain.  They  then  complained  of  it 
to  the  Provincial  Congress,  sitting  at  the  time  in  the  City  Hall 

1  Ms.  letter  in  Library  of  t lie  N.Y.  Mercantile  Library  Association. 

5  Ms.  letter  in  possession  of  Henry  T.  Drowne.  Both  letters  have  appeareJ 
in  the  volume  of  Revolutionary  Documents  published  by  the  New  York  Mercan- 
tile Library  Association. 


598  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

in  Wall  street,  before  which  the  procession  passed.  That  body, 
either,  not  desiring  to  condemn  absolutely,  or,  perhaps,  not 
daring  to  condemn,  "the  warm  friends  of  liberty,"  as  it  styles 
them,  merely  disapproved  the  proceeding  by  this  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Congress  by  no  means  approve  of  the  riots 
that  have  happened  this  day ;  they  flatter  themselves,  however, 
that  they  have  proceeded  from  a  real  regard  to  liberty  and  a  detes- 
tation of  those  persons,  who,  by  their  language  and  conduct,  have 
discovered  themselves  to  be  inimical  to  the  cause  of  America.  To 
urge  the  warm  friends  of  liberty  to  decency  and  good  order,  this 
Congress  assures  the  public,  that  effectual  measures  shall  be  taken 
to  secure  the  enemies  of  American  liberty  in  this  Colony  ;  and  do 
require  the  good  people  of  this  city  and  Colony,  to  desist  from  all 
riots  and  leave  the  offenders  against  so  good  a  cause  to  be  dealt  with 
by  the  constitutional  representatives  of  the  Colony."  1 

There  is  no  mention  of  this  occurrence  in  Washington's 
general  orders  or  letters.  He  went  to  Philadelphia  at  the 
request  of  Congress,  on  May  23d,  leaving  Putnam  in  com- 
mand, and  returned  from  that  city  to  New  York,  June  6th, 
1776.  No  New  York  newspapers  of  the  day  that  are  preserv- 
ed refer  to  this  matter. 


NOTE  XXXV. 

MRS.  JONES,  WASHINGTON,  STIRLING,  AND  THE  PASS  OK 
JULY  4TH,  1776— HER  RETURN  HOME  WITHOUT  ITS 
USE,  NOTWITHSTANDING  WASHINGTON'S  ORDER,  BY 
THE  AID  OF  ANTHONY  RUTGERS. 

Volume  I.,  pages  1 03-4. 

The  Mrs.  Jones   mentioned  in  this   anecdote  was  the 
author's  wife.    The  gentleman  who  delivered  her  note  to 
-  Washington  was  probably  Mr.  John  de  Lancey  of  New 
York,  her  first  cousin,  who  had  been  High  Sheriff  of  West- 


1  Journals  of  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  491. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  599 

-» 

Chester,  and  a  member  of  the  Assembly  and  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Fifty-one  in  1774. 1  The  Captain  Anthony  Rutgers 
who  gallantly  carried  her  to  Long  Island  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility notwithstanding  Washington's  order,  was  then  one  of 
the  City  Members  in  the  New  York  Provincial  Congress,  and 
the  owner  of  the  Rutgers  estate,  on  the  East  River,  nearly 
adjoining  "  Mount  Pitt,"  the  town  residence  of  Judge  and 
Mrs.  Jones,  and  their  warm  personal  friend. 


NOTE  XXXVI. 

The  two  armies  at  new  york  in  1776— their  size 
and  condition. 

Volume  I.,  pages  no  and  112. 

It  may  interest  the  reader  to  compare  the  author's  account 
of  the  two  armies,  with  the  official  statements  of  each. 

The  official  returns  of  Washington's  army  give  the  following 
figures  as  its  strength  at  the  different  dates  named.  All 
are  found  in  Force's  Archives,  Volume  First  of  the  Fifth 
Series. 

Dales.  Total  Strength.  Fit  for  Duty. 

19th  May,  1776.  8,767.  6,717. 

1 2th  June,  1776.  8,868.  6,749. 

29th  June,  1776.  10,368.  7*389. 

20th  July,  1776.  14,868.  10,106. 

27th  July,  1776.  I5>215-  9.5 

3d  August,  1776.  17.225.  10,514. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  Washington,  referring  to  this  last 
return,  wrote  to  the  President  of  Congress: 

"We  have  fit  for  duty  10,514,  sick  present  3,039,  sick  absent 
629,  in  command  2,946,  on  furlough  97,  total  17,225.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  we  are  certain  only  of  Col.  Smalhvood's  battalion  in 
case  of  an  immediate  attack.    Our  posts,  too,  are  much  divided, 


1  See  Notes  XIII.  and  XIV.,  ante. 


6oo 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


having' waters  between  many  of  them,  and  some  distant  irom  others 
fifteen  miles.  These  circumstances  sufficiently  distressing  of  them- 
selves are  much  aggravated  by  the  sickness  that  prevails  through  the 
Army.  Every  day  more  or  less  are  taken  down,  so  that  the  pro-v 
portion  of  men  that  may  come  in  cannot  be  considered  as  a  real 
and  serviceable  augmentation  of  the  whole.  These  things  are 
melancholy,  but  they  are  nevertheless  true.    I  hope  for  better."  1 

On  the  26th  of  August,  the  day  before  the  battle  of 
Brooklyn,  Washington  wrote  to  the  President  of  Congress  : 

"  The  shifting  and  changing  the  regiments  have  undergone  of 
late 3  has  prevented  their  making  proper  returns,  and  of  course  put 
it  out  of  my  power  to  transmit  a  general  one  of  the  Army.  How- 
ever, I  believe  our  strength  is  much  the  same  as  when  the  last  was 
made,  with  the  addition  of  nine  militia  regiments  more  from  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  averaging  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  men 
each."  3 

The  "  last  return  "  was  that  of  August  3,  1776, 

above  given   17,225 

Add  nine  regiments  of  350  men  each   3,'50 

And  we  have  a  total  of   20,375 

as  Washington's  own  statement  of  the  number  of  his  army, 
all  told,  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Brooklyn  Heights.  In 
the  same  letter  he  says  :  "  Our  people  still  continue  to  be 
very  sickly."  As  there  were  only  10,514  fit  for  duty  on 
August  3d,  the  same  proportion  would  give  about  13,  or 
14,000  as  the  effective  strength  of  Washington's  army  at  New 
York  and  Brooklyn  on  August  26,  1776. 

"  Indeed,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  of  the  14th  to  James  Bowdoin, 
after  mentioning  that  a  deserter  that  day  stated  Howe's 
force  was  twenty-six  thousand  men,  and  in  general,  very 
healthy,  "The  army  under  my  command  (which  amounts 
to  little  more  than  half  the  number  of  effective  men)  are 
in  good  spirits,  and  will,  I  hope,  act  becoming  men  fight-' 

1  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  I.,  p.  835. 

8  Owing  to  the  appointment  of  four  Major-Generals  by  Congress,  and  the 
changes  of  command  thereby  made  necessary. 
1  Force's  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  I.,  p.  1158. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


60 1 


ing  for  everything  worth  fighting  for,  everything  worth  living 
for."1 

Washington's  "  general  orders  "  testify  to  the  wretched 
condition  and  character  of  his  army  described  in  the  text. 
That  of  July  23,  1776,  says  : 

"It  is  with  great  astonishment  and  surprise  the  General  hears 
that  soldiers  enlist  from  one  corps  to  another,  and  frequently  receive 
a  bounty,  and  that  some  officers  have  knowingly  received  such  men. 
So  glaring  a  fraud  upon  the  publick,  and  injury  to  the  service  will 
be  punished  in  the  most  exemplary  manner."  That  of  July  24th, 
states:  "The  General  sensible  of  the  difficulty  and  expense  of 
providing  clothes,  of  almost  any  kind,  for  the  troops,  feels  an 
unwillingness  to  recommend,  much  more  to  order,  any  kind  of 
uniform  ;  but  as  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  men  should  have 
clothes,  and  appear  decent  and  tight,  he  earnestly  encourages  the 
use  of  hunting  shirts,  with  long  breeches  made  of  the  same  cloth, 
gaiter  fashion  about  the  legs,  to  all  those  yet  unprovided."  That  of 
July  25th  :  "  It  is  with  inexpressible  concern  the  General  sees  soldiers 
fighting  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and  their  country  committing  crimes 
most  destructive  to  the  army,  and  which  in  all  other  armies  are 
punishable  with  death."  That  of  August  6th,  robbing  their  produce 
from  the  market  people,  directs  an  officer  from  each  of  the  guards 
nearest  the  markets  "  to  seize  any  offender  and  send  him  imme- 
diately to  the  Guard- House  reporting  him  also  at  headquarters." 
That  of2ist  August:  "Marauding  is  become  so  frequent  that  the 
General  expects  every  officer  will  in  a  spirited  manner  exert  himself 
to  prevent  it.  .  .  Last  night  a  poor  inhabitant  was  robbed  of 
all  himself  and  distressed  family  had  to  depend  on  for  their  winter 
support  by  certain  villains,  who  said  they  belonged  to  the  Jersey  Regi- 
ment. There  are  more  villains  that  wear  blue  than  those  suspected 
in  the  Jersey  Regiment.  .  .  The  Army  is  paid  to  protect,  not  pilfer 
the  inhabitants."  The  orders  to  Gen.  Putnam,  of  August  25th,  on 
this  subject  are  still  stronger,  and  more  stringent. ' 

So  wretchedly  were  his  troops  clad,  officers  and  men,  that 
by  an  order  of  May  3rd,  1776,  it  was  established  by  General 
Washington  as  a  mark  of  distinction,  that  the  general  officers, 
aides-de-camp,  and  brigade-majors,  might  be  known  to  the 
soldiers,  that  a  Major  General  should  wear  a  purple  or  blue 
ribbon,  a  Brigadier,  a  pink  or  light  red,  the  Staff  and  Adjutant 
General  a  green.3 

1  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  I.,  p.  952. 

5  See  "  General  Orders  "  in  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  I.,  under  the  difleieiu  dates 
given. 

3  Saffell's  Records  Rev.  War,  p.  325. 


602 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  34th  Note  to  Beatson's  "  Naval  and  Military  Memoirs 
of  Great  Britain,"  Vol.  VI.,  page  44,  contains  the  official 
"  List  of  the  forces  under  General  Howe,  at  New  York,  1776." 


It  is  as  follows  : 

Dragoons,  1 6th  and  17th  regiments   984 

Foot  Guards   1,105 

Infantry,  4th,  5th,  6th,  10th,  16th,  17th,  22d,  23d,  27th, 
28th,  35th,  38th,  40th,  43d,  44th,  45th,  46th,  49th, 

52d,  55th,  63d,  64th  and  65th — 10  companies  each  14,234 

42d  or  Royal  Highlanders   1,168 

71st  or  General  Frazer's  Battalion   1,298 

Artillery,  6  companies   486 

Marines,  2  battalions   1,172 

Hessians,  Infantry   12,579 

Ditto,  Artillery   588 


Total   34,614 


On  the  2 1st  of  August,  1776,  a  spy  of  Gov.  Livingston  of 
New  Jersey  returned  from  Staten  Island  and  told  him  the 
"whole  force  of  the  enemy  of  every  kind  was  thirty-five 
thousand  men,"  which  extraordinarily  accurate  information  he 
sent  to  Washington  the  next  day.1 

Of  this  army,  fifteen  thousand  men  with  forty  pieces  of 
cannon  were  landed  on  Long  Island.  Two  brigades  of  Hes- 
sians (actual  number  not  given),  in  addition  joined  them  the 
next  day,  making  together  about  twenty  thousand  men.*  All 
were  in  high  health,  perfectly  armed  and  equipped,  and  led 
by  England's  best  Generals.  In  fact,  this  army  of  Howe's 
was  the  largest  and  best  appointed  army  ever  sent  from 
England  up  to  that  time,  and  with  one  exception,  perhaps, 
ever  since.  That  exception  was  Wellington's  army  in  181  5 — 
the  Waterloo  army — which  consisted  of  thirty-seven  thousand 
men,  all  the  force  that  England  could  then  gather  together, 
and  which  was  only  two  thousand  more  than  Howe  had  at 
New  York  in  1776.     Her  Crimean  army  in  1855  was  28,000. 

The  number  of  Washington's  army  is  given  on  page  112 
as  45,000.  It  was  popularly  supposed  at  the  time,  by  both 
Americans  and  British,  that  it  was  about  50,000,  as  none  but 
Washington,  his  staff,  the  President,  and  a  very  few  members, 

1  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  I.,  p.  1531. 
3  Beatson,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  157-8. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


603 


of  Congress,  knew  the  real  number,  which  was  sedulously  con- 
cealed from  the  world.  General  Silliman,  then  with  his  bri- 
gade in  New  York,  on  July  31st  wrote  his  wife,  "  By  the 
paper  sent  herewith,  you  will  see  that  our  forces  here,  and 
here  about,  are  said  to  be  50,000.  Depend  upon  it,  that  they 
are  but  little  more  than  half  that  number.  How  many  they  do 
amount  to,  I  can't  tell,  because  the  General,  from  first  to  last, 
never  has  told  how  many  he  has  got."  1  Francis  Lewis,  him- 
self a  delegate  to  Congress,  in  a  letter  of  27th  August  puts  it 
at  "  upwards  of  30,000  on  York  and  Long  Island,"  and  "about 
20,000  "  in  Jersey.*  General  Mercer,  the  Commander  of  the 
troops  in  Jersey,  whom  Washington  ordered  to  join  him  on 
27th  August  "  with  all  the  army  under  his  command,"  wrote 
President  Hancock  at  5  o'clock,  August  28th,  "  Our  whole 
force,  including  the  Jersey  militia,  from  PowlesHook  to  Shrews- 
bury, amounts  to  eight  thousand  and  three  hundred." 3  If,  how- 
ever, the  militia  of  the  different  Colonies  had  answered  the  calls 
of  Congress  of  June  3d,  and  of  Washington  and  the  American 
Governors,  in  the  end  of  July  and  beginning  of  August,  1776, 
his  number  would  have  very  far  exceeded  45,000.  But  they 
would  not  come.  Connecticut  promised  through  Governor 
Trumbull  fourteen  regiments,'  but  could  only  send  nine.  A 
very  few  men  joined  from  Jersey,  but  from  the  other  colo- 
nies, prior  to  the  battle  of  Brooklyn,  came  no  militia.  The 
truth  is,  the  people  generally  would  not  turn  out.  "  The  mas- 
ses," to  use  a  modern  expression,  were  not  yet  in  favor  of 
independence,  although  it  had  been  declared  about  six  weeks 
before.  They  could  not  make  up  their  minds  to  fight  against 
the  only  supreme  government  they  had  ever  known,  to  take 
up  arms  against  him  whom  they  called  "  the  King,"  and  the 
country  they  called  "  Home."  Royal  obstinacy,  and  ministe- 
rial folly,  in  England,  and  military  stupidity,  or  worse,  in 
America,  however,  rapidly  and  effectually  "  changed  all 
that,"  and  nerved  the  colonists  for  the  struggle  they  so  hap- 
pily won. 

1  Ms.  Letter. 

2  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  I.,  p.  1180. 
8  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  I.,  p.  1193. 
4  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  I.,  p.  925. 


6o4 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  XXXVII. 

THE  LANDING  OF  THE  BRITISH,  COWARDICE  OF  THE  CON- 
NECTICUT TROOPS,  AND  WASHINGTON'S  ANGER  AND 
DESPAIR,  AT  KIP'S  BAY,  ON  SUNDAY,  THE  I  5TH  OF  SEP- 
TEMBER, 1776. — ESCAPE  OF  SILLIMAN'S  BRIGADE  FROM 
BAYARD'S  HILL. — ACTION  OF  THE  16TH  AT  HARLEM 
HEIGHTS. — SILLIMAN  SAVED  ON  THE  15TH  BY  AARON 
BURR. — BURR'S  PROJECTED  HISTORY  OF  THE  REVOLU- 
TION, AND  HIS  STATEMENT  REGARDING  THE  REAL  ACT- 
ORS, AND  THE  COMMON  ACCOUNTS,  OF  THAT  PERIOD. — 
AN  EARLY  CONNECTICUT  PROJECTILE. 

Vol.  J.,  p.  119. 

THE  following  succinct  account  of  the  scenes  and  events  of 
September  15th,  and  16th,  1776,  was  written  on  the  17th,  by- 
General  Nathaniel  Greene  to  Governor  Cooke  of  Rhode 
Island  : 

"Camp  at  Harlem  Heights,  Sept.  17th,  1776. 

"  Sir. — I  suppose  you  have  heard  of  the  retreat  from  Long  Island, 
and  the  evacuation  of  New  York.  The  retreats  were  both  judicious 
and  necessary,  our  numbers  being  very  insufficient  to  hold  such  an 
extent  of  ground.  His  Excellency  had  proposed  to  evacuate  the 
city  and  suburbs  of  New  York  some  time  before  the  enemy  made 
their  last  landing,  and  had  the  Quartermaster-General  been  able  to 
furnish  the  necessary  wagons  to  remove  the  stores  and  baggage,  the 
retreat  would  have  been  effected  in  good  order,  had  the  enemy  de- 
layed their  landing  twenty-four  hours  longer.  Almost  all  the  old 
standing  regiments  were  drawn  out  of  the  city  in  order  to  oppose  the 
enemy  at  Hell  Gate,  where  they  made  the  appearance  of  a  very  large 
body  of  troops,  and  movements  as  if  they  intended  a  landing. 

"  We  made  a  miserable  disorderly  retreat  from  New  York,  owing 
to  the  disorderly  conduct  of  the  militia,  who  ran  at  the  appearance 
of  the  enemy's  advance  guard  ;  this  was  General  Fellows' s  brigade. 
They  struck  a  panic  into  the  troops  in  the  rear,  and  Fellows's  and 
Parsons's  whole  brigade  ran  away  from  about  fifty  men,  and  left  his 
Excellency  on  the  ground,  within  eighty  yards  of  the  enemy,  so  vexed 
at  the  infamous  conduct  of  the  troops  that  he  sought  death  rather 
than  life.1 

1  See  letter  of  Col.  Nicholas  Fish,  giving  a  vivid  account  of  the  "dastardly  con- 
duct," as  Washington  called  it,  of  the  Connecticut  troops,  Historical  Magazine, 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


605 


"  The  retreat  was  on  the  14th,  of  this  instant,  from  New  York  ; 
most  of  the  troops  got  off,  but  we  lost  a  prodigious  deal  of  baggage 
and  stores.  On  the  16th  we  had  a  skirmish  at  Harlem  Heights;  a 
party  of  about  1,000  came  and  attacked  our  advanced  post.  They 
met  with  a  very  different  kind  of  reception  from  what  they  did  the 
day  before.  The  fire  continued  about  an  hour,  and  the  enemy  re- 
treated ;  our  people  pursued  them,  and  by  the  spirited  conduct  of 
General  Putnam  and  Colonel  Reed,  the  Adjutant-General,  our  peo- 
ple advanced  upon  the  plain  ground  without  cover,  and  attacked 
them  and  drove  them  back.  His  Excellency  sent  and  ordered  a 
timely  retreat  to  our  advanced  post,  for  he  discovered,  or  concluded, 
the  enemy  would  send  a  large  reinforcement,  as  their  main  body  lay 
near  by.  I  was  sick  when  the  army  retreated  from  Long  Island, 
which,  by  the  by,  was  the  best  effected  retreat  I  ever  read  or  heard 
of,  considering  the  difficulty  of  the  retreat. 

"  The  army  now  remains  quiet,  but  expect  an  attack  every  day. 
Colonel  Varnum's  and  Col.  Hitchcock's  regiments  were  in  the  last 
action,  and  behaved  nobly  ;  but  neither  of  the  Colonels  were  with 
them,  both  being  absent,  one  sick,  and  the  other  taking  care  of  the 
sick."  1 

General  Howe's  official  despatch  to  Lord  George  Ger- 
maine,  of  the  2 1st  of  September,  1776,  says  of  the  landing  at 
Kip's  Bay,  "  the  fire  of  the  ships  was  so  incessant  the  enemy 
could  not  remain  in  their  works,  and  the  landing  was  made 
without  the  least  opposition."  2 

Sir  Henry  Clinton's  copy  of  "  Stedman's  History  of  the 
American  War,  2  vols.  4to,  London,  1794,"  with  his  own 
manuscript  marginal  notes,  each  signed  "  C",  was  procured 
for  his  own  great  library  by  the  late  John  Carter  Brown,  of 
Providence.  These  volumes  have  been  most  kindly  placed 
in  the  editor's  hands,  for  use  in  this  work,  by  Mr.  John 
R.  Bartlett,  the  learned  and  courteous  custodian  and  libra- 
rian of  that  invaluable  and  most  complete  collection  of  works 
relating  to  America. 

Regarding  the  landing  at  Kip's  Bay,  Sir  Henry  writes  : 
"  The  Rebels  had  by  a  feint  (as  they  supposed  it  at  least) 

Second  Series,  Vol.  III.,  p.  33;  also  Harrison's  and  Washington's  letters  to  the 
President  of  Congress,  and  to  Governor  Cooke,  of  Rhode  Island,  Force,  Fifth 
Series,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  351  and  369;  and  Gordon's  Hist.,  Vol.,  II.  p.  327. 
1  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  II.,  p.  370. 

*  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol  II.,  p.  378.  There  were  five  ships  covering  the 
landing. 


6o6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


been  drawn  from  their  entrenchments.  The  navy,  by  firing 
round  shot,  prevented  their  return  to  them." 

Stedman  states  (Vol.  I,  p.  208)  that  Howe,  instead  of  land- 
ing at  New  York,  ought  to  have  thrown  his  army  around 
Kingsbridge  and  thus  hemmed  in  the  whole  American  army. 
Sir  Henry  Clinton's  comment  is,  "This  had  been  recom- 
mended to  Sir  Wm.  Howe  :  perhaps,  however,  New  York 
was  necessary  for  the  fleet." 

As  to  the  skirmish  at  Harlem  Heights,  on  the  16th  of  Sep- 
tember, he  says  :  "  The  ungovernable  impetuosity  of  the 
light  troops  drew  us  into  this  scrape." 

The  following  extracts  from  the  private  letters  of  Gen. 
Gold  Selleck  Silliman  to  his  wife,  one  written  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  16th,  the  other  on  the  17th,  state  clearly  the  facts 
and  events  of  the  15th  and  16th  of  September,  1776.  They 
are  now  printed  for  the  first  time.1 

Gen.  Silliman  to  Mrs.  Silliman. 

"Monday,  16th,  9  o'cl.  a.m., 
"From  the  Camp  4  miles  below  King's  Bridge. 
"The  affair  of  yesterday  was  most  unfortunate — The  Army  are  all 
here  &  between  here  &:  King's  Bridge  &  at  King's  Bridge.  The 
enemy  are  in  possession  of  New  York  &  all  between  here  & 
there.  My  Brigade  was  left  in  New  York  the  last  of  all  &  the 
enemy  landed  between  me  &  the  rest  of  the  Army  &  cut  off  all 
communication.  My  way  was  hedged  up  but  the  Lord  opened  it. 
I  brought  in  all  my  Brigade  except  a  few — It  was  some  time  in  the 
night  before  I  got  in — It  was  expected  by  the  Army  as  well  as  my- 
self that  I  &  my  Brigade  must  perish." 

Gen.  Silliman  to  Mrs.  Silliman. 

"  Harlem  Heights,  17  Sept.,  1776,  2  o'cl.  p.m. 
"  Yesterday  at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  were  alarmed  with  the 
sight  of  a  considerable  number  of  the  enemy  on  the  Plains  below  us 
about  a  mile  distant — Our  Brigades  which  form  a  line  across  the  , 
Island  where  I  am  were  immediately  ordered  under  arms — but  as 
the  enemy  did  not  immediately  advance  we  grounded  our  arms  & 

1  From  the  originals,  belonging  to  his  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Oliver  H.  Hubbard, 
and  by  her  kind  permission. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


607 


i<yok  spades  &  shovels  &  went  to  work  &  before  night  had  thrown  up 
lines  across  the  Island — There  was  nothing  before  but  three  little 
redoubts  in  about  a  mile  &  we  are  at  work  this  day  in  strengthening 
them.  But  yesterday  a  little  before  noon  we  heard  a  strong  firing 
about  half  a  mile  below  us  in  the  woods  near  where  we  had  two  Bri- 
gades lying  as  an  advanced  guard.  The  enemy  in  a  large  body  ad- 
vanced in  the  woods  a  little  before  12  o'cl  &  began  a  heavy  fire  on 
those  two  Brigades  who  maintained  the  fire  obstinately  for  some  time 
&  then  they  were  reinforced  by  several  regiments  &  the  fire  con- 
tinued very  heavy  from  the  musketry  &  from  field  pieces  about  two 
hours  in  which  time  our  people  drove  the  regulars  back  from  post  to 
post  about  a  mile  and  a  half  &  then  left  them  pretty  well  satisfied 
with  their  dinner  since  which  they  have  been  very  quiet.  Our  loss 
on  this  occasion  by  the  best  information  is  about  25  killed  &  40  or 
50  wounded.  The  enemy  by  the  best  accounts  have  suffered  much 
more  than  we. 

"A  prisoner  we  have  I  am  told  says  that  Gen1  Howe  himself  com- 
manded the  regulars  &  Gen1  Washington  &  Gen1  Putnam  were  both 
with  our  Troops.  They  have  found  now  that  when  we  meet  them 
on  equal  ground  we  are  not  a  set  of  people  that  will  run  from  them 
— but  that  they  have  now  had  a  pretty  good  drubbing,  tho'  this  was 
an  action  between  but  a  small  party  of  the  army.  I  wish  1  could 
give  you  as  good  an  account  of  our  leaving  New  York.  That  is  an 
unfortunate  affair.  On  the  morning  of  last  Sabbath  (the  15th)  we 
had  news  that  the  regulars  on  Long  Island  were  in  motion  as  tho' 
they  would  cross  the  East  river  &  land  about  3  miles  above  the  city. 
At  this  place  lay  their  ships  close  in  with  our  shore  &  soon  after  the 
regulars  marched  in  a  large  body  down  to  the  shore  &  embarked  on 
Board  their  flat  bottomed  boats.  Upon  this  their  ships  began  a 
most  incessant  fire  on  our  lines  opposite  to  them  with  their  grape 
shot  from  which  they  were  distant  but  about  50  rods  &  behind  which 
lay  Gen1  Wadsworths  &  Co1  Douglas's  Brigades  &  until  the  fire  was 
so  hot  from  the  Ships  that  they  were  obliged  to  retreat.  On  this  the 
regulars  landed  &  fired  upon  them  which  completed  their  confusion 
&  they  ran  away  up  here  &  are  here  now — but  a  part  of  them  were 
out  in  yesterdays  action  &  behaved  nobly.  Now  as  to  myself  &  my 
brigade.  VVe  were  left  to  guard  the  City  until  all  the  rest  of  the 
troops  were  drawn  off  &  about  half  an  hour  or  an  hour  after  all  the 
other  troops  were  gone  I  was  ordered  with  my  brigade  to  march  out 
of  the  City  &  man  the  lines  on  the  East  river  opposite  to  Bayards 
Hill  fort.  There  I  marched  &  saw  the  regular  army  land  above  me 
&  spread  across  the  island  from  one  river  to  the  other — until  my  re- 
treat seemed  to  be  entirely  cut  off  &  soon  after  received  an  order  to 
retreat  if  I  could.  I  attempted  it  along  up  through  the  woods  by 
the  North  river,  when  I  came  in  sight  of  the  enemy  several  times  but 
kept  my  brigade  covered  in  the  woods,  so  that  I  got  thro'  them  to 
their  uppermost  guard,  &  they  pursued  &  fired  on  my  rear  &  took  a 
few  of  my  men.    I  immediately  formed  about  300  of  my  rear  on  an 


6o8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Hill  to  oppose  them.  On  seeing  this  the  regulars  fled,  &  I  pursued 
my  retreat  &  got  my  brigade  safe  here  where  I  am  now  posted — a 
particular  detail  of  the  risk  I  ran  must  be  deferred — 'Twas  supposed 
by  every  body  here  that  I  &  my  brigade  were  entirely  cut  off." 

General  Silliman  and  his  brigade  were  saved  by  the  acute- 
ness  and  presence  of  mind  of  Aaron  Burr,  who  himself  related 
the  circumstance  to  the  General's  grandson,  the  Hon.  Ben- 
jamin D.  Silliman,  of  Brooklyn,  in  1833.  That  distinguished 
jurist,  and  gentleman,  at  the  request  of  the  editor,  courteously 
wrote  him  the  following  striking  account  of  his  visit  to  Colo- 
nel Burr,  which  not  only  gives  the  fact  above  mentioned, 
but  also  that  of  Burr's  intention,  and  preparations,  in  1791, 
to  write  a  history  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  his  view, 
of  the  public  men  who  really  carried  it  through,  and  of  the 
received  accounts  of  that  great  contest  : 

New  York,  Jan.  22,  1876. 

Edward  F.  de  Eancey,  Esq.  : 

My  dear  Sir  : — My  interview  with  Aaron  Burr  was  so  many  years 
ago,  that  I  almost  hesitate  at  stating  the  conversation  ;  but  the 
whole  was  to  me  then  so  interesting,  and  made  such  a  strong  im- 
pression on  my  mind,  that  1  have  few  misgivings  as  to  the  correctness 
of  my  recollection  of  what  he  stated,  though  1,  of  course,  cannot  re- 
peat his  words.  Dr.  David  Hosack  called  with  me  and  introduced 
me  to  the  Colonel,  whose  residence  was  on  the  east  side  of  Broad- 
way, in  Read  street,  I  think,  and  about  the  rear  of  the  spot  on  which 
now  stands  Stewart's  lower  store.  On  my  name  being  mentioned 
Colonel  Burr  received  me  cordially  and  told  me  that  he  knew  my 
grandfather  well.  He  spoke  of  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  and 
its  men  and  events,  with  much  interest. 

In  reference  to  the  withdrawal  of  our  troops  from  the  city  after 
the  battle  of  Long  Island,  he  said  that  he  was  at  the  time  acting  as 
an  aid,  if  I  mistake  not,  and  that  in  reconnoitering  the  rear  of  our 
retiring  forces  he  saw  a  body  of  Americans  in  a  work  called  "  Bunker 
Hill,"  about  midway  between  Broadway  and  the  Bowery,  and  about 
on  the  line  of  what  is  now  Grand  street. 

The  British  were  then  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Americans,  and 
it  was  obvious  to  Colonel  Burr  that  they  would  soon  be  able  to  cut 
off  the  men  who  were  posted  at  "  Bunker  Hill."  1    He  galloped  to 

1  This  name  was  given  to  Bayard's  Hill  when  fortified  by  the  Americans  in  1776, 
in  honor  of  the  famous  engagement  at  Charlestown.  It  was  on  the  line  of  the 
present  Grand  street,  east  of  Centre,  and  sloped  southerly  toward  the  Collect  Pond 
Entrenchments  extended  from  it  east  and  west.    Burr  was  an  aid  of  Putnam. 


HISTORY  OK  NEW  YORK. 


609 


-ttle  spot,  and  found  that  the  party  were  in  command  of  General 
(then  Colonel,  I  presume)  Silliman,  whom  he  urged  immediately  to 
withdraw,  saying  to  him  that  lie  had  not  a  moment  to  lose,  and  that 
he  would  surely  be  captured  unless  he  at  once  retreated.  General 
Silliman  replied  that  he  was  of  the  same  opinion,  but  that  he  would 
not  retreat,  as  his  orders  were  to  hold  the  post  until  directed  to  with- 
draw, and  that  he  should  do  his  best  to  obey  the  order. 

I  have  heard,  and  am  almost  sure  Burr  told  me  that  he  thereupon 
rode  a  short  distance  behind  some  object  (or  a  hill,  I  am  not  certain 
which)  and  then  galloped  back  to  the  intrenchment,  calling  to  Gen- 
eral Silliman,  and  telling  him  that  he  was  ordered  to  withdraw  im- 
mediately, and  the  latter,  supposing  this  improvised  order  to  be  an 
official  one,  at  once  obeyed,  and  brought  off  his  men  with  some,  but 
comparatively  small,  loss. 

I  asked  Colonel  Burr  whether  we  had  at  this  day  a  generally  cor- 
rect idea  and  estimate  of  the  relative  influence  and  consequence  of 
the  public  men  of  that  period,  and  whether  the  received  history 
truly  informed  us  as  to  who  really  influenced  and  controlled  the 
affairs  of  the  Revolution.  He  replied  that  nothing  was  less  true  or 
just  than  the  common  understanding  on  the  subject.  He  said  that 
the  minor  and  immaterial  men  to  a  great  degree  loomed  in  history 
as  the  governing  and  controlling  men  of  the  period,  while  a  large 
proportion  of  those  who  did  achieve  what  was  most  important — 
whose  counsels  and  wisdom  swayed  and  governed — were  unknown  to 
this  day,  except  (if  at  all)  as  the  second-rate  actors. 

He  said  that  he  intended  to  write  the  history  (or  a  historical  work 
on  the  subject)  of  the  Revolution,  and  that  when  he  went  to  the 
Senate  in  1791  he  employed  himself  very  busily  from  daylight 
until  10  a.m.  daily  (having  his  breakfast  sent  him  from  a  neighbor- 
ing cafe)  on  week  days,  and  Sundays  all  day,  in  transcribing  from 
records,  the  existence  and  location  of  which  he  knew  ;  that  he  had 
thus  collated  several  boxes  full  of  MS.  as  material  for  his  intended 
work  ;  that  his  whole  labor  was  lost  by  the  destruction  of  all  his 
MS.  Whether  he  stated  it,  or  whether  I  have  heard  it  since,  I  am 
not  sure,  but  I  am  under  the  impression  that  he  said  the  papers  were 
in  the  vessel  in  which  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Allston,  was  lost  at  sea.' 

He  added  that  his  toil  in  procuring  the  MS.  was  too  great  to  be 
repeated  by  him,  and  that  with  the  loss  of  these  papers  he  abandoned 
his  projected  work. 

I  asked  him  why  he  could  not  write  an  outline  history,  giving  his 
general  statement  without  the  official  vouchers  and  details. 

He  replied  that  he  had  no  longer  a  motive  to  do  it  ;  that  he  had 
outlived  all  for,  or  of,  whom  he  would  wish  to  write. 

He  added,  bitterly,  that  it  would  be  useless  to  write  such  a  work 
now,  as  the  world  had  adopted,  and  believed,  the  lie  ;  that  it  would 

1  Burr  was  appointed  Senator,  January  19,  1791,  and  served  till  1 797.  He 
came  back  from  Europe  in  1812,  and  Mrs.  Allston  was  lost  in  January,  1813.  lie 
died  in  1836. 

39 


6io 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


not  be  undeceived,  and  that  the  world  had  always  rather  repose  in 
a  lie  than  in  truth. 

Dr.  Hosack  gave  me  interesting  statements  respecting  Colonel 
Burr,  and  especially  of  his  deportment  after  the  duel  with  Hamilton. 

Well,  my  dear  sir,  I  ought  to  apologize  to  you  for  this  long  di- 
gression from  the  only  point  to  which  you  alluded,  respecting  my  in- 
terview with  Colonel  Burr,  and  when  I  took  up  my  pen  I  had  no 
intention  of  going  beyond  that.  Pray  excuse  my  unpremeditated 
ramble. 

As  you  have  seen  my  unfortunate  chirography  heretofore,  I  need 
not  apologize,  but  think  you  will  thank  me  for  resorting  to  another 
hand  in  penning  this  note. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

Benj.  D.  Silliman. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  above  letter  of  Mr.  Silliman  does 
not  mention  the  date  of  the  visit,  but,  in  a  subsequent  letter, 
of  February  16th,  1876,  on  his  attention  being  called  to  the 
oversight,  after  stating  it  was  in  "  1832-3,"  he  says,  "  Of  course 
it  was  in  one  of  the  two  years,  and  I  have  reason  for  thinking 
it  was  in  the  later  of  them  " — that  is,  in  1833. 

In  the  encampments  at  Kip's  Bay,  from  which  the  Connec- 
ticut troops  ran  away,  was  found  the  missile  described  below, 
by  Howe  and  Washington,  one  of  the  earliest  of  "Yankee 
Notions  "  in  projectiles  known  : 

General  Howe,  at  the  end  of  his  letter  of  the  21st  Sept.,  1776,  to 
Washington,  on  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  adds  :  "  My  Aide  de  camp, 
charged  with  the  delivery  of  this  letter,  will  present  you  with  a  ball, 
cut  and  fixed  to  the  ends  of  a  nail,  taken  from  a  number  of  the  same 
kind  found  in  the  encampments  quitted  by  your  troops  on  the  15th 
instant.  I  do  not  make  any  comment  on  such  unwarrantable  and 
malicious  practices,  being  well  assured  the  contrivance  has  not  come 
to  your  knowledge."  1  Washington  closes  his  reply,  of  the  23d,  in 
these  words  :  "  Your  Aide-de-camp  delivered  me  the  ball  you  men- 
tion, which  was  the  first  of  the  kind  I  ever  saw  or  heard  of.  You 
may  depend  the  contrivance  is  highly  abhorred  by  me,  and  every 
measure  shall  be  taken  to  prevent  so  wicked  and  infamous  a  practice 
being  adopted  in  this  army."  a 


1  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  II.,  p.  438. 


'Ibid.,  464. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


6ll 


NOTE    XXXVII  I  . 

THE  GREAT  FIRE  IN  NEW  YORK  ON  SEPTEMBER  2 1  ST,  1 776 
— THE  OFFICIAL  STATEMENTS  OF  THE  EVENT,  AND 
THE  OCCURRENCES  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  IT  HAPPENED. 

Volume  I.,  p.  120. 

The  second  day  after  the  fire,  the  23d,  General  Howe 
wrote  the  following  account  of  it  to  Lord  George  Germain  : 

"  My  Lord, — Between  the  20th  and  2  tst  instant,  at  midnight,  a  most 
horrid  attempt  was  made  by  a  number  of  wretches  to  burn  the  town 
of  New  York,  in  which  they  succeeded  too  well,  having  set  it  on  lire  in 
several  places  with  matches  and  combustibles  that  had  been  prepared 
with  great  art  and  ingenuity.  Many  were  detected  in  the  fact,  and 
some  killed  upon  the  spot  by  the  enraged  troops  in  garrison  ;  and 
had  it  not  been  for  the  exertions  of  Major-General  Robertson,  the 
officers  under  his  command  in  the  town,  and  the  brigade  of  guards 
detached  from  the  camp,  the  whole  must  infallibly  have  been  consumed, 
as  the  night  was  extremely  windy. 

"  The  destruction  is  computed  to  be  about  one-quarter  of  the  town  ; 
and  we  have  reason  to  suspect  there  are  villains  still  lurking  there 
ready  to  finish  the  work  they  have  begun  ;  one  person,  escaping  the 
pursuit  of  a  sentinel  the  following  night,  having  declared  that  he 
would  again  set  tire  to  the  town  the  first  opportunity.  The  strictest 
search  was  made  after  these  incendiaries,  and  the  most  effectual  meas- 
ures taken  to  guard  against  the  perpetration  of  their  villainous  and 
wicked  designs  "  1 

At  the  written  request  of  Washington,  of  the  17th  of  August,  1776, 
the  New  York  Provincial  Convention  the  same  day  "  Resolved,  that 
the  women,  children,  and  infirm  persons  in  the  city  of  New  York  be 
immediately  removed  from  the  said  city,  agreeable  to  General  Wash- 
ington's request  of  this  House,  in  his  letter  of  this  date,"  and  they 
appointed  a  Committee  and  voted  £200  to  carry  out  the  resolu- 
tion.4 On  the  2 2d  the  following  letter  to  his  Excellency  General 
Washington,  relative  to  a  report  that  the  city  of  New  York  was  to  be 
burnt  if  the  troops  left  it,  was  read  and  approved : 

"  Sir — The  Convention  of  this  State  have  received  information 
from  one  of  the  Deputies  of  the  city  and  county  of  New  York,  of  a 
report  prevailing  amongst  the  army,  that  if  the  fortune  of  war  should 
oblige  our  troops  to  abandon  that  city,  it  should  be  immediately  burnt 

1  Howe's  despatch.    Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  IX,  p.  380;  also  p.  462. 
■  Journals  of  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  578. 


6l2 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


by  the  retreating  soldiery,  and  that  any  man  is  authorized  to  set  it  on 
fire. 

The  Convention  will  cheerfully  submit  to  the  fatal  necessity  of  de- 
stroying that  valuable  city,  whenever  your  Excellency  shall  deem  it 
essential  to  the  safety  of  this  State,  or  the  general  interests  of  America. 
Yet  the  duty  which  they  owe  to  their  constituents,  obliges  them  to  take 
every  possible  precaution,  that  twenty  thousand  inhabitants  may  not 
be  reduced  to  misery  by  the  act  of  wanton  individuals.  They  there- 
fore entreat  of  your  Excellency  to  take  such  measures  in  preventing 
the  evil  tendency  of  such  a  report  as  you  shall  deem  most  expedient."  1 

Washington  replied  on  the  23d  :  "Gentlemen,  I  am  favored  with 
yours  of  the  22d,  acquainting  me  with  a  report  now  circulating,  'that 
if  the  American  army  should  be  obliged  to  retreat  from  this  city,  any 
individual  may  set  it  on  fire.' 

"  I  can  assure  you,  gentlemen,  this  report  is  not  founded  on  the 
least  authority  from  me  ;  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  so  sensible  of  the 
value  of  such  a  city,  and  the  consequences  of  its  destruction  to  many 
worthy  citizens  and  their  families,  that  nothing  but  the  last  necessity, 
and  that  such  as  would  justify  me  to  the  whole  world,  would  induce 
me  to  give  orders  for  that  purpose.  The  unwillingness  shewn  by 
many  families  to  remove,  notwithstanding  your  and  my  recommen- 
dation, may  have  led  some  persons  to  propagate  the  report,  with 
honest  and  innocent  intentions.  But  as  your  letter  first  informed  me 
of  it,  I  cannot  pretend  to  say  by  whom  or  for  what  purpose  it  has 
been  doi.e."  a 

The  idea  of  burning  New  York  was  therefore  a  matter  of 
common  report,  in  the  city  and  army,  the  week  before  the 
battle  of  Brooklyn  Heights.  After  that  event  it  was  not  only 
talked  of  generally,  but  was  discussed  as  a  matter  of  military 
policy  by  the  American  generals.  On  the  second  of  Septem- 
ber, Washington,  who  till  then  had  never  doubted  being  able 
to  defend  New  York,  submitted  the  question  to  Congress  : 

"  If  we  should  be  obliged  to  abandon  the  town,  should  it  stand 
as  winter-quarters  for  the  enemy  ?  *  *  *  *  At  present  1  dare 
say  the  enemy  mean  to  preserve  it  if  they  can.  If  Congress,  there- 
fore, should  resolve  on  the  destruction  of  it,  the  resolution  should  be 
a  profound  secret,  or  the  knowledge  of  it  will  make  a  capital  change 
in  their  plans.  "3  The  very  next  day,  September  3d,  President  Han- 
cock wrote  him,  that  Congress,  on  considering  his  letter  of  the  2d, 
"  came  to  a  resolution  in  a  committee  of  the  whole  house,  that  no 
damage  should  be  done  to  the  city  of  New  York."  4 

1  Ibid.,  p.  584.    Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  478. 
■  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  272. 

8  See  his  letter.    Force,  Fifth  Scries,  Vol.  II.,  p.  121. 
4  Ibid.,  p.  135. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


6l3 


*  Two  days  afterward,  on  the  5th  of  September,  General  Nathaniel 
Greene  wrote  a  private  letter  to  Washington  on  the  state  of  the 
American  cause,  and  what  should  be  done,  in  which  he  expressly 
says  :  "  'The  sacrifice  of  the  vast  property  of  New  York  and  the  sub- 
urbs, I  hope  lias  no  influence  on  your  Excellency's  measures.  Re- 
member the  King  of  Fiance.  When  Charles  the  Fifth,  Emperor  of 
Germany,  invaded  his  kingdom,  he  laid  whole  provinces  waste  ;  and 
by  that  policy  he  starved  and  ruined  Charles's  army,  and  defeated 
him  without  fighting  a  battle.  Two  thirds  of  the  property  of  the  city 
of  New  York  and  the  suburbs  belongs  to  the  Tories.  We  have  no 
very  great  reason  to  run  any  considerable  risk  for  its  defence.  If  we 
attempt  to  hold  the  city  and  island,  and  should  not  be  able  finally, 
we  shall  be  wasting  time  unnecessarily,  and  betray  a  defect  of  judg- 
ment, if  no  worse  misfortune  attend  it. 

"  I  give  it  as  my  opinion  that  a  general  and  speedy  retreat  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  and  that  the  honor  and  interest  of  America  require 
it.  /  would  burn  the  city  and  suburbs,  and  that  for  the  following 
reasons  :  If  the  enemy  gets  possession  of  the  city,  we  never  can 
recover  the  possession  without  a  superior  naval  force  to  theirs  ;  it 
will  deprive  the  enemy  of  an  opportunity  of  barracking  their  whole 
army  together,  which,  if  they  would  do,  would  be  a  very  great  secur- 
ity. It  will  deprive  them  of  a  general  market;  the  price  of  things 
would  prove  a  temptation  to  our  people  to  supply  them  for  the  sake 
of  the  gain,  in  direct  violation  of  the  laws  of  their  country. 

"  All  these  advantages  would  result  from  the  destruction  of  the 
city,  and  not  one  benefit  can  arise  to  us  from  its  preservation,  that  I 
can  conceive  of.  Should  your  Excellency  agree  with  me  with 
respect  to  the  two  first  points,  that  is,  that  a  speedy  and  general 
retreat  is  necessary,  and  also  that  the  city  and  suburbs  should  be 
burned,  I  would  advise  to  call  a  general  council  upon  that  question, 
and  take  every  general  officer's  opinion  upon  it."  1 

Washington  did  so,  on  the  7th  of  September,  when  the  whole  coun- 
cil of  general  officers  met  to  decide  on  a  general  course  to  be 
adopted.  The  minority  were  for  "  a  total  and  immediate  removal 
from  the  city  ; "  the  majority  for  its  defence,  by  three  divisions,  5,000 
within  the  city,  9,000  at  Kingsbridge,  the  remainder  to  occupy  the 
intermediate  space,  and  support  either  of  the  other  two.  "  Nor  were 
some  of  the  latter,"  says  Washington,  in  communicating  the  result 
to  Hancock,  on  the  8th,  "a  little  influenced  in  their  opinion,  to  whom 
the  determination  of  Congress  was  known  against  an  evacuation 
totally,  as  they  were  led  to  suspect  Congress  wished  it  to  be  maintained 
at  every  hazard."  In  the  same  letter,  the  only  authority  for  what 
occurred  in  this  council,  he  continues:  "That  the  enemy  mean  to 
winter  in  New  York,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  that  with  such  an  arma- 
ment they  can  drive  us  out  is  equally  clear.    The  Congress  having 

1  Ibid.  1S2-3.  The  italics,  not  in  the  original,  are  merely  given  for  the  easier 
guidance  of  the  reader's  eye. 


614 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


resolved  that  it  should  not  be  destroyed,  nothing  seems  to  remain 
but  to  determine  the  time  of  their  taking  possession."  1 

When  this  letter  was  read  in  Congress,  on  the  ioth,  that  body  at  once 
"  Resolved,  that  the  President  inform  General  Washington,  it  was  by 
no  means  the  sense  of  Congress,  in  their  Resolve  of  the  30th  inst., 
respecting  New  York,  that  the  Army,  or  any  part  of  it,  should  remain 
in  that  city  a  moment  longer  than  he  shall  think  it  proper  for  the 
publick  service  that  the  troops  be  continued  there."  3 

The  next  day  General  Greene  and  six  brigadiers  petitioned  Wash- 
ington to  call  a  council  of  war  to  reconsider  the  decision  of  the  7th  to 
defend  the  city.  He  did  so  the  succeeding  day,  the  12th,  at  M'Dou 
gall's  quarters,  when  ten  generals — Beall,  Scott,  Fellows,  Wads- 
worth,  Nixon,  M'Dougall,  Parsons,  Mifflin,  Greene,  and  Putnam — 
voted  to  reconsider  and  evacuate ;  and  three — Spencer,  Clinton 
(George),  and  Heath — to  adhere  and  defend.' 

This  was  all  of  the  official  action  on  the  subject.  The 
evacuation  began  on  the  14th,  but  was  interrupted  and  stopped 
by  ships  of  war  in  the  North  River,  and  the  landing  of  the 
British  at  Kips  Bay,  on  the  15th.  At  midnight,  between 
Friday  and  Saturday,  the  20th  and  2ist,  five  days  after  the 
British  landed,  the  fire  occurred.  Washington,  in  a  letter  of 
the  23d  to  Governor  Trumbull,  says  : 

"  On  Friday  night,  about  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock,  a  fire  broke 
out  in  the  city  of  New  York,  which,  burning  rapidly  till  after  sunrise 
next  morning,  destroyed  a  great  number  of  houses.  By  what  means  it 
happened  we  do  not  know  ;  but  the  gentleman  who  brought  the  letter 
from  General  Howe  last  night,4  and  who  was  one  of  his  Aid-de- 
Camps,  informed  General  Reed  that  several  of  our  countrymen  had 
been  punished  with  various  deaths  on  account  of  it  ;  some  by  hanging, 
others  by  burning,  &c,  alleging  that  they  were  apprehended  when 
committing  the  fact."  6 

General  Silliman,  then  with  his  brigade  at  Harlem  Heights,  wrote 
to  his  wife,  on  the  22d,  that  "A  most  extraordinary  manoeuvre  of  the 
enemy  has  taken  place.  The  night  before  last,  about  midnight,  a 
tremendous  fire  was  seen  from  our  lines  to  the  southward,  which 
continued  the  whole  night,  and  it  is  said  was  burning  all  day  yester- 
day. We  are  about  ten  miles  from  New  York,  and  we  thought  it 
must  be  the  city,  and  yesterday  I  am  informed  an  officer  came  over 

1  See  the  Letter,  ibid.,  237. 
'  Ibid..  1335. 

s  Ibid.,  pp. 325-328,  and  330. 

4  Offering  to  exchange  Lord  Stirling  for  Gov.  Montfort  Brown. 

'  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  XL,  p.  466.    The  Aid  was  Captain  Montresor. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


frrtm  the  Jersey  shcre  opposite  to  New  York,  and  sairl  that  tlie  city 
was  almost  all  in  ashes,  and  the  rest  of  it  was  burning  as  fast  as  it 
could,  and  that  the  fire  was  seen  first  about  midnight  on  the  east 
side  of  the  town  near  where  1  used  to  live,  and  that  very  quick  the 
fire  appeared  in  ten  or  twelve  places  in  different  parts  of  the  town. 
'Tis  supposed  it  must  be  the  regulars  who  fired  it,  and  why  they 
should  do  it  I  can't  conceive,  unless  they  are  going  to  some  other 
place,  which  I  see  no  signs  of."  1  Two  days  subsequently,  on  the 
25th,  he  again  wrote  Mrs.  Silliman  : 

"  I  find  now  that  all  the  city  was  not  burnt,  but  only  that  part  that 
lay  next  to  the  Grand  Battery  and  so  up  the  Broad  Way,  and  I  believe 
it  was  not  the  regulars,  but  some  of  our  own  people  in  the  city  that 
set  it  on  fire,  for  they  executed  several  of  our  friends  there  for  it  the 
next  day."  2 

The  diary  of  the  Presbyterian  chaplain  of  Durkee's  Connecticut 
regiment,  under  date  of  the  21st  says:  "At  two  this  morning  we 
were  waked  up  by  the  guards,  who  informed  us  that  New  York  was 
on  fire;"  and,  after  describing  the  burnt  region,  concludes  thus, 
"  laying  about  one-third  part  of  the  city  in  ashes  (in  the  opinion  of 
those  best  acquainted  with  it),  and  had  not  the  wind,  as  it  veered  to 
the  west  died  away,  the  remainder  of  that  nest  of  vipers  would  have 
been  destroyed."  1 

Tryon,  in  his  letter  of  the  24th,  to  Lord  George  Germain,  says  : 
"  On  the  21st,  about  two  in  the  morning,  the  western  part  of  the  town 
was  set  on  fire  by  a  Dumber  of  incendiaries,  that  about  one-fourth 
was  burnt,  that  many  of  the  incendiaries  are  now  in  confinement,  and 
two  or  three  were  killed  as  they  were  detected  in  their  hellish  design. 
Many  circumstances  lead  to  the  conjecture  that  Mr.  Washington  was 
privy  to  the  villanous  act,  as  he  sent  all  the  bells  of  the  churches  out 
of  town  under  pietence  of  casting  them  into  cannon,  whereas  it  is 
much  more  probable  to  prevent  the  alarm  being  given  by  the  ring- 
ing of  the  bells  before  the  fire  should  get  ahead  beyond  the  reach  of 
engines  and  buckets  ;  besides,  some  officers  of  his  army  were  found 
concealed  in  the  city,  supposed  for  this  devilish  purpose.  The 
town  was  thought  to  be  saved  more  by  a  sudden  change  in  the  wind 
(which  blew  strong)  and  by  pulling  down  intermediate  houses,  than 
by  water.  *  *  *  The  fire  broke  out  in  sundry  places  neatly  at 
the  same  time,  but  was  first  discovered  at  Whitehall  stairs."  4 

John  Sloss  Hobart,  writing  on  the  25th  from  the  Camp  at  Kings- 
bridge  to  the  New  York  Convention,  after  describing  the  region 
burnt  over,  says:  "General  Howe  disclaims  any  knowledge  of  the 
matter  till  the  city  was  in  flames ;  and  in  order  to  evince  his  sincerity, 
we  are  told,  he  threw  several  persons  suspected  of  being  concerned 
into  the  flames  ;  several  others  were  hung  up  by  the  heels  and  after- 
wards had  their  throats  cut.  This,  we  suppose,  has  been  done  in 
order  to  take  the  odium  of  such  a  crime  from  the  army.    The  most 


1  MS.  Letter. 
3  MS.  Letter. 


3  Force,  Fifth  Series,  VoL  II.,  p.  461 

4  Ibid.,  p.  493. 


6i6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


rational  conjecture  we  can  make  for  the  cause  of  the  fire  is,  that  the 
army,  having  been  promised  the  plunder  of  the  town  in  case  of  con- 
quest, and  finding  from  their  late  repulse  that  such  an  event  is  rather 
too  far  distant  for  their  impatience,  have  set  fire  to  the  town  in  order 
to  facilitate  their  views."  1 

Colonel  Hartley,  writing  to  Gen.  Gates  from  Crown  Point,  on  Oct. 
10,  1776,  says  :  "  I  am  pleased  to  hear  part  of  New  York  is  burnt. 
I  hope  we  shall  have  intelligence  that  the  rest  of  that  nest  of  Tories 
and  sink  of  American  villiany  has  shared  the  same  fate.  That  cursed 
town,  from  first  to  last,  has  been  ruinous  to  the  common  cause."  1 

The  Reverend  Dr.  Charles  Inglis,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  and 
subsequently  first  Bishop  of  Nova  Scotia,  a  man  of  the  highest  char- 
acter, sent  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  Dr.  Hind,  a  report  on  the  "  State  of  the  Anglo-American 
Church,"  dated  New  York,  October  31st,  1776,  in  which  is  found  the 
following  interesting  statement  regarding  the  fire  : 

"On  Sunday,  the  15th  of  September,  General  Howe,  with  the 
King's  forces,  landed  on  New  York  Island,  four  miles  above  the  city, 
upon  which  the  rebels  abandoned  the  city,  and  retired  towards  King's 
Bridge,  which  joins  this  island  to  the  continent.  Early  on  Monday 
morning,  the  16th,  I  returned  to  the  city,  which  exhibited  a  most 
melancholy  appearance,  being  deserted  and  pillaged.  My  house  was 
plundered  of  everything  by  the  rebels.  My  loss  amounts  to  near 
£200  this  currency,  or  upwards  of  ^100  sterling.  The  rebels  car- 
ried off  all  the  bells  in  the  city,  partly  to  convert  them  into  cannon, 
partly  to  prevent  notice  being  given  speedily  of  the  destruction  they 
meditated  against  the  city  by  fire,  when  it  began.  On  Wednesday  I 
opened  one  of  the  churches,  and  solemnized  divine  service,  when  all 
the  inhabitants  gladly  attended,  and  joy  was  lighted  up  in  every 
countenance  on  the  restoration  of  our  public  worship  ;  for  very  few 
remained  but  such  as  were  members  of  our  church.  Each  congratu- 
lated himself  and  others  on  the  prospect  of  returning  peace  and  se- 
curity ;  but  alas  !  the  enemies  of  peace  were  secretly  working  among 
us. 

"  Several  rebels  secreted  themselves  in  the  houses,  to  execute  the 
diabolical  purpose  of  destroying  the  city.  On  the  Saturday  following 
an  opportunity  presented  itself;  for  the  weather  being  very  dry,  and 
the  wind  blowing  fresh,  they  set  fire  to  the  city  in  several  places  at  the 
same  time,  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The 
fire  raged  with  the  utmost  fury,  and,  in  its  destructive  progress,  con- 
sumed about  one  thousand  houses,  or  a  fourth  part  of  the  whole  city. 
To  the  vigorous  efforts  of  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  of 
the  soldiers  and  seamen,  it  is  owing,  under  Providence,  that  the 
whole  city  was  not  destroyed.  We  had  three  churches,  of  which  - 
Trinity  Church  was  the  oldest  and  largest.  It  was  a  venerable  edi- 
fice, had  an  excellent  organ,  which  cost  ^850  sterling,  and  was 


1  Ibid.,  p.  503. 


« Ibid.,  981. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


617 


otherwise  ornamented.  This  church,  with  the  rector's  house  and  the 
charity-school — the  two  latter  large  expensive  buildings  —  were 
burned.  St.  Paul's  Church  and  King's  College  had  shared  the  same 
fate,  being  directly  on  the  line  of  fire,  had  I  not  been  providentially 
on  the  spot,  and  sent  a  number  of  people  with  water  on  the  roof  of 
each.  Our  houses  are  all  covered  with  cedar  shingles,  which  makes 
fire  very  dangerous.  The  church  corporation  had  suffered  prodi- 
giously, as  was  evidently  intended.  Besides  the  buildings  already 
mentioned,  about  two  hundred  houses  which  stood  on  the  church 
ground  were  consumed,  so  that  the  loss  cannot  be  estimated  at  less 
than  ^25.000  sterling."1 

David  Grim's  account,  which  is  usually  quoted,  states  that  it  began 
in  a  small  wooden  house  occupied  by  bad  characters,  near  Whitehall 
Slip.  Its  closing  paragraph  contains  his  only  reference  to  its  causes  : 
"A  Mr.  White,  a  decent  citizen  and  house  carpenter,  rather  too  violent 
a  royalist,  and  latterly  had  addicted  himself  to  liquor,  was  on  the 
night  of  the  fire,  hanged  on  a  tavern  sign  post,  at  the  corner  of 
Cherry  and  Roosevelt  streets.  Several  of  the  citizens  were  sent  to 
the  provost-guard  for  examination,  and  some  of  them  remained  there 
two  and  three  days,  until  they  could  give  satisfactory  evidence  of 
their  loyalty."  ' 

At  the  close  of  September,  Mr.  James  Allen,  and  Dr.  Smith,  of 
Philadelphia,3  made  a  visit  to  the  American  army  "through  mere 
curiosity,"  as  the  Diary  of  the  former,  still  in  existence,  expresses 
it.  ''  From  Amboy,"  says  Mr.  Allen,  "  I  went  to  Bergen,  and 
lodged  with  General  Roberdeau,  and  had  a  view  of  the  city  and 
harbor  of  New  York.  The  sight  was  grand  from  the  number  of  ships 
in  the  harbor,  and  shocking  from  the  burnt  ruins  of  that  noble  city, 
set  on  fire  as  is  supposed  by  some  of  our  army  on  their  leaving  it,  at 
least  as  the  enemy  allege."  * 

11  Happening  as  it  did."  says  Paul  Allen,  writing  in  1822,  "so  im- 
mediately after  Washington  had  made  its  destruction  a  subject  of  in- 
quiry in  Congress:  almost  recommending  the  measure  to  Congress — 
the  circumstance  of  its  having  been  delayed  till  after  the  enemy  had 
taken  possession  of  it,  could  not  of  itself  be  sufficient  to  destroy  the 
presumption  that  it  was  done  by  the  Americans.  It  is  now,  perhaps, 
too  late  to  determine  the  question — but  this  will  be  conceded  by  all  ; 
that  if  it  had  been  destroyed  by  Congress,  it  would  not  have  been 
avowed  at  the  time,  and  probably  never  afterwards."  1 

1  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  Vol.  III.,  p.  1060. 

*  Dunlap's  N.  Y.,  Vol.  L,  p.  79. 

3  James  Allen,  a  prominent  lawyer,  second  son  of  Chief-Justice  Win.  Allen,  of 
Pennsylvania.  Dr.  Smith  was  the  Provost  of  the  College  at  Philadelphia,  now 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

4  MS.  Diary  of  James  Allen. 

*  History  of  the  Revolution  by  Paul  Allen.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  507. 


6i8 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Baurmeister,  one  of  the  Hessian  officers,  in  a  MS.  narrative 

of  the  capture  of  New  York,'  says  : 

"  In  the  night  of  the  20th  at  half-past  twelve  o'clock  the  northern 
part  of  the  city  of  New  York  took  fire. 

"  Incendiaries  appointed  for  the  purpose  were  concealed  in  the 
city,  a  boat  arriving  from  Pauls  Hook  with  the  like  villains,  to  the 
number  of  40  and  a  Colonel  at  their  head,  favored  by  the  west  wind, 
set  fire  to  this  beautiful  city  in  many  places  at  the  same  time.  The 
wind  and  the  careless  though  sufficient  watch  favored  its  complete 
destruction  by  this  disaster,  nearly  500  of  the  best  houses  and  one 
church  were  the  sacrifice  to  this  rebellious  fury.  There  are  many 
villains  caught  and  under  arrest,  others  were  thrown  into  the  flames, 
and  a  sworn  rebel,  whose  wife  and  five  children  could  not  induce  him 
to  give  up  this  incendiarism,  stabbing  his  wife,  who  was  about  to  ex- 
tinguish the  fire  with  water,  was  seized  by  the  sailors,  at  once 
stabbed  and  hung  up  by  the  feet  before  his  own  house  until  day- 
break of  the  20th.  The  English  guard  was  of  much  assistance  in 
suppressing  the  fire,  hastening  into  the  city  at  once,  but  the  sailors 
did  the  best  part  of  it,  taking  care  to  pay  themselves  well  by  plunder- 
ing other  houses  near  by  that  were  not  on  fire.  It  is  a  real  horror 
to  look  at  New  York  in  its  desolation.  Quiet  reigned  everywhere  on 
the  2  2d." 

Capt.  John  Joseph  Henry,  subsequently  a  Judge  in  Penn- 
sylvania, who  witnessed  the  fire  from  its  origin  to  its  end,  in 
his  "Campaign  against  Quebeck  "  1  from  which  he  had  just 
returned  by  sea,  and  who  was  at  the  time  on  board  a  ship  in 
the  bay,  has  given  the  following  clear  and  just  account : 

"  A  most  beautiful  and  luminous,  but  baleful  sight  occurred  to  us, 
that  is,  the  city  of  New  York  on  fire.  One  night,  (Sept.  22,)  the 
watch  on  deck  gave  a  loud  notice  of  this  disaster.  Running  upon 
deck,  we  could  perceive  a  light,  which  at  the  distance  we  were  from 
it,  (four  miles,)  was  apparently  of  the  size  of  the  flame  of  a  candle. 
This  light  to  me,  appeared  to  be  the  burning  of  an  old  and  noted 
tavern,  called  the  "  Fighting  Cocks,"  (where,  ere  this  I  had  lodged,) 
to  the  east  of  the  battery,  and  near  the  wharf.  The  wind  was  south- 
wardly, and  blew  a  fresh  gale ;  the  flames  at  this  place,  because  of 
the  wind,  increased  rapidly.  In  a  moment  we  saw  another  light  at  a 
great  distance  from  the  first,  up  the  North  river.  The  latter  seemed 
to  be  an  original,  distinct  and  new  formed  fire,  near  a  celebrated  - 
tavern  in  the  Broadway  called  "Whitehall."  Our  anxiety  for  the 
fate  of  so  fine  a  city,  caused  much  solicitude,  as  we  harboured  suspi- 

1  Translated  from  the  original  in  the  possession  of  the  Hon.  George  Bancroft. 
5  Campaign  against  Quebec,  pp.  1S4-S6,  original  edition. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


cions  that  the  enemy  had  fired  it.  The  flames  were  fanned  by  the 
briskness  of  the  breeze,  and  drove  the  destructive  effects  of  the  ele- 
ment on  all  sides.  When  the  fire  reached  the  spire  of  a  large  steeple, 
south  of  the  tavern,  which  was  attached  to  a  large  church,  the  effect 
upon  the  eye  was  astonishingly  grand.  If  we  could  have  divested 
ourselves  of  the  knowledge  that  it  was  the  property  of  our  fellow-citi- 
zens which  was  consuming,  the  view  might  have  been  esteemed  sub 
lime,  if  not  pleasing.  The  deck  of  our  ship,  for  many  hours,  was 
lighted  as  at  noon  day.  In  the  commencement  of  the  conflagration, 
we  observed  many  boats  putting  off  from  the  fleet,  rowing  speedily 
towards  the  city ;  our  boat  was  of  the  number.  This  circumstance 
repelled  the  idea  that  our  enemies  were  the  incendiaries,  for  indeed 
they  professedly  went  in  aid  of  the  inhabitants.  The  boat  returned 
about  day  light,  and  from  the  relation  of  the  officer  and  the  crew,  we 
clearly  discerned  that  the  burning  of  New  York  was  the  act  of  some 
mad-cap  Americans.  The  sailors  told  us  in  their  blunt  manner,  that 
they  had  seen  one  American  hanging  by  the  heels  dead,  having  a 
bayonet  wound  through  his  breast.  They  named  him  by  his  Chris- 
tian and  sirname,  which  they  saw  imprinted  on  his  arm  ;  they  averred 
he  was  caught  in  the  act  of  firing  the  houses.  They  told  us  also,  that 
they  had  seen  one  person,  who  was  taken  in  the  act,  tossed  into  the 
fire,  and  that  several  who  were  stealing,  and  suspected  as  incen- 
diaries, were  bayonetted.  Summary  justice  is  at  no  time  laudable, 
but  in  this  instance  it  may  have  been  correct.  If  the  Greeks  could 
have  been  resisted  at  Persepolis,  every  soul  of  them  ought  to  have 
been  massacred.  The  testimony  we  received  from  the  sailors,  my 
own  view  of  the  distant  beginnings  of  the  fire  in  various  spots,  re- 
mote from  each  other,  and  the  manner  of  its  spreading,  impressed 
my  mind  with  the  belief,  that  the  burning  of  the  city  was  the  doings 
of  the  most  low  and  vile  persons,  for  the  purposes,  not  only  of  thiev- 
ing, but  of  devastation.  This  seemed  too,  the  general  sense,  not 
only  of  the  British,  but  that  of  the  prisoners  then  aboard  the  trans- 
ports. Laying  directly  south  of  the  city,  and  in  a  range  with  Broad- 
way, we  had  a  fair  and  full  view  of  the  whole  process.  The  persons 
in  the  ships  nearer  to  the  town  than  we  were,  uniformly  held  the 
same  opinion.  It  was  not  until  some  years  afterwards,  that  a  doubt 
was  created  ;  but  for  the  honor  of  our  country  and  its  good  name,  an 
ascription  was  made,  of  the  firing  of  the  city,  to  accidental  circum- 
stances. It  may  be  well,  that  a  nation,  in  the  heat  and  turbulence 
of  war,  should  endeavor  to  promote  its  interests,  by  the  propagating 
reports  of  its  own  innocency  and  prowess,  and  accusing  its  enemy  of 
flagrant  enormity  and  dastardliness,  (as  was  done  in  this  particular 
case.)  but  when  peace  comes,  let  us,  in  God's  name,  do  justice,  to 
them  and  ourselves.  Baseness  and  villany  are  the  growth  of  all 
climes,  and  of  all  nations.  Without  the  most  numerous,  and  the 
most  cogent  testimony,  as  the  fact  occurred  within  my  own  view,  the 
eloquence  of  Cicero  could  not  convince  me  that  the  firing  was 
accidental." 


620 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  XXXIX. 

THROG'S  NECK,  AND   WHY  THE   BRITISH  LANDED  THERE, 
IN  OCTOBER,  1776. 

Volume  I.,  page  122. 

*'  FROG'S"  Neck,  or  Point,  is  a  corruption  of  "  Throgs' " 
Neck,  which  itself  is  an  abbreviation  of  Throckmorton's  Neck, 
which  was  so  called  from  the  name  of  its  first  English  settler. 

General  Howe's  landing  there  was  a  gross  blunder,  as  it  is  a 
tide  island,  and  in  1776  was  connected  with  the  main  by  a 
bridge  over  a  mill-dam  at  the  Borough  town  of  Westchester. 
This  the  Americans  fortified  and  successfully  prevented 
Howe's  troops  from  crossing.  The  mill  and  dam  were  built 
by  Col.  Caleb  Heathcote,  who  was  the  first  Mayor  of  the 
Borough  of  Westchester — the  only  Borough  town  in  the 
Colony  of  New  York — about  the  year  1695.  It  stood  till 
February,  1875,  when  it  was  accidentally  burnt.  The  outside 
had  been  renewed  from  time  to  time,  but  the  frame  was  the 
original  one,  of  massive  hewn  timber,  and  at  the  time  of  its 
destruction  was  the  oldest  mill  in  Westchester  and  probably 
in  the  State.  By  the  original  grant  to  Colonel  Heathcote, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town  had  the  right  to  have  their  grain 
ground  free.  This  was  afterwards  commuted  to  a  toll,  pay- 
able to  the  present  "  town  "  of  Westchester,  which  the  town 
enjoyed  as  a  source  of  revenue  till  the  mill  was  burnt,  and  the 
right  to  which  it  still  retains,  if  it  is  rebuilt. 

The  blunder  was  Lord  Howe's,  not  Sir  William's  ;  for  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  in  his  MS.  note  to  the  account  of  the  landing, 
in  Stedman,  Vol.  I.,  p.  211,  says  : 

"  It  had  been  proposed  to  Sir  William  Howe  that  the  troops 
'should  have  been  marched  to  Harlem  Point,1  there  met  by  the  boats, 
passed  to  City  Orchard,  thence  to  Mill's  Creek  and  Rochelle.  This 
was  overruled,  and  the  above  move  to  Frog's  Point  took  pla£e. 
Lord  Howe  objected  to  Mill's  Creek  under  an  idea  that  it  would  not 
be  safe  for  ships  to  lay  there." 


1  Horn's  Hook,  now  92a!  Street. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


62  I 


On  the  next  page,  Sir  Henry  says  : 

"  Knyphausen's  command  joined  at  New  Rochelle,  which  had 
landed  at  Mill's  Creek,  now  found  to  be  perfectly  safe." 

By  "  City  Orchard  "  was  probably  meant  "  City  Island,"  just 
below  Mill's  Creek,  or  New  Rochelle  Harbor,  which  is  about 
a  mile  from  the  village  of  that  name. 

The  author  is  mistaken  in  saying  "  a  whole  fortnight"  was 
spent  by  Howe  on  Frog's  Neck.  He  probably  means  that 
he  spent  "  a  whole  fortnight  "  in  getting  from  there  to  White 
Plains,  a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles.  Howe  landed  on 
the  1 2th  of  October  at  Frog's  Neck,  remained  five  days,  then 
crossed  to  Pell's  Neck,  and  was  actually  eleven  days  going 
from  there  to  White  Plains,  which  he  reached  on  the  28th. 


NOTE  XL. 

The  battle  of  white  plains — state  of  things  after 
it — burning  of  the  village  by  the  americans- 
possible  reason  of  howe's  sudden  march  to- 
wards tarrytown. 

Volume  /.,  page  123. 

The  action  on  Chatterton's  Hill  at  White  Plains  was  merely 
a  brief  skirmish  between  detachments  of  each  army.  Wash- 
ington's despatch, through  his  Secretary,  Robert  H.  Harrison,1 
to  Governor  Trumbull,  of  Connecticut,  of  the  2d  of  November, 
1776,  gives  this  account  of  it,  and  the  reason  of  the  retreat 
to  White  Plains. 

1  Of  Maryland,  he  entered  the  army  as  Aid  to  Washington,  who  made  him  his 
Private  Secretary.  On  5  June,  1 776,  Congress  gave  him  the  rank  of  Lieut. -Colonel. 
Hecontinued  Washington's  Secretary  till  to  March,  1781,  when  he  was  appointed 
Chief-Justice  of  Maryland,  in  which  office  he  died  in  1790.  Saffell's  Records  Rev. 
War,  p.  3S3. 


622 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"The  enemy  having  discovered  their  intentions,  in  pursuance  of 
their  original  plan,  of  penetrating  into  the  country  and  rbrming  a  line 
in  our  rear,  it  became  necessary,  the  last  week,  to  remove  the  whole 
of  our  army,  except  the  garrisons  left  at  Mount  Washington  and 
Kingsbridge,  from  the  heights  we  had  encamped  on  above  the  latter, 
to  this  place,  to  prevent  their  outflanking  us,  and  the  execution  of  their 
design.  On  Monday  morning  (28th),  about  to  o'clock,  they  appeared 
in  several  large  columns  in  our  front,  and  from  their  movements  seemed 
as  if  they  meant  an  attack  there.  In  a  little  time  their  main  body  (at 
least  of  those  in  sight)  filed  off  to  our  right  and  began  a  most  inces- 
sant cannonade  at  a  part  of  our  troops  who  had  just  taken  post  on  a 
hill  with  a  view  of  throwing  up  some  lines.  Covering  themselves 
with  their  cannon,  they  advanced  in  two  divisions,  and  after  a  smart 
engagement,  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  obliged  our  men  to  give 
way.  Our  loss  at  present  I  cannot  ascertain  ;  nor  is  theirs  known. 
I  dare  say  it  is  not  much  inferior  to  ours  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for 
their  immense  artillery,  which  galled  our  people  greatly,  it  is  probable 
it  would  have  been  much  greater.1  They  now  lay  extended  from  our 
right  to  our  left,  and  it  is  generally  conjectured  they  have  in  view  the 
seizing  of  Kingsbridge  on  Croton  River,  to  cut  off  our  communica- 
tion with  the  upper  country."  2 

Chatterton  Hill  is  the  last  and  northernmost  of  the  heights, 
along  the  western  side  of  the  Bronx  River,  successively  occu- 
pied by  the  Americans,  during  their  movement  from  Kings- 
bridge  to  White  Plains,  from  which  village  and  court-house, 
as  they  then  were,  it  is  about  one  mile  due  west.  A  short 
distance  north  of  it,  across  a  bend  in  the  Bronx,  a  bridge 
communicated  with  Washington's  entrenchments,  which 
extended  from  that  river  on  the  west,  over  and  along  a  high 
ridge,  to  Horton's  (now  Willett's)  Pond,  on  the  east.  It  was 
therefore  in  advance  of,  and  separated  from,  them,  by  the  river. 
Military  rules  would  have  called  into  Washington's  lines  the 
eleven  or  twelve  hundred  men  whom  the  British  found  posted 
on  this  hill  at  their  approach.  Why  this  was  not  done,  and 
why  the  hill  was  occupied  at  all,  have  been  subjects  of  dispute. 
The  British  were  surprised  at  their  remaining  on  the  hill,  and 
Howe  decided  to  drive  them  off  before  attacking  Washington  ; 
and  did  so,  by  a  detachment  of  about  4,000  men,  in  tire 
presence  of  both  armies  as  spectators.  The  details  are  well 
known. 

1  Force.  Fifth  Series,  Vol  III.,  pp.  481-5. 
•  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  484,  4S5. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


623 


Sir  Henry  Clinton  tells  us  :  "  Perhaps  the  rebels  posted  this 
corps  on  the  right  of  the  Brunx  1  to  cover  their  retreat  over 
the  Croton,  should  that  be  necessary  ;  and  if  Sir  William  Howe 
thought  so,  it  accounts  for  his  attack."2 

Be  the  reason  what  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  it  led  Howe  into 
the  first  of  his  blunders  at  White  Plains,  and  materially  aided 
in  the  preservation  of  the  American  army. 

In  a  private  letter  to  his  friend,  John  McKesson,  Secretary 
of  the  New  York  Provincial  Convention,  written  from  White 
Plains,  on  the  31st  of  October,  1776,  three  days  after  the 
battle,  George  Clinton,  then  a  Brigadier-General,  makes  the 
following  remarks,  corroborative  of  the  statement  of  General 
Silliman  to  the  author,  on  page  123.  After  stating  that  an 
attack  was  apprehended  the  preceding  night,  and  how,  while 
waiting  under  arms,  they  had  suffered  from  the  hard,  cold, 
storm  which  stopped  Howe's  intended  attack,  he  says: 

"This  I  am  sure  of,  that  I  am  likely  to  lose  more  in  my  brigade,  by 
sickness  occasioned  by  extra  fatigue  and  want  of  covering,  than  in 
the  course  of  an  active  campaign  is  ordinarily  lost  in  the  most  severe 
actions.  However,  I  would  not  be  understood  to  condemn  meas- 
ures. They  may  be  right  for  aught  I  know  ;  I  do  not  understand 
much  of  the  refined  art  of  war  :  it  is  said  to  consist  of  stratagem  and 
deception.  This,  nevertheless,  is  too  obvious  :  the  enemy  are  daily 
increasing  their  army  by  new  recruits  in  those  parts  of  the  country 
which  they  have  already  acquired,  whilst  ours  are  daily  decreasing 
by  sickness,  deaths,  and  desertions  ;  add  to  this  one  month  disbands 
a  very  considerable  part  of  our  army.  How  a  new  one  will  be  re- 
cruited God  only  knows.  This  I  know,  many  are  disgusted  with  the 
service.  These  will  not  re-enter  ;  and,  what  is  worse,  will  prevent 
others,  by  representing,  on  their  return  home,  the  haidships  they  have 
endured.  So  much  for  military  politicks.  1  write  this  in  confidence. 
If  what  I  have  said  be  true,  and  the  evils  which  I  fear  prevented,  in 
any  degree,  by  the  honorable  body  in  which  you  sit,  it  is  devoutly  to 
be  wished."3 

The  author  says  the  Americans  fell  back  six  miles  towards 
Northcastle.  It  was  not  quite  so  far.  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
says:   "They  did  not  return  above  a  mile  to  their  strong 

1  The  common  spelling  of  the  name  in  the  last  century. 
'  Clinton's  MS.  note  to  Stedman,  Vol.  I.,  p.  214. 
1  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  II.,  p.  1312. 


624 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


entrenched  camp,  and  there  remained  until  we  had  crossed 
the  Brunx  with  our  right  wing."  1 

The  village  of  White  Plains,  with  its  court-house,  and  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  was  burned  by  New  England  troops, 
not,  however,  on  the  approach  of  the  British,  as  stated  in  the 
text,  but  after  they  had  left  it. 

Washington's  "  general  order  "  of  Nov.  6,  1776,  says  :  "It 
is  with  the  utmost  astonishment  and  abhorrence,  the  General 
is  informed  some  base  and  cowardly  wretches  have,  last  night, 
set  fire  to  the  Court-House  and  other  buildings  which  the 
enemy  left.  The  army  may  rely  upon  it  that  they  shall  be 
brought  to  justice,  and  meet  with  the  punishment  they 
deserve." 2 

Six  days  before,  however,  says  a  letter  of  Nov.  1st,  from  a 
gentleman  in  the  army:  "On  the  31st  of  October  it  was 
observed  that  they  (the  British)  had  near  finished  four  or  five 
batteries  which  they  had  erected  against  us ;  and  as  our 
ground  near  the  centre  of  the  town  of  White  Plains  was  not 
good,  being  overlooked  by  the  neighboring  hills,  the  General 
last  night  drew  off  most  of  the  troops  from  the  lines  there,  and 
this  morning  the  guards  and  sentries  burned  the  town,  and 
forage  all  round  it,  and  came  off  about  nine  o'clock,"  1 

Colonel  Jedediah  Huntington,  of  Connecticut,  writing  to 
Governor  Trumbull,  on  the  7th  November,  says :  "  The 
enemy  have  retreated  from  White  Plains.  It  was  a  happy 
thought,  the  burning  of  a  few  houses  on  our  retreat  from 
thence.  That  measure  convinced  them  they  had  little  to 
expect  from  penetrating  the  Country."4  This  "happy" 
burning  of  houses  and  barns,  however,  produced  the  following 
"general  order"  from  Washington,  two  days  afterwards,  on 
the  2d  of  November:  "The  General  expressly  forbids  any 
person,  or  soldier,  belonging  to  the  army,  to  set  fire  to  any 
house  or  barn,  on  any  pretence,  without  a  special  order  from 
some  General  Officer."  6 

But  the  spirit  of  pillage  and  robbery  was  not  to  be  stayed. 


1  M.S.  Note.  *  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III.,  p.  545. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  474.    This  letter  was  published  in  the  Pennsylvania  Evening  Post. 

4  Ibid.,  559.  5  Ibid.,  544. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  625 

On  the  night  of  the  5th  of  November,  one  Major  Austin, 
of  Massachusetts,  and  his  men,  robbed  various  houses  that 
had  been  left  by  the  former  fire,  turned  the  inmates  out  of 
doors,  and  burnt  them,  the  court-house  and  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  This  wanton  act  called  forth  Washington's  order  of 
Nov.  6th,  quoted  above.  It  also  caused  the  New  York  Pro- 
vincial Convention  to  pass  stringent  resolutions  on  the  subject, 
which  they  directed  to  be  sent  to  Washington,  with  a  letter 
of  remonstrance  written  by  Robert  R.  Livingston,  demand- 
ing Austin  for  punishment,  and  asking  Washington  to  unite 
with  them  in  urging  Congress  to  make  it  a  capital  offence  "  for 
any  officer  or  soldier  to  pillage  the  inhabitants,"  or  "  ravage 
the  country,"  without  orders.1 

Major  Austin,  by  Washington's  orders,  was  court-martialed 
on  the  8th,  "  upon  a  charge  of  burning  the  houses  at  White 
Plains  contrary  to  general  orders."  General  M'Dougall 
presided,  but  the  court  only  sentenced  him  "to  be  repri- 
manded." This  was  reported  to  Gen.  Lee,  who  then  was  in 
command,  on  the  12th;  he  was  indignant,  and  instantly 
re-arrestcd  him  and  ordered  anew  Court  Martial,  with  Colonel 
Daniel  Hitchcock  as  president,  to  try  him  on  "  a  charge  of 
wanton,  barbarous  conduct,  unbecoming  not  only  an  officer, 
but  a  human  creature."  The  pillaging,  cruelty,  and  burning 
were  fully  proved  by  the  evidence,  and  the  court  at  once 
cashiered  him.2  He  was  Jonathan  Williams  Austin,  the 
Major  of  Colonel  Paul  D.  Sargent's  Massachusetts  regiment.3 
Howe's  reasons  for  not  pursuing  Washington,  after  the  latter 
fell  back  towards  North  Castle,  have  never  been  satisfactorily 
given,  cither  by  himself  or  others.  If,  however  (and  there 
was  time  sufficient),  he  received  at  White  Plains  the  plan  of 
the  lines  and  works  at  Fort  Washington,  and  the  information 
as  to  its  garrison,  which  the  traitor  Adjutant  of  Magaw's 
regiment  brought  into  Lord  Percy's  lines  on  the  second 
of  November,4  it  may  explain  his  sudden  departure  in  the 

1  Journals  of  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  729. 

9  Force,  Fiflh  Series,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  640,  653,  and  654.  Lee  Papers,  Vol.  II., 
1'-  273- 

3  Ibid.,  874.  *  See  Note  XLL 

40 


626 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


night  of  the  fifth  of  November  towards  Tarrytown,  and  marcli 
to  invest  that  fortress,  which  so  puzzled  the  American  com- 
mander-in-chief. 


NOTE  XLI. 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  MOUNT  WASHINGTON  ON  THE  l6TH  OF 
NOVEMBER,  1776. — ITS  CAUSE,  THE  TREASON  OF  THE 
ADJUTANT  OF  ITS  COMMANDER. — HEROISM  OF  MAR- 
GARET CORBIN. 

Vol.  I., p.  124. 

The  capture  of  Mount  Washington  is  merely  stated  in  brief, 
general,  terms  by  the  author.  He  did  not  know  its  true 
cause,  nor  did  the  American  Generals,  Washington  and 
Greene,  nor  its  commandant,  Colonel  Magaw.  The  evidence 
given  below  shows  to  whom  its  fall  was  really  due.  Magaw 
may  have  had  some  suspicions  of  the  truth ;  but  if  so,  he  has 
left  no  evidence  of  them  that  is  known. 

The  victorious  guns  of  Howe  had  hardly  ceased  on  Chat- 
terton  Hill  at  White  Plains,  on  the  28th  of  October,  1776,  ere 
he  despatched  an  order  to  Lieutenant-General  Baron  von 
Knyphausen,  the  commander  of  the  Hessians,  to  move  from 
New  Rochelle,  where  they  had  landed  a  few  days  before,  to- 
wards Kingsbridge.  Leaving  the  Waldeck  regiment  as  a 
guard,  von  Knyphausen  marched  with  the  rest  of  his  com- 
mand the  next  day,  took  post  at  Mile  Square  and  Valen- 
tine's Hill,  and  on  the  2d  of  November  encamped  on  New 
York  Island  at  Kingsbridge,  the  Americans  retiring  to  Fort 
Washington  at  his  approach.1 

Why  Howe  did  not  attack  Washington  at  White  Plains 
after  the  brigades  from  Percy  joined  him,  neither  he,  nor  any 
one  else,  has  ever  satisfactorily  explained.  On  his  return  to 
England,  he  told  the  Committee  of  Parliament  which  investi- 

1  Howe's  despatch  of  30th  Nov.    Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III.,  p.  923. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


627 


gated  his  conduct,  that  he  had  intended  an  attack  on  Wash- 
ington's right,  which  was  opposite  to  the  Hessians  under  Dc 
Heister,  but  that  he  had  "  political  reasons,  and  no  other,  for 
declining  to  explain  why  that  assault  was  not  made."  1 

He  retreated  from  White  Plains  very  suddenly  early  in  the 
morning  of  the  fifth  of  November,  1776,  and  his  army  had 
been  moving  some  time  towards  Dobb's  Ferry  before  the  fact 
was  discovered  by  the  Americans.  "  The  design  of  this 
manoeuvre  is  a  matter  of  much  conjecture  and  speculation, 
and  cannot  be  accounted  for  with  any  degree  of  certainty," 
wrote  Washington  to  Hancock  on  the  sixth,  and  the  same 
day,  he  called  a  council  of  war,  which  unanimously  agreed, 
immediately  to  throw  a  body  of  troops  into  Jersey,  and  sta- 
tion 3,000  men  at  Peekskill  to  guard  the  Highlands.  This 
was  a  perfectly  natural  conclusion.  "  Howe  has  but  two 
moves  more,  in  which  we  shall  checkmate  him,"  wrote 
Charles  Lee,  but  he  did  not  state  what  they  were.*  One 
was  evidently  to  New  Jersey,  and  the  other  to  Mount 
Washington.  Why  did  he  choose  the  latter?  That  he 
intended  originally  to  throw  his  army  into  Jersey  from 
Dobb's  Ferry  and  march  for  Philadelphia,  leaving  Washing- 
ton to  follow  him  as  best  he  might — first,  however,  detach- 
ing and  leaving  behind  a  sufficient  force  to  hold  lower  West- 
chester, and  keep  in  check,  or  invest,  Mount  Washington — is 
most  probable.  This  would  explain  his  order  to  von  Knyp- 
hausen  on  the  28th,  and  the  subsequent  order  of  the  3d  to 
Grant  to  march  the  next  day,  the  4th,  with  the  Sixth  Bri- 
gade to  de  Lancey's  Mills  on  the  Bronx,  at  West  Farms,  to 
send  the  Fourth  Brigade  to  Mile  Square,  and  the  Waldeck 
regiment  from  New  Rochelle  to  a  bridge  three  miles  above 
de  Lancey's  Mills  on  the  same  stream.* 

Washington,  and  his  council  of  war,  evidently  thought  he 
would  do  so  ;  hence  their  unanimous  vote  to  throw  an  army 
into  Jersey,  and  to  secure  Peekskill.    The  record  of  that  coun- 

1  Howe's  Narrative,  p.  7. 

5  Letter  of  William  Whipple  to  John  Lan^don.  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III., 
P-  555- 

3  Howe's  despatch.    Ibid.,  924. 


628 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


cil  shows  that  neither  Mount  Washington  nor  Fort  Washing- 
ton were  even  mentioned.1  A  striking  fact,  when  we  know, 
from  a  letter  of  the  Commander-in-chief  himself,  written  the 
day  the  council  met,  that  "  our  communication  with  Mount 
Washington  has  now  been  cut  off  for  two  weeks."5  Reed, 
on  the  same  6th  of  November,  wrote  his  wife  from  White 
Plains:  "  Opinions  here  are  various  ;  some  think  they  are  fall- 
ing down  on  Mount  Washington;  others,  that  they  mean  to 
take  shipping  up  North  River  and  fall  upon  our  rear  ;  others, 
and  a  great  majority,  think  that  finding  our  army  too  strongly 
posted,  they  have  changed  their  whole  plan  and  arc  bending 
southward,  intending  to  penetrate  the  Jerseys,  and  so  move 
on  to  Philadelphia."  3 

Howe  at  White  Plains  suddenly,  and  certainly,  did  "  change 
his  whole  plan,"  which  was  to  attack  Washington.  He  him- 
self said  his  reason  for  not  making  that  attack  was  a  political 
one,  but  he  refused  to  divulge  it.  His  successes  in  the  cam- 
paign, so  far,  had  not  been  decided  ones.  He  had  not  been 
able  to  crush  the  rebellion  in  a  single  great  battle,  as  he 
hoped,  and  he  found  he  must  ask  the  Ministry  in  England 
for  more  men  and  material.  Though  not  his  political  friends, 
they  had  given  him  his  command,  and  must  be  placed  in  a 
position  to  do  so  with  ease  and  honor.  And  an  occurrence, 
strange,  and  utterly  unexpected,  had  just  transpired,  by  which 
he  could  not  only  effect  this  object,  but  at  the  same  time 
win  great  applause  for  himself,  and  strike  a  blow,  deadly,  if 
not  fatal,  to  the  rebellion. 

He  had  good  cause  "to  change  his  whole  plan,"  as  Reed 
expressed  it.  And  that  cause  was,  the  base  treason  of  a  com- 
missioned officer  of  the  American  Army. 

Four  years  before  Arnold's  attempt  to  betray  West  Point, 
a  similar,  but  more  successful,  traitor,  betrayed  Mount  Wash- 
ington. 

On  the  second  of  November,  1776,  the  Adjutant  of  Magaw, 
the  commandant  of  that  post,  passed  undiscovered  into  the 

1  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III.,  p.  543. 

5  To  the  Pennsylvania  Commissioners,  of  Nov.  6,  1776.    Ibid.,  p.  546. 
3  Reed  to  his  wife  from  White  Plains.    Ibid.,  p.  547. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


629 


British  camp  of  Earl  Percy,1  carrying  with  him  the  plans  of 
Fort  Washington,  and  full  information  as  to  the  works  and 
the  garrison,  and  placed  them  in  the  hands  of  that  officer. 

It  was  Percy's  duty,  of  course,  instantly  to  send  the  plans 
and  information  to  Sir  William  Howe,  then  at  White  Plains. 
As  he  could  only  do  this  by  way  of  the  East  River,  or  the 
North  River,  it  probably  was  the  evening  of  the  third  ot 
November  before  Howe  received  them,  and  he  may  possibly 
not  have  gotten  them  till  the  fourth. 

The  British  commander-in-chief  now  saw,  not  only  how 
he  could  certainly  capture  Mount  Washington,  but  how  he 
could  do  it  without  much  loss,  send  the  ministry  in  England 
a  glowing  account  of  forts,  guns,  and  men  taken,  deprive 
Washington  of  a  large  force  of  his  best  troops,  seize  and  con- 
trol the  communication  between  New  York  and  Westchester, 
and  destroy  that  across  the  Hudson,  between  the  Eastern 
and  Southern  Colonies,  on  which  both  had  so  long  relied  ; 
and  he  acted  accordingly. 

Alexander  Graydon,  a  captain  in  Cadwalladcr's  regiment, 
who  was  taken  at  Mount  Washington,  in  his  striking  "  Mem- 
oirs of  His  own  Times,"  says :  "  Howe  must  have  had  a  per- 
fect knowledge  of  the  ground  we  occupied.    This  he  might 

1  This  Earl  Percy,  the  same  who  was  at  Lexington,  was  Hugh,  eldest  son  of 
Sir  Hugh  Smithson,  Baronet,  by  his  wife,  Lady  Elizabeth  Seymour,  the  only  sur- 
viving child  of  Algernon  Seymour,  "the  proud  duke  of  Somerset,"  by  his  first 
wife,  Elizabeth  Percy,  only  child  of  Joscelin  Percy,  nth  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
the  last  male  descendant  of  "  Harry  Hotspur  and  his  gentle  Kate,"  bearing  the 
name.  Sir  Hugh  Smithson  assumed  the  surname  of  "  Percy  "  on  his  marriage, 
and  was  created  Earl  Percy  and  Duke  of  Northumberland  22ft  Oct.,  1766.  lie 
died  in  1786,  and  his  son,  so  well  known  in  America,  succeeded  as  second  Duke  of 
Northumberland,  and  lived  till  10th  July,  1 S £ 7,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  hi.; 
eldest  son  Hugh  (who  died  without  issue  in  1S47),  as  third  Duke,  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother  Algernon,  Lord  Prudhoe,  as  fourth  Duke,  the  late  genial  and 
jovial  Viceroy  of  Ireland,  who  also  died  without  issue  in  l£6$.  The  present  Duke  is 
a  distant  cousin  of  the  two  latter,  and  not  a  descendant  of  the  Percy  mentioned  in 
the  text.  Of  the  conduct  of  the  latter  at  Mt  Washington,  a  letter  from  an 
officer,  of  5th  Dec.,  1776.  in  the  Middlesex  Journal,  says:  "Little  Percy  behaved 
like  an  angel  ;  he  remains  with  us,  notwithstanding  he  had  the  King's  leave  to 
return  to  Europe  five  months  ago."  He  was  a  brave  and  very  active  officer,  quali- 
ties which  so  struck  the  Mohawks  that  they  adopted  him  into  their  tribe,  made 
him  a  chief,  and  gave  him  the  name  of  Thorighwegeri. 


630 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


have  acquired  from  hundreds  in  New  York  ;  but  he  might 
have  been  more  thoroughly  informed  of  everything  desirable 
to  be  known  from  an  officer  of  Magaw's  battalion,  who  was 
intelligent  in  points  of  duty,  and  deserted  to  the  enemy  about 
a  week  before  the  assault."  1  The  same  thing  is  intimated  in 
one  or  two  of  the  German  accounts  of  the  capture.  What 
these  writers  thought  a  possibility,  however,  is  now  an  abso- 
lute certainty.  The  evidence,  too,  is  of  the  most  conclusive 
character,  that  of  the  traitor  himself  over  his  own  signature, 
stating  the  treason  in  plain,  undeniable,  terms. 

Sixteen  years  after  its  occurrence,  in  order  to  obtain  a 
small  amount  due  him  by  the  British  Government,  he  wrote 
the  following  letter  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Peters,  a  clergyman  of 
the  Church  of  England,  to  be  used  in  obtaining  the  claim 
from  the  British  officials  in  Upper  Canada.  In  Dr.  Peters' 
possession,  and  that  of  two  gentlemen  of  this  city,  father  and 
son,  in  the  house  of  the  elder  of  whom — the  husband  of  a  fa- 
vorite ward-  -Dr.  Peters  died,  this  letter  has  remained  until 
placed  in  my  hands  by  the  younger.  Its  authenticity  is 
therefore  beyond  a  cavil.2 

It  is  here  printed  verbatim,  with  its  errors  of  grammar, 
spelling,  and  style  precisely  as  in  the  original  manuscript, 
which  is  addressed  to  the  "  Revd.  Dr.  Peters." 

ReV  Sir, 

Permit  me  to  Trouble  you  with  a  Short  recital  of  my  Services 
in  America  which  I  Presume  may  be  Deemd,  among  the  Most 
Singular  of  any  that  will  go  to  Upper  Canada — On  the  2d  of 
Novr  1776  I  Sacrificed  all  I  was  Worth  in  the  World  to  the  Service  of 
my  King  &  Country  and  Joined  the  then  Lord  Percy  brought  in  with 
[me]  the  Plans  of  Fort  Washington  by  which  Plans  that  Fortress  was 
taken  by  his  Majestys  Troops  the  16  instant,  Together  with  2700 
Prisoners  and  Stores  &  Ammunition  to  the  amount  of  1800  Pound, 
at  the  same  time  I  may  with  Justice  Affirm  from  my  Knowledge  of 
the  Works  I  saved  the  Lives  of  Many  of  his  Majestys  Subjects — 
these  Sir  are  facts  well  known  to  every  General  Officer  which  was  ' 
there — and  I  may  with  Truth  Declare  from  that  time  I  Studied  the 
Interest  of  my  Country  and  Neglected  my  own — or  in  the  Language 

1  Graydon's  Memoirs,  p.  215,  Littell's  Edition. 

-  These  gentlemen,  both  personal  friends  of  the  writer,  were  the  late  JuJge 
bell,  and  his  son,  Mr.  Samuel  P.  Bell. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


of  Cardinal  Woolsey  had  I  have  served  my  God  as  I  have  done  my 
King  he  would  not  Thus  have  Forsaken  Me. 

The  follow  ing  is  a  Just  account  due  nie  from  Government  which  I 
have  never  been  able  to  bring  forward  for  Want  of  Sir  William 
Erskine,  who  once  when  in  Town  Assured  Me  he'd,  Look  into  it, 
but  have  never  done  it,  otherways  I  should  not  now  have  been  in 
Debt. 

This,  Sir,  though  it  may  not  be  in  your  Power  to  Get  me,  may 
Justify  my  being  so  much  in  Debt,  &  in  Expectation  of  this  Acct. 
being  Paid,  together  with  another  Devidend,  from  the  Express  words 
of  the  Act,  where  it  Says  all  under  Ten  Thousand  pound  Should  be 
Paid  without  Deduction,  I  having  received  only  ^ioo  out  of  ^467 
which  I  Justified  before  the  Commissioners. 

Due  for  Haw,  Batt,  &  Forrage  j£l,°  7  0 

For  Engaging  Guides,  Getting 
intelligence,  &c. 

For  doing  duty  as  Commissary  ) 
of  Prisoners  at  Philadelphia,  v 
Paying  Clerks,  Stationary,  &c  ) 


The  last  Two  Articles  was  cash  Paid 
out  of  my  Pocket  which  was  Promised 
to  be  Refunded  by  Sirs  Win.  Howe  and  Erskine 

I  most  Humbly  Beg  Pardon  for  the  Length  of  this  Letter  &  Shall 
Conclude  without  making  some  Masonac  Remarks  as  at  first  in- 
tended, 

And  Remain 
Rev*.  Sir 

with  Dutiful  Respect 
Your  most  Obedient 
and  Most  Hum1.  Servt. 

London  ) 

Jany  16th  v  William  Demont. 

1792.  ) 

P.  S.  the  Inclosed  is  a  True  Account  of  my  Debts  taken  from  the 
Different  Bills  received.1 

1  The  account  of  his  debts  has  not  been  preserved,  but  a  printed  copy  of  the 
resolution  of  Parliament  of  June  9th,  1788,  directing  the  payment  of  the  dividend 
under  the  compensation  act  referred  to,  which  was  enclosed  in  the  letter,  is  still 
with  it  ;  the  words  "  Baw,  Batt,"  in  the  first  item  of  the  account  are  military 
terms  for  officers,  baggage-horses  and  forage. 


45  9  7 


26  13  S 


^182  10  j 


632 


HISTORY  OF   NEW  YORK. 


Such  was  the  treason  of  William  Dcmont. 

Originally  entering  Magaw's  Battalion  in  Philadelphia  as  an 
ensign,  by  the  appointment  of  the  Pennsylvania  Council  of 
Safety,  he  was  by  the  same  body  appointed  its  Adjutant  on 
the  29th  of  February,  1776,  and  went  with  the  battalion  to 
New  York.  The  position  gave  him  Magaw's  confidence ;  and 
when,  on  Putnam's  departure  to  join  Washington's  army  at 
White  Plains,  that  officer  was  left  in  command  of  Mount 
Washington,  it  also  gave  him  the  fullest  information  of  the 
post  and  of  everything  that  was  done,  or  intended  to  be 
done,  in  relation  to  it.  Graydon  mistakes  both  the  time  of 
his  desertion  and  his  name.  The  former  occurred  fourteen 
days  before  the  capture,  not  a  week,  and  the  latter  he  calls 
"  Dement,"  and  the  name  so  appears  in  the  printed  proceed- 
ings of  the  Pennsylvania  Committee  of  Safety,  and  in  the 
army  returns.  But  if  it  is  not  a  copyist's  or  a  printer's  error, 
he  subsequently  changed  the  last  vowel,  for  he  writes  it  him- 
self unmistakably  "  Demont." 

Of  his  subsequent  career  little  is  known,  except  that  during 
the  British  occupation  of  Philadelphia  he  acted  as  a  commis- 
sary of  prisoners.  From  that  time  until  he  appears  in  Lon- 
don in  1792,  writing  the  above  letter,  I  have  learned  nothing 
of  him,  nor  been  able  to  trace  him  after  that  date.  Whethe. 
he  obtained  his  claim  I  know  not.  Most  probably  he  could 
exclaim, 

"  It  is  the  curse  of  treachery  like  mine, 
To  be  most  hated,  where  it  most  has  serv'd." 

Sir  William  Howe's  course  shows  that  he  acted  on  De- 
mont's  plans  and  information.  Reaching  Dobb's  Ferry  with 
his  army  on  the  6th  of  September,  he,  the  next  day,  de- 
spatched his  park  of  artillery  to  Kingsbridge  with  a  strong 
escort,  to  join  von  Knyphauscn,  and  the  first  step  after  its  - 
arrival  was  to  place  batteries  in  positions  on  the  Westchester 
side  of  the  Harlem  River  to  cover  selected  points  of  attack  on 
the  New  York  side.  The  next  three  days  were  occupied  by 
the  necessary  preparations  for  an  assault,  and  in  sending  a 
brigade  of  Hessians  to  von  Knyphausen,  whose  own  head- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  633 

quarters  were  also  on  the  Westchester  side  of  the  Harlem 
River.  On  the  12th  Howe's  whole  army  marched  to  Kings- 
bridge,  and  encamped  the  next  day  along  the  high  grounds  on 
the  same  side  of  that  river,  with  its  right  on  the  Bronx  and 
its  left  on  the  Hudson.  On  the  night  of  the  14th,  undiscov- 
ered by  either  Magaw,  or  Greene,  thirty  row-boats,  chiefly 
from  the  transport  fleet,  under  Captains  Wilkinson  and  Mol- 
loy,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  passed  up  the  North  River  and 
through  Spuyten  Duyvel  to  the  Harlem  River.  Howe  had 
determined  on  four  separate  attacks  upon  Mount  Washington  : 
the  first  and  main  one  by  von  Knyphausen  with  his  Hessians, 
from  Kingsbridge,  covered  by  the  guns  of  the  man-of-war 
Pearl  in  the  North  River  ;  the  second  by  boats  across  the 
Harlem  River,  with  English  troops,  upon  Laurel  Hill ;  the 
third  by  Scotch  troops,  under  Colonel  Stirling,  also  by  boats 
across  the  Harlem  River,  but  further  down,  upon  the  hill 
inside  the  American  lines  of  fortification  near  the  Morris 
House  ;  and  the  fourth  by  Earl  Percy,  with  English  and 
Hessian  troops,  upon  the  American  lines  at  the  south  end  of 
Mount  Washington.  Batteries  opposite  the  chosen  points  of 
attack  on  the  Harlem  River  covered  these  intended  move- 
ments completely.     Such  was  the  British  plan  of  attack.1 

On  the  15th,  Howe  summoned  Magaw  to  surrender,  under 
penalty  of  a  storm  (which  by  military  law  is  liability  to  be  put 
to  the  sword  if  taken),  and  gave  him  two  hours  to  decide. 

He  at  once  wrote  to  Greene  at  Fort  Lee,  and  then  sent 
this  brave  answer  to  the  summons,  addressed  to  Col.  Patter- 
son, the  Adjutant  of  the  British  army,  who  bore  it  : 

"Sir: — If  I  rightly  understood  the  purport  of  your  message  from 
General  Howe,  communicated  to  Colonel  Swoope,  this  post  is  to  be 
immediately  surrendered  or  the  garrison  put  to  the  sword.  I  rather 
think  it  a  mistake  than  a  settled  resolution  in  General  Howe  to  act  a 
part  so  unworthy  of  himself  and  the  British  Nation. 

"  But  give  me  leave  to  assure  his  Excellency,  that  actuated  by  the 
most  glorious  cause  that  mankind  ever  fought  in,  I  am  determined 
to  defend  this  post  to  the  very  last  extremity. 

"  Robt.  Magaw, 

"Col.  Com'." 

1  Howe's  first  despatch  of  Nov.  30th.  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  111.,  pp.  921, 
9-4- 


634 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


That  evening,  at  Hackensack,  Washington  received  a  hasty 
note  from  Greene,  dated  "  Fort  Lee,  four  o'clock  P.M.,"  stat- 
ing the  fact  of  the  summons,  and  covering  Magaw's  letter. 
He  left  at  once  for  Fort  Lee,  nine  miles  distant,  arrived 
there  about  nine  at  night,  took  a  boat  to  go  over  to  Mount 
Washington,  "  and,"  in  his  own  words,  "  had  partly  crossed 
the  North  River  when  I  met  General  Putnam  and  General 
Greene,  who  were  just  returning  from  thence  and  informed 
me  that  the  troops  were  in  high  spirits,  and  would  make  a 
good  defence;  and  it  being  late  at  night,  I  returned."1 
Neither  General  then  suggested,  nor  proposed,  an  evacuation, 
for  which  there  was  ample  time,  had  it  been  desired. 

Howe's  plan  of  attack  was  carried  out  to  the  letter  the 
next  day,  and  Mount  Washington  fell,  2,818  prisoners,  includ- 
ing officers,  forty-three  guns,  and  all  its  stores  being  taken. 
The  American  loss  was  four  officers  and  fifty  privates  killed, 
and  three  officers  and  ninety  privates  wounded,  a  total  of  147. 
That  of  the  British  was  seventy-eight  killed  and  three  hun- 
dred and  eighty  wounded,  including  officers,  a  total  of  458  ; 
of  which  number  the  Hessians  lost  fifty-eight  killed,  and  two 
hundred  and  seventy-two  wounded.2  The  details  of  the 
engagement  are  well  known.3 

Washington's  private  opinion  was  opposed  to  holding 
Mount  Washington,  but  he  was  governed  by  a  vote  of  Con- 
gress, and  the  Council  of  War,  each  of  whom  decided  to 
retain  it  as  long  as  possible.  After  the  British  men-of-war 
passed  up  the  river,  he,  by  letter,  authorized  Greene  and 
Magaw  to  evacuate  the  post,  but  did  not  directly  order  it 
to  be  done.  Greene  thought  it  should  be  retained,  and,  as 
the  matter  was  left  to  his  discretion  by  Washington's  letter, 
he  exercised  that  discretion  by  holding  it,  as  he  had  a  perfect 

1  Washington's  letter  to  the  President  of  Congress,  of  16th  Nov.,  1776.  Force, 
Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III.,  p.  707. 

'  Official  reports  of  Howe.    Ibid.,  pp.  925  and  1,058. 

3  According  to  Graydon,  203-4,  the  Hessian  force  was  3,000,  Percy's  force  was 
1,600,  that  under  Colonel  Stirling  800,  and  the  light  infantry  and  guards  under 
Maxwell,  which  he  does  not  give,  did  not  exceed  3,500— making  the  total  numbers 
of  British  engaged  8,900.  Howe  does  not  state  t he  numbers  engaged,  but  gives 
merely  the  names  of  the  regiments  and  brigades. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


635 


right  to  do.  When  Washington  first  arrived  at  Fort  Lee 
on  the  13th,  and  found  the  post  still  occupied,  he  did  not 
direct  its  evacuation,  as  he  might  have  done,  but  yielding  to 
the  doubt  and  hesitation  he  felt  between  his  own  opinion,  and 
the  views  of  the  Council,  Congress,  and  of  the  generals  there 
present,  let  the  garrison  remain. 

Magaw  seems  to  have  made  the  best  disposition  of  his  forces 
he  could,  considering  the  ground  and  the  four  attacks  that 
he  had  to  meet.  Neither  of  these  three  officers  should  be 
censured  at  the  expense  of  the  others.  Each  did  what  he 
thought  best  under  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed. 
And  neither  dreamed  that  he  had  treason  to  contend  against. 
The  loss  of  Mount  Washington  was  due  to  the  first  American 
traitor,  William  Demont. 

Many  were  the  instances,  on  both  sides,  in  this  engagement, 
of  humor  and  gaiety  in  the  midst  of  danger,  as  well  as  intre- 
pidity and  valor.  There  was  one  of  the  latter,  however, 
which  has  rarely  been  equalled,  or  surpassed. 

In  one  of  the  Pennsylvania  regiments  was  a  soldier  named 
Corbin,  who  was  accompanied  by  his  wife.  His  post  was  in 
the  battery  attacked  by  the  Hessians  where  the  battle  raged 
hottest  and  longest ;  for  it  was  between  two  and  three  hours 
before  the  Germans  succeeded  in  carrying  it.  In  the  midst 
of  the  battle  Corbin,  struck  by  a  ball,  fell  dead  at  his  wife's 
feet,  as  she  was  aiding  him  in  his  duties.  Instantly  stepping 
into  his  place  she  worked  the  gun  with  redoubled  skill  and 
vigor,  fighting  bravely,  till  she  sank  to  the  earth,  pierced  by 
three  grape  shot  in  the  shoulder.  Though  terribly  wounded, 
she  finally  recovered  though  disabled  for  life. 

This  heroic  matron,  Margaret  Corbin,  was  the  first  woman 
who  fought  for  American  liberty  in  the  war  of  the  revolution. 
A  soldier's  half  pay,  and  the  value  of  a  soldiers'  suit  of  clothes 
annually,  voted  her  by  the  Continental  Congress,  while  John 
Jay  presided,  was  all  the  reward  she  ever  received  for  such 
heroic  love,  courage,  pain,  and  bravery.1    Thirty-two  years 

1  Journals  of  Congress,  1779,  p.  281,  and  17S0,  p.  231.  Minutes  of  Supreme 
Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  under  date  June  29,  1779,  July  3,  1779,  aud 
July  24,  178a 


636 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


afterwards  the  famous  "  Maid  of  Saragossa  "  merely  repeated 
the  courageous  deed  of  the  Matron  of  Mount  Washington. 

Fort  Lee  was  taken  by  Lord  Cornwallis  on  the  20th  of 
November,  not,  as  the  text  states,  on  the  morning  after  the 
capture  of  Mount  Washington.  Sir  William  Howe's  despatch 
of  Nov.  30th,  to  Lord  George  Germaine,  by  mistake,  says  it 
was  taken  on  the  18th,  which  has  led  many  writers  to  commit 
the  same  error.  Lord  Howe's  despatch,  however,  gives  the 
20th,  the  true  date,  as  does  the  letter  of  General  Washington 
to  Congress.  The  boats  to  take  Cornwallis's  corps  over  the 
river  went  up  in  the  night  of  the  18th  to  Spuyten  Duyvel 
inlet.1 


NOTE   XL  I  I. 

THE  ADVICE  OF  CONGRESS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  PHILADEL- 
PHIA, TO  APPLY  TO  SIR  WILLIAM  HOWE  FOR  PROTEC- 
TION, IN  DECEMBER,   1 776. 

Volume  I.,  p.  127. 

The  advice  of  the  Continental  Congress  to  the  citizens  of 
Philadelphia,  when  they  fled  to  Baltimore  on  the  approacli 
of  the  British  army,  "  that  as  they  could  no  longer  give  them 
protection,  they  must  look  to  the  power  which  could,"  is 
almost  the  same  as  that  given  in  Galloway's  testimony  before 
a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  June,  1779.  It 
is  to  be  wished  the  author  had  mentioned  whence  he  took 
the  quotation. 

Galloway's  evidence  is  as  follows: 

"  Q.  Did  the  members  of  the  Congress,  and  others  who 
had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  rebellion,  take  any  steps  in 
consequence  of  their  expecting  the  British  troops  in  Phila- 
delphia ? 

"A.  I  was  informed  by  every  one  I  conversed  with  on  the 
subject,  that  the  Congress  and*  the  Rebel  States,  in  which  I  in* 

1  See  Force,  Fifth  Series,  \Zol.  III.,  pp.  925,  816,  and  765. 
So  in  the  original. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


637 


elude  all  their  officers,  fled  in  a  panic  from  Philadelphia,  many 
of  them  leaving  a  part  of  their  property  behind  them  ;  and  when 
I  was  last  in  Philadelphia,  I  was  informed  by  two  or  three  gen- 
tlemen, that  they  were  appointed  by  a  number  of  respectable 
inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  to  wait  on  Congress, 
and  to  inform  them,  that  they  would  go  out,  and  certainly 
meet  Sir  William  Howe,  in  case  he  should  cross  the  Dela- 
ware, and  implore  his  protection  in  behalf  of  the  inhabitants  ; 
— that  they  did  wait  on  Congress  accordingly,  delivered  their 
message,  and  received  for  answer  from  the  Congress,  that 
they  could  not  blame  them,  for  they  could  no  longer  protect 
the/u."  (Batch's  edition  of  Galloway's  Examinations,  p.  15.) 
Mr.  Balch  adds  in  a  note,  Mr.  (afterwards  Judge)  Yeates, 
writing  from  Lancaster,  October  3,  1777,  says  (Pennsylvania 
Letters,  259)  :  "  Mr.  Penn  and  Mr.  Delaney  rode  out  to  meet 
General  Howe,  and  earnestly  entreated  him  to  save  Philadel- 
phia from  plunder.  The  city,  as  we  learn,  escaped  ;  but 
John  Lawrence,  near  the  Falls,  had  everything  swept  away 
by  the  soldiers." 

The  Journal  of  Congress  of  the  12th  of  December,  1776, 
the  day  the  resolution  to  go  to  Baltimore  was  adopted,  gives 
as  much  of  their  action  as  they  deemed  best  to  put  on  record 
on  this  subject.    The  following  extract  shows  what  it  was. 

"  Major-General  Putnam  and  Brigadier-General  Mifflin  " 
(the  former  having  been  ordered  to  the  defence  of  Philadelphia 
three  days  before — on  the  gth — -by  Washington)  "  being  called 
to  a  conference,  and  having  by  strong  arguments  urged  the 
necessity  of  Congress  retiring, — It  was  therefore,  Ordered, 
That  Mr.  Wilson  inform  the  Assembly  and  Council  of  Penn- 
sylvania, of  the  proposed  adjournment  of  Congress,  and  the 
place  to  which  they  have  resolved  to  adjourn  ;  and  acquaint 
them  that  Congress  will  at  all  times,  on  their  application,  be 
ready  to  comply  with  their  requisitions  for  the  security  of  the 
city  and  State  against  the  common  enemy." 

As  they  could  of  course  do  nothing  for  their  "security" 
if  "  the  common  enemy  "  took  possession  of  the  city,  this 
action  was  a  formal  notice  to  the  people  of  Philadelphia  and 
Pennsylvania,  to  look  out  for  themselves  in  that  emergency. 


638 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  Journal  then  continues  : 

"  Whereas  the  movements  of  the  enemy  have  now  rendered 
t  he  neighborhood  of  this  city  the  seat  of  war,  which  will  pre- 
vent that  quiet  and  uninterrupted  attention  to  the  public 
business,  which  should  ever  prevail  in  the  great  continental 
council : 

"Resolved,  That  this  Congress  be  for  the  present  adjourned 
to  the  town  of  Baltimore  in  the  State  of  Maryland,  to  meet 
on  the  20th  instant,  unless  a  sufficient  number  to  make  a 
Congress  shall  be  there  sooner  assembled  ;  and  that  until 
Congress  shall  otherwise  order,  General  Washington  be  pos- 
sessed of  full  power  to  order  and  direct  all  things  relative  to 
the  department  and  to  the  operations  ;  and  that  the  several 
matters  to  this  day  referred  be  postponed  to  the  day  to  which 
Congress  is  adjourned."  1 

John  Adams  left  Congress  on  the  13th  of  October,  1776, 
and  went  to  his  home,  which  he  did  not  leave  till  the  13th  of 
January,  1777.  We  have  therefore  no  account  from  his  pen 
of  the  hurried  and  exciting  scenes  of  this  period  at  Philadel- 
phia, but  the  curious  reader  will  find  in  Christopher  Marshall's 
diary,  under  the  dates  prior  to,  and  succeeding,  December 
12th,  1776,  and  in  other  contemporary  accounts,  vivid  state- 
ments of  the  frights  and  flights  consequent  on  the  approach 
of  the  British  towards  Philadelphia.  In  the  midst  of  it  all, 
however,  the  Congress,  barely  a  quorum  being  left,  made  the 
very  dignified  record  of  their  exodus  above  given.  The 
result  of  their  really  most  precipitate  retreat,  is  strikingly 
depicted  by  Col.  John  Cadwallader  in  a  letter  to  Robert  Mor- 
ris, of  the  15th,  three  days  afterwards,  from  Bristol:  "  For 
God's  sake,  why  did  you  remove  from  Philadelphia  ?  You 
have  given  an  invitation  to  the  enemy,  you  have  discovered 
a  timidity  that  encourages  our  enemy  and  dispirits  our  friends. 
You  have  given  a  stab  to  your  credit ;  and  if  you  pay  off 
your  present  Army,  I  believe  you  cannot  find  money  to  raise 
a  new  one.  The  city  cannot  be  taken  by  surprise.  You 
should  have  left  the  city  when  our  troops  retreated  to  it. 


1  Journals  of  Congress,  1776,  p.  506. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


639 


The  only  way  to  remedy  the  evils  that  may  follow  from  this 
impolitic  step  is  to  return.  It  will  have  the  effect  almost  of 
a  victory."  1 


NOTE  XLIII. 

THE    RHODE    ISLAND    EXPEDITION   OF  1 776  A  MISTAKE. — 
SIR  HENRY  CLINTON'S  PRIVATE  VIEWS. 

Vol.  !.,/>.  129. 

The  number  of  troops  under  Clinton,  Percy,  and  Prcscott 
sent  to  Rhode  Island  was  7,000,  not  10,000  as  stated  in  the 
text.  Howe's  second  despatch  of  November  30th,  1776,  calls 
it  "a  force  exceeding  six  thousand  rank  and  file."'  An 
English  officer  in  a  letter  from  New  York  of  November  25th, 
1776,  gives  seven  thousand  as  the  number  embarked.' 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  did  not  wish  the  expedition  sent  to 
Rhode  Island.  Stedman's  History,  Vol.  II.,  p.  221,  says, 
"  When  the  expedition  was  despatched  to  Rhode  Island,  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  strongly  urged  that  he  might  rather  be  per- 
mitted to  conduct  it  to  the  Delaware."  To  this  Sir  Henry 
himself  added  in  his  own  handwriting  "or  be  landed  at  Am- 
boy  to  have  co-operated  with  Lord  Cornwallis,  or  embarked 
on  board  Lord  Howe's  fleet,  landed  in  Delaware  and  taken 
possession  of  Philadelphia."  4 

Had  either  suggestion  been  adopted,  or  had  Sir  William 
Howe  not  divided  his  force,  and  thrown  the  whole  into  Jersey 
the  beginning  of  December,  a  very  different  result  would 
have  followed.  He  most  probably  did  not  desire  to  bring 
matters  to  a  conclusion — perhaps  that  further  efforts  might 
be  made  for  a  reconciliation.  "  Every  one,  as  you  may 
imagine,  is  impatient  to  hear  from  the  Howes.    The  Minis- 

1  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III.,  p.  1230. 
8  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III.,  p.  926. 
■  Ibid.,  p.  840. 

4  MS.  note  of  Sir  II.  Clinton. 


640 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


terialists  pretend  to  fear  that  they  are  treating  with  the 
Rebels,  and  are  inclined  to  give  too  good  terms,  before  they 
have  given  them  a  hearty  drubbing — their  very  words.  For 
my  own  part,  I  totally  despair  of  any  amicable  settlement  of 
the  dispute,  and  sincerely  lament  the  bruises  that  both  parties 
must  receive."  1 


NOTE  XLIV. 

INDECISIVE  RESULTS  OF  CAMPAIGN  OF  1 776. — ONE  OF  THE 

CAUSES. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  134. 

THE  following  extract  from  a  letter  dated  London,  Jan- 
uary 14,  1777,  throws  some  light  on  one  cause  of  the  results 
of  the  campaign  of  1776. 

"  There  is  one  very  principal  fact  respecting  this  unhappy  Ameri- 
can War,  which  ought  not  to  escape  the  public  attention.  It  is  the 
difference  between  the  number  of  troops  paid  for  and  the  number  in 
actual  service.  The  American  establishment  is,  at  this  time,  fifty- 
four  thousand  men.  General  Ho'inc's  last  returns  are  under  twenty- 
two  thousand  ;  and  General  Carleton's  under  seven  thousand  ;  but 
not  to  quibble  about  half  a  dozen  men,  suppose  them  together  to  be 
thirty  thousand  ;  it  is  then  a  certain  fact  that  this  country  is  paying 
for  four  and  twenty  thousand  men  more  than  are  in  the  service. 
The  specie  is  sent  from  England  for  the  payment  of  these  troops. 
*  *  *  *  *  An  able  calculator  affirms,  that  the  expense  of  this  war 
to  Great  Britain,  from  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  to  the 
end  of  the  campaign  of  1776,  has  not  been  less  than  thirty  millions ; 1 
and  the  loss  of  troops  British  and  foreigners,  by  slain,  sickness,  de- 
sertion, &c,  has  not  been  less  during  the  same  period  than  twenty 
thousand  men.  The  West  India  planters  and  Merchants  alone, 
estimate  their  losses  in  the  year  1776,  by  the  capture  of  their  ships, 
at  ^1,800,000.  The  other  trading  vessels,  with  ordnance,  store 
ships,  transports,  &c,  cannot  be  put  at  less  than  ^500,000  ;  and 
the  sailors,  or  hands  on  board  the  several  ships,  not  less  than  three 
thousand."  3 

1  Private  letter  of  Mr.  Claude  Crespigiiy  to  his  personal  friend  Ralph  Izard 
Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III.,  p.  1227. 
1  Of  pounds  sterling. 
3  Force,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  III.,  p.  1029. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


64  I 


NOTE  XLV. 

CONNECTICUT'S  POLITICAL  ACTION  AND  OPINION  IN  DECEM- 
BER, 1776. — RELEASES  IMPRISONED  LOYALISTS. 
Vol.  I.,  p.  135. 

The  author's  statement  of  the  release  of  loyalist  prison- 
ers by  Connecticut  should  have  mentioned  that  they  were 
released  on  parole.  In  the  third  volume  of  Force's  Arch- 
ives, Fifth  Serie=>,  under  the  month  of  December,  1776, 
will  be  found  their  paroles  in  full.  The  author  himself  was 
one  of  these  released  prisoners.  He  was  in  Connecticut  at 
the  time  he  says  its  legislature  appointed  a  Committee  to 
make  submission  to  the  King's  Commissioners  and  ask  a 
restoration  to  the  King's  peace,  and  hence  was  not  likely  to 
be  mistaken  on  this  point. 

Mr.  Hugh  Wallace  and  Mr.  James  Jauncey,  two  of  the 
King's  Council  of  New  York,  were  also  among  these  released 
prisoners,  and  they  told  Governor  Tryon  on  their  arrival  at 
New  York,  that  "  the  temper  of  the  warmest  patriots  in 
Connecticut  is  much  softened,  and  that  they  wish  for  peace  ; 
they  also  tell  me,  from  the  intelligence  they  had  the  oppor- 
tunities to  collect,  they  are  positive  a  majority  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Connecticut  river  are  firm  friends  to  Government. " 
"This  report,"  continues  Tryon,  "I  can  give  more  credit 
to,  from  the  number  of  Connecticut  men,  that  inlist  in  the 
Provincial  corps  now  raising."  1 


NOTE  XLVI. 

THE   PLUNDER   AND    DESTRUCTION  OF  LIBRARIES  BY  THE 
BRITISH  FORCES. 
Vol.  I.,  p.  138. 

A  VERY  few  of  the  books  of  the  King's  College  library 

1  Letter  to  Lord  George  Germaine  of  31st  Dec,  1776.  Force,  Fifth  Series, 
Vol.  III.,  p.  1514. 

41 


642 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


have  been  restored  since  the  Revolution  to  that  institution, 
now  Columbia  College. 

Only  a  part  of  the  Morris  family  library  was  removed  and 
destroyed,  some  of  it  being  in  existence  at  the  present  time. 
The  Rittenhouse  Orrery  was  saved,  and  was  for  many  years, 
and  is  yet,  it  is  believed,  in  the  possession  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  Philadelphia. 


NOTE  XLVII. 

WILLIAM  SMITH  AND  THE  NEW  YORK  PROVINCIAL  CONVEN- 
TION.— AIDS  IN  FRAMING  A  CONSTITUTION  FOR  THE 
STATE. — HIS  NAME  NOT  IN  THE  ACT  OF  ATTAINDER, 
NOR  HIS  ESTATE  CONFISCATED. — HIS  WILL  AND  DEATH. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  143  and  p.  150. 

WILLIAM  SMITH  retired  from  Haverstraw  to  Livingston 
Manor  in  November  or  early  in  December,  1776.  Letters 
for  him  from  Gov.  Tryon  and  others  were  received  by  flag  of 
truce  through  Gen.  Heath,  at  Peekskill,  who  sent  them,  on 
Dec.  II,  1776,  to  the  New  York  Provincial  Council,  the 
President  of  which,  pursuant  to  a  vote  of  that  body,  for- 
warded them  unread  to  Smith.' 

The  New  York  Provincial  Convention,  then  sitting  at  White 
Plains,  had  on  the  first  of  August,  1776,  on  the  motion  of 
Gouverneur  Morris,  appointed  a  committee  of  thirteen  to 
"  report  a  plan  for  instituting  and  framing  a  new  form  of 
government  "  for  the  State  of  New  York,"  which  had  sprung 
into  a  separate,  independent  existence  three  weeks  before, 
by  the  adoption  of  the    Declaration  of  Independence,  at 

1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  748. 

5  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  552.  The  following  gentlemen  were  the  com 
mittee:  Mr.  Jay,  Mr.  Hobart,  Mr.  Win.  Smith  (of  Suffolk  Co.,  L.  I.),  Mr. 
Duer,  Mr.  Morris,  Mr.  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Col.  Broome,  General  Scott,  Mr. 
Abraham  Yates,  Mr.  Wisner,  Sr.,  Mr.  Samuel  Townsend,  Col.  De  Witt,  and 
Mr.  Robert  Yates.  The  Convention  on  17th  of  August  adjourned,  and  met  at 
Fishkill  on  the  5th  of  September,  1776. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


643 


that  place,  on  the  ninth  of  the  preceding  July.  John  Jay 
was  appointed  chairman.  William  Smith  was  consulted  out  of- 
doors,  as  the  author  states,  and  did  much  of  the  drafting  of  the 
instrument.  Progress  was  very  slow.  Nearly  three  months 
afterwards  John  McKesson — the  Secretary  of  the  Convention 
— writes  in  a  private  letter  to  George  Clinton,  dated  October 
18,  1776,  "  The  Plan  of  Govern'  and  Justice  (a  child  of  Heaven) 
is  so  far  come  to  Maturity  that  I  had  the  honor  yester- 
day to  make  a  copy  of  it  for  some  other  Members  of  the 
Committee  on  Govern1,  and  has  not  yet  been  further  ex- 
posed to  view."  1  It  was  held  through  the  winter  in  Com- 
mittee, and  not  reported  to  the  Convention  till  the  12th 
of  March,  i777>  when  it  was  presented  and  read  by  Mr. 
James  Duane.'  It  was  discussed  another  month,  and  finally 
adopted  on  the  20th  of  April,  1777,  by  the  vote  of  "  every 
Member  except  Colonel  Peter  R.  Livingston,  who  desired 
that  his  dissent  thereto  be  entered  on  the  Minutes."  ' 

In  after  life  in  Canada,  when  Chief  Justice,  Smith  was 
visited  at  his  own  house  in  Quebec  in  the  year  1789,  by  the 
late  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchell,  of  New  York.  In  the  course  of 
the  evening  the  Doctor  was  invited  into  Mr.  Smith's  study, 
and  seated  beside  him  on  a  sofa.  Before  them  "  stood  a 
table  supporting  a  large  bundle  of  papers,"  which  Mr.  Smith 
untied,  and  after  a  search  produced  one  which  he  said  he  had 
written  in  1775,  and  read  it  to  the  Doctor.  "  This,  sir," 
added  he  after  finishing  it,  "  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  which  I 
sent  to  a  member  of  Congress  in  1 77 5 ,  who  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  General  Washington.4  You  may  trace  to  this 
source  the  sentiments  in  favor  of  a  more  energetic  government 
for  your  country,  contained  in  the  Commander-in-chief's  cir- 
cular letters,  and  from  this  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  the 
citizens  of  all  the  States  derived  their  leading  hints  for  your 
new  form  of  government."  5 

1  MS.  Letter  in  Clinton  Papers  in  State  Library  of  New  York. 

2  Journal  Prov.  Con.  Vol.  I.,  p.  833.  Judge  Win.  Jay  says  it  was  in  John 
Jay's  handwriting.     Life  of  Jay,  Vol.  I.,  p.  69. 

5  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  892. 

4  This  was  probably  John  Jay. 

5  Sabine's  Notice  of  Smith,  Loyalists,  Vol.  II.,  p.  313. 


644 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Such  was  his  own  modest  opinion  of  his  influence  on  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  As  his  drafts  relative  to 
the  Constitution  of  New  York  were  probably  in  that  same 
"large  bundle  of  papers,"  it  is  to  be  wished  that  he  had 
spoken  on  that  subject  also  to  Dr.  Mitchell,  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  he  did.  His  brother,  Joshua  Het  Smith,  the 
friend  of  Andre,  and  his  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Abraham 
Keteltas,  were  both  members  of  the  Convention,  and  strongly 
aided  in  the  passage  of  the  Constitution  of  1777. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1777,  certain  resolutions,  called  in  the 
Journals  of  the  Provincial  Convention  "  an  act  of  grace  to 
such  of  the  inhabitants  who  are  gone,  or  sent  out  of  the  State, 
or  confined,  or  disaffected  persons,"  were  adopted,  by  which 
an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  State  and  to  discover  all  plots 
against  it,  was  to  be  tendered  to  all  such  persons.  All  who 
took  it  were  to  be  discharged,  all  who  did  not  were  to  be 
sent  off  with  their  families,  bag  and  baggage,  to  New  York, 
and  all  who  did  not  willingly  go  were  "to  be  confined  in 
close  jail  and  otherwise  treated  as  the  open  enemies  of  this 
State,"  and  their  personal  property  seized  and  sold  and  the 
proceeds  paid  into  the  State  treasury.1 

As  Smith  did  not  take  the  oath  here  mentioned,  on  the  7th 
of  June,  the  Convention — not  "  committee,"  as  the  text  says — 
summoned  him  before  them,  and  the  Chairman  asked  him 
this  question  :  "  Whether  he  considers  himself  a  subject  of 
the  independent  State  of  New  York?  " 

"  He  desires  that  what  follows  may  be  accepted  as  his  answer  : 
That  he  does  not  consider  himself  discharged  from  his  oaths  of 
fidelity  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain.  He  refers  to  his  letter  of  the 
4th  of  July  last,''  in  answer  to  a  summons  of  a  Committee  of  the 
Honourable  Congress  for  an  eleucidation  of  his  political  sentiments. 
He  has  strictly  conformed  to  his  parol  in  that  letter,  nor  will  infringe 
it.  He  then  conceived  a  separation  from  Great  Britain  could  not 
be  contended  for  with  safety  to  the  rights,  liberties,  and  privileges  of 
this  country  ;  and  from  a  deep  concern  for  the  Colonies,  he  prays 
God  that  peace  may  be  restored  by  a  happy,  safe,  and  generous 
reconciliation." 

1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  827. 

8  This  letter  lias  not  been  preserved  ;  its  date,  strangely  enough,  was  July  4,  1776. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


645 


The  same  afternoon  the  Convention  ordered  him  back  to 
the  Manor  of  Livingston,  on  the  following  written  parole, 
which  he  subscribed,  "  that  I  will  neither  directly  nor  indi- 
rectly, by  word  or  deed,  oppose  or  contravene  the  measures 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  or  either  of  them,  for  sup- 
porting their  independence,  or  for  supporting  the  present 
Constitution  of  the  said  State  "  (of  New  York). 

At  this  examination  of  Smith  there  were  present  the  fol- 
lowing members  of  the  Convention  or  Council  of  Safety  : 
"  Pierre  van  Cortlandt,  President :  Messrs.  Hobart,  Abm 
Yates,  R.  Harpur,  Col.  Dcwitt,  G.  Livingston,  Gen.  J.  M. 
Scott,  Major  Tappen,  Mr.  Cuyler,  Major  van  Zandt,  Mr. 

Jay."1 

The  following  extract  and  letter  from  the  Journal  of  the 
Council  of  Safety  of  Nov.  12th,  1777,  shows  Smith's  next 
move. 

"A  letter  from  William  Smith  requesting  permission  to  go  to  the 
City  of  New  York  was  read,  and  is  the  words  following,  to  wit  : 

"  Manor  of  Livingston,  9  Novr .,  1777. 

"  Gentlemen — I  have  hitherto  borne  up  against  the  misfortune 
of  being  a  prisoner  in  my  native  country,  from  a  consciousness  that 
I  have  ever  sought  her  welfare,  and  a  persuasion  that  the  Measure 
owed  its  origin  not  to  any  suspicion  of  my  enmity  to  her  interests, 
but  to  views  of  general  expediency.  Being  any  enemy  to  no  man, 
I  have  a  pleasure  in  believing  no  man  to  be  mine. 

"But  whatsoever  was  the  motive  to  it,  my  imprisonment  is  pain- 
ful. It  traverses  my  private  interest,  and  does  violence  to  my  hu- 
manity, and  tenderest  offices  of  affection.  I  wrote  therefore  lately 
to  Governor  Clinton,  to  prevent  my  being  longer  separated  from  my 
estate  at  Haverstraw,  where  I  have  relations  who  are  great  sufferers, 
and  my  presence  is  wanting  for  their  succour,  and  the  recovery  if 
possible  of  my  plundered  effects. 

"  But  I  have  a  further  wish,  and  that  is  to  repair  to  the  capital, 
not  only  to  answer  a  call  upon  me  for  aid  from  my  daughter  in  Eng- 
land," but  to  gratify  my  own  desire,  to  contribute  towards  abating 
the  acrimony  of  the  present  war,  and  exciting  to  overtures  of  peace. 

"  I  natter  myself,  that  though  you  may  perhaps  suspect  the  event 
will  be  a  lesson  to  my  vanity,  you  will  nevertheless  perceive  the  im- 
possibility that  any  efforts  of  that  kind  will  be  injurious  to  the  public. 

"  Except  furniture,  my  servants  and  such  conveniences  as  I  shall 

1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  960. 
s  Janet,  wife  of  Gen.  John  rienderleath. 


646 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


want  for  my  family  in  town,  I  leave  everything  else  in  the  power  of 
my  country.  All  I  have  upon  earth  is  here,  as  a  pledge  of  my  at- 
tachment to  her  interest.  If  she  is  happy,  I  am  satisfied.  I  must 
share  her  fortunes.    If  she  is  ruined,  so  am  I. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen 

"  Your  most  obed.  Servant 

"Wm.  Smith. 

"Resolved,  That  William  Smith's  request  be  not  granted."  1 

The  next  year,  1778,  he  was  permitted  to  go  to  New  York, 
as  stated  by  the  author  in  the  text.  The  letters  of  Smith 
himself  and  others  of  his  family  to  Governor  George  Clinton 
still  in  existence  show  the  friendly  relations  existing  at  this 
period  between  them.2 

The  oath  referred  to  by  the  author,  which  Smith  and 
Colden  refused  to  take,  is  as  follows  : 

"  I  A.  B.  do  solemnly,  and  without  any  mental  reservation  what- 
ever, swear  and  call  God  to  Witness,  that  I  believe  and  acknowledge 
the  State  of  New  York  to  be  of  right  a  free  and  independent  State, 
and  that  No  authority  or  power  can  of  right  be  executed  in  or  over 
the  said  State,  but  what  is,  or  shall  be  granted  by,  or  derived  from 
the  people  thereof ;  and  further  that  as  a  good  subject  of  the  free 
and  independent  State  of  New  York,  I  will  to  the  best  of  my  Knowl- 
edge and  ability,  faithfully  do  my  duty,  and  as  I  shall  keep  or  disre- 
gard this  oath,  so  help  and  deal  with  Ale  Almighty  God." 

Colden  was  the  first  person  called  on  to  appear  and  take  it, 
and  Smith  was  the  next.  On  their  refusal  they  were  sent  to 
Fort  Clinton  and  there  put  on  board  the  flag  of  truce  sloop 
for  New  York,  where  they  landed,  Monday,  August  10th, 
1778.' 

Not  only  was  Smith's  name  not  included  in  the  act  of  at- 
tainder of  22d  October,  1779,  nor  his  estate  confiscated,  but 
no  steps  under  any  of  the  subsequent  acts  passed  to  seize  and 

1  Vol.  I.,  p.  1079. 

5  MS.  Clinton  Papers  in  the  State  Library  of  New  York. 

3  N.  Y.  Gazette,  August  17,  177S,  and  Pennsylvania  Packet,  17th  Sept.,  177S, 
in  Moore's  Diary  Am.  Rev.,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  83  and  95.  The  latter  paper  closes  its 
account  of  Smith's  arrival  with  these  words,  showing  a  full  appreciation  of  his 
character  :  "  Where  then  will  such  as  Mr.  Smith,  who  are  justly  despised  both 
by  royalists  and  Americans,  find  shelter  and  relief?" 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


64; 


confiscate  the  property  of  loyalists  not  named  in  the  act  were 
ever  taken  against  him.  He  and  his  heirs  always  remained 
in  possession  and  enjoyment  of  the  whole  of  it  without  let  or 
hindrance.  So  shrewd  was  he,  and  so  well  aware  of  his 
standing  with  the  New  York  State  authorities,  that  he  took 
care  to  make  his  will  just  before  leaving  this  city  at  the  evac- 
uation of  New  York  on  25th  of  November,  1783,  so  that  it 
might  be  the  will  of  a  resident.  It  was  executed  and  dated 
November  16,  1783,  nine  days  before  the  evacuation,  and  for 
greater  safety  was  executed  in  duplicate.  It  bequeathed  to 
his  wife  and  four  children  3,000  pounds  (currency)  each,  and 
devised  the  rest  of  his  estate,  real  and  personal,  to  them  in 
five  equal  shares.  He  left  with  Sir  Guy  Carleton  for  England 
at  the  evacuation  of  New  York  ;  remained  there  soliciting  a 
government  appointment  till  the  end  of  1785,  when  he  ob- 
tained that  of  Chief  Justice  of  Canada,  and  went  to  that  prov- 
ince in  1786.  He  died  at  Quebec,  December  3,  1793,  and  his 
will  was  proved  and  recorded  there  on  Januaiy  30,  1794. 
The  late  James  Dexter,  of  Albany,  whom  the  writer  well 
knew,  was  the  agent  for  the  estate.  The  lands  in  New  York 
were  finally  sold  in  a  partition  suit  in  1854,  and  the  proceeds 
divided  among  the  heirs.1 

As  to  the  Act  of  Attainder,  see  the  author's  full  discussion 
of  it  in  chapters  XIV.  and  XV.  of  volume  second,  and  the 
editorial  notes  to  those  chapters. 


NOTE  XLVIII. 
MAJOR  COLDEN  AND  THE  REV.  MR.  KETELTAS. 
Vol.  I.  /.  146. 

The  Major  Colden,  referred  to  by  the  author  in  connec- 
tion with  William  Smith,  was  Cadioalladcr ,  usually  mentioned 

1  N.  Y.  Hist.  Mag.,  Vol.  IV..  N.  S.,  p.  267. 


648 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


as  the  "eldest"  son  of  Governor  Cadwallader  Calden.1  His 
wife  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  Ellison  of  New 
Windsor.  He  was  seized  in  his  bed  at  night,  in  June,  1776, 
by  the  orders  of  the  Ulster  County  Committee  of  Safety — 
committed  by  them  to  Ulster  County  Jail.  He  appealed  to 
the  New  York  Provincial  Convention,  by  which  body  he  was 
harassed  in  various  ways,  imprisoned  in  the  American  Prison 
Ships,  or  "  Fleet  Prison,"  as  it  was  officially  called  by  the 
Convention  at  Rondout ;  was  there  nearly  starved  to  death 
with  the  other  unfortunate  prisoners,  and,  at  last,  by  the 
Legislature  allowed  to  go  to  New  York  as  stated  in  the  text. 
He  died  at  Coldenham,  Feb.  18,  1797,  aged  75  years.  His  let- 
ters and  the  proceedings  of  the  Provincial  Council,  in  their 
published  Journals  and  Correspondence,  show  clearly  the 
cruel  tyranny  to  which  he  was  subjected,  and  the  sufferings 
he  underwent. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Kettletas  mentioned  in  the  anecdote  on  page 
149  was  the  Rev.  Abraham  Kettletas,  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island.  Born  in  New  York, 
26th  Dec,  1732,  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1752,  he  was 
settled  first  at  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  and  subsequently  came 
to  Jamaica.  His  wife  was  Sarah,  the  third  of  the  five  sisters 
of  William  Smith.  He  took  the  American  side  in  the  Revo- 
lution by  Smith's  advice;  was  a  member  of  the  Convention 
which  framed  the  Constitution  of  New  York,  and  aided 
strongly  in  carrying  it  through.  He,  however,  talked  so 
much  that  he  bored  that  body,  and  to  this  fact  was  owing 
section  XXXIX.  of  that  instrument,  forbidding  clergymen  to 
hold  any  civil  or  military  office.  He  returned  to  Jamaica 
after  the  war, and  died  there,  30th  September,  1798,  aged  65. 
His  wife  died  in  181 5,  aged  84. 

His  daughter  Sarah  married  Thomas  Hackett,  who  came 
from  Holland  to  New  York  in  1794,  and  was  the  mother  of  * 
the  late  James  H.  Hackett,  the  celebrated  actor.' 

1  He  was  the  eldest  surviving  son  of  Governor  Colden  at  this  time,  1776-7, 
the  first  son  of  the  Governor,  Alexander,  having  died  12th  December,  1774,  and 
the  second,  David,  while  an  infant.  This  Cadwallader,  the  third  son,  was  born 
in  New  York,  26th  May,  1722,  and  died  as  above  stated,  iSth  February,  1797 
N.  Y.  Genealogical  and  Biographical  Record,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  170,  171. 

8  Thompson's  Hist.  Long  Island,  Vol.  II.,  p.  112. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


649 


NOTE  XLIX. 

THE  DE  LANCEYS  OF  NEW  YORK. — THEIR  ORIGIN. 
Vol.,  I.,  p.  154. 

ETIENNE  (in  English  Stephen)  de  Lancey,  the  first  of  the 
de  Lanceys  who  came  to  America,  was  the  only  son  of  the 
Seigneur  Jacques  de  Lancy  and  his  wife  Marguerite  Bcr- 
trand,  daughter  of  Pierre  Bertrand,  of  Caen  in  Normandy,  by 
his  first  wife  the  Demoiselle  Firel.1  He  was  born  at  Caen 
in  1663.  At  the  time  of  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  October  1 8th,  1685,  his  father  was  dead,  and  his 
mother  advanced  in  life.  Being  Huguenots,  as  the  French 
Protestants  were  termed,  he  was  obliged  to  fly  from  France, 
and  his  mother  compelled  to  go  into  concealment  at  Caen. 

The  parting  and  thoughtful  gift  of  the  latter  to  her  son, 
easily  concealed  about  his  person,  was  some  of  the  family 
jewels.  He  succeeded  in  reaching  Rotterdam,  in  Holland,  in 
safety.  Deciding  to  become  a  British  subject,  and  go  to 
America,  he  crossed  to  England,  was  denizened  in  London, 
and  took  the  oath  to  James  II.,  on  March  11,  1686,  the  letters 
patent  of  denization  bearing  that  date.  Shortly  after  he 
sailed  for  New  York,  where  he  arrived  on  the  7th  of  June, 
1686.  He  took  out  letters  of  denization  in  New  York  also, 
under  Governor  Dongan's  hand  and  seal,  on  7th  July,  1686, 
and  on  7th  September,  1687,  took  the  oath  of  allegiance 
under  the  Colonial  Act  of  1683. 2  The  sale  of  his  jewels  in 
London  gave  him  the  £300  sterling  (in  round  numbers 
$1,500)  mentioned  in  the  text,  and  enabled  him  in  New 
York  to  enter  on  a  successful  career  as  a  merchant.  He 
married  23d  January,  1700,  Anne,  daughter  of  Stcphanus  van 
Cortlandt3  and  his  wife  Gertrude  Schuyler.4     He  was  Alder- 

1  MS.  Bertrand  genealogy  in  French,  given  to  General  de  Lancey  during  a 
visit  to  Caen  after  the  peace  of  Amiens,  now  in  the  writer's  possession. 

2  Assembly  Journals  of  N.  Y.  from  1691  to  1743,  vol.  i.,  pp.  514  to  520. 

3  The  eldest  son  of  Oloff  Stevens  van  Cortlandt,  the  first  of  that  family  in 
America  by  his  wife  Anne  Loockermans,  whom  he  married  26th  Feb.,  1642. 

4  Daughter  of  Philip  Pieterse  Schuyler,  the  first  of  that  name  in  New  York,  by 
his  wife  Margaretla  van  Sleehtenliorst. 


650 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


man  of  the  Fourth  Ward  of  New  York  from  1691  to  1693  in- 
clusive, and  Member  of  Assembly  from  1702  to  17 15,  except 
1709,  and  again  from  1725  to  1737,  in  all  twenty-six  years.'  He 
died  the  1 8th  of  November,  1 741 ,  and  was  buried  in  his  family 
vault,  (the  one  in  the  middle  aisle  nearest  the  chancel)  in 
Trinity  Church,  New  York,  of  which  he  was  a  vestryman  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  and  a 
benefactor  of  the  French  Church  du  St.  Esprit  in  New  York, 
but  left  it  during  the  troubles  between  the  pastors  Moulinaars 
and  Rou,  and  became  an  Episcopalian. 

His  children  mentioned  in  the  text  are  those  only  who  lived 
to  maturity.  He  had  really  ten  children,*  viz. :  1.  Etienne 
(Stephen),  b.  28th  August,  1700;  d.  young.  2.  Jacques 
(James),  b.  5th  April,  1702  ;  d.  young.  3.  Jacques  (James), 
b.  27th  Nov.,  1703  ;  d.  July  30,  1760 — the  Chief-Justice  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  York.  4.  Pierre  (Peter),  b. 
26th  Aug.,  1705,  d.  17th  Oct.,  1770,  of  Westfarms,  West- 
chester, mentioned  in  the  text.  5.  Susanna,  b.  1707,  m. 
1731  Admiral  Sir  Peter  Warren,  K.B.  6.  Anne,  b.  14th 
Nov.,  171 1,  d.  young.  7.  Etienne  (Stephen),  b.  1st  July, 
171 3 — a  merchant,  d.  a  bachelor  in  1745.  8.  Jean  (John), 
b.  nth  July,  1 7 1 6,  died  in  1741  a  bachelor — a  merchant. 
9.  Oliver,  b.  16th  Sept.,  1718,  d.  Oct.  27,  1785,  member  of 
the  Governor's  Council,  and  Brigadier-General,  mentioned  in 
the  text.  10.  Anne,  b.  23d  April,  1723,  d.  1775,  married 
1762  Hon  John  Watts,  of  New  York,  a  merchant  and  mem- 
ber of  the  Governor's  Council. 

The  family  name,  originally  "  Land,"  and  subsequently 
"  Lancy,"  he  anglicised  by  inserting  an  "e"  in  the  final 
syllable,  and  also  translated  his  Christian  name  into  English, 
upon  becoming  a  British  subject — always  writing  it  after  he 
came  to  New  York  "  Stephen  do  Lanccy."  The  latter 
form  the  patronymic  has  since  retained.  The  "  de  "  is  merely  - 
the  French  prefix,  of  nobility. 

1  MS.  Journals  of  the  City  Corporation  during  the  years  given.  Also  lists  of 
city  officers  in  "Corporation  Manuals"  of  New  York. 

5  Their  births  and  baptisms  are  in  the  Register  of  the  French  Church  du  St. 
Esprit  in  New  York. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  family  belongs  to  the  "  Isle  de  France,"  the  old  French 
Province  of  which  Paris  was  the  capital,  and  to  that  part  of 
it  adjoining  Picardy,  anciently,  and  sometimes  still,  termed 
the  "  Laonnois,"  from  its  chief  city  of  Laon,  for  centuries 
the  city  of  the  Prince-Bishopric  or  Duchy  of  Laon,  and 
to-day  the  capital  of  the  Department  of  the  "  Aisne."  The 
allusion  in  the  text  to  the  "  French  peerage"  of  Etienne  de 
Lancey  is  explained  by  the  following  statement,  drawn  from 
the  authorities  cited  at  the  close  of  this  note.  It  also  explains 
the  reference  to  his  family  and  inheritance  in  the  New  York 
Weekly  Journal  of  the  30th  of  November,  1741. 

The  first  of  the  name,  of  whom  there  is  any  authentic 
record,  was  Guy  de  Lancy,  Fcuycr,  Vicompte  de  Laval  et  de 
Nouvian,  who  in  1432  held  of  the  Prince  Bishop  of  Laon  the 
fiefs  of  Laval  and  Nouvian,1  villages  and  territories  a  few 
miles  south  of  that  city.  His  wife  was  Anne  de  Marcilly. 
He  had  a  son  John,  who  succeeded  in  1436  ;  he  a  son  also 
named  John,  who  succeeded  in  1470,  who  was  a  deputy  to 
the  States  General  of  Tours  in  1484,  and  present  at  the 
battles  of  Fornoue  and  Ravenna;  he  a  son,  Charles  I.,  who 
succeeded  in  1525,  and  a  daughter,  Isabeau,  who  married  the 
Seigneur  de  Barenton.  This  Charles  I.  gave,  on  the  16th  of 
May,  1525,  to  Louis  de  Bourbon,  Bishop  and  Duke  of  Laon, 
his  "  aveu  et  denombrement  "  (acknowledgment  of  the  feudal 
tenure),  of  the  fief  entitled  "  le  four  banier  de  Laval,"  a  de- 
pendency of  the  Duchy  of  Laon.  He  was  married  twice  :  1st, 
to  Nicole  St.  Pere,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  a  daughter, 
married  to  Antoine  Pioche  of  Laon  ;  2d,  to  Marie  de  Villiers, 
by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  Charles  II.,  and  Christophe,  cre- 
ated Baron  de  Raray.  Charles  II.  succeeded  in  1535  as  fifth 
vicompte  ;  his  wife  was  Isabeau  Branched  whom  he  married 
15th  April,  1534.  They  had  three  sons,  Charles  III.,  Jacques, 
and  Claude,  and  one  daughter  Barbe.  Charles  III.,  sixth 
vicompte,  married:  1st,  on  July  21st,  1569,  Madeleine  Le 
Brim  ;  and  2d,  on  15th  of  January,  1593,  Claude  de  May. 

'Sometimes  spelt  "Nouvion."  The  Seigneur  de  Laval  was  anciently  one  of 
the  Four  vicomptes  of  the  Laonnois. 

*  Daughter  of  Furie  Branche,  Ecuyer,  Sieur  de  Brian. 


652 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


He  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Ivry  in  1590.  By  his  first 
wife  he  had  Charles  IV.,  Seigneur  de  Cocquebine,  created 
by  the  King  a  Counsellor  of  State  in  1652,  who  died  in 
1667,  leaving  by  his  first  wife,  Frantjoise  de  Crochart,  a  son, 
Charles  V.,  Seigneur  de  Charlemont,  who  died  unmarried, 
when  this  first  line  of  the  whole  blood  of  the  eldest  branch  be~ 
came  extinct  in  the  males',  and  two  daughters,  Marie,  died 
unmarried  in  1674,  and  Anne,  wife  of  Antoine  le  Parmen- 
tier,  Ecuyer,  Sieur  de  Cauroi.  By  his  2d  wife,  Dame  Marthe 
de  Resnel,  he  had  no  issue. 

Charles  III.,  by  his  second  wife  above  mentioned,  Claude 
de  May,  had  Charles  de  Lancy,  Sieur  de  Suine  et  de 
Niville,  Counsellor  of  the  King  in  1654,  Antoine,  a  Canon 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Laon,  and  of  course  unmarried,  and 
Claude.  Charles  Sieur  de  Suine  et  Niville  married  25  June, 
1653,  Jeanne  Ysore,  and  died  23d  Nov.,  1689,  aged  78  years. 
He  had  one  son,  Charles  Ambroise  de  Lancy,  Ecuyer,  Sei- 
gneur de  Niville  et  du  Coudrai,  who  was  confirmed  in  the 
possession  of  his  nobility  by  an  "  arret,"  or  decree,  of  the  king 
in  council,  of  November  30,  1697,  in  consequence  of  the 
proof  of  the  descent  then  made  ;  which  declared  that  "  la 
Maison  de  Lancy"  was  maintained  in  its  "  noblesse,"  and  its 
members  recognized  as  "  nobles  d'ancienne  extraction,"  and 
as  such  of  right  enjoyed,  and  were  entitled  to,  all  the  privileges 
belonging  to  the  "noblesse"  of  France.  This  Charles  Am- 
broise married  9  January,  1702,  the  Demoiselle  Marie  Made- 
leine Labbe,  and  had  only  one  child,  a  son,  Pierre  Charles  de 
Lancy,  Ecuyer,  Seigneur  de  Niville  et  de  Blarus,  born  5 
June,  1707,  who  died  without  issue  in  1750,  when  this  line  of 
the  half  blood  of  the  eldest  branch  became  extinct. 

Jacques,  abovenamed,  second  son  of  Charles  II.,  the  father 
of  Jacques  of  Caen,  whose  son  Etienne,  born  in  1663,  came  to 
New  York  in  1686,  as  above  stated,  was  the  ancestor  of  the  ' 
Huguenot,  or  second  line  of  the  eldest  branch.  His  descend- 
ants, as  Protestants  being  "civilly  dead,"  and  by  law  inca- 
pable of  being  registered,  of  course  do  not  appear  in  the 
French  genealogies  subsequent  to  the  beginning  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


65.1 


Claude,  the  third  son  of  Charles  II.,  Seigneur  dc  Charlus, 
married  the  5th  of  February,  1577,  Marguerite  de  Brisset,  and 
had  two  sons  John,  and  Charles.  John  married,  in  1625, 
Madeleine  Martin,  and  their  son  Charles  married,  in  1653, 
Elizabeth  Saubinet,  and  their  son  Louis  de  Lancy,  Seigneur 
dc  Bois-Carbonet,  and  a  chevalier  of  St.  Louis,  died  in  1736, 
having  served  in  the  armies  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Louis  XV. 
forty-seven  years.  He  left  a  widow,  Marie  Catherine  The- 
rese,  daughter  of  Francois  Poschet,  Seigneur  de  Nahant, 
whom  he  married  1st  April,  1723,  and  four  children,  three 
sons,  Louis  Charles,  Nicholas  Charles,  Gabriel,  and  one  daugh- 
ter, Francoise.  These  sons  left  no  .descendants.  Charles, 
the  second  son  of  Claude,  the  third  son  of  Charles  II.,  married 
Elizabeth  Marcigny,  and  dying  in  1643,  left  her  a  widow  with 
young  children,  names  not  given,  who  did  not  survive.  Thus 
the  third  Hue  of  the  eldest  branch  became  extinct. 

Christophe,  the  second  son  of  Charles  L,  Ecuyer,  Vicompte 
de  Laval  et  de  Nouvian,  above  named,  the  first  of  the  youngest 
branch  in  France,  was  created  Baron  de  Raray  (sometimes 
spelt  Raret,  Rare,  and  Rarai,)  a  dependency  of  Dravegny,  in 
the  Duchy  of  Valois,  one  of  the  four  "  barronies  vassales  " 
of  the  Bishoprick  of  Senlis.  He  married  1st,  Barbe  de  Louen 
on  the  10th  December,  1539.  who  died  without  issue,  and 
2d,  Francoise  Lami,  daughter  of  Pierre  Lami,  Seigneur  de  la 
Morliere,  on  the  19th  January,  1 5 5 3 »  anc'  dying  in  1584,  left  by 
his  second  wife,  a  son  Nicolas,  second  Baron,  who  v/as 
Treasurer-General  to  Gaston,  first  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  left  by 
his  wife  Lucrece  dc  Lancise,  a  lady  of  Florence,  four  children  : 
I.  Henry  de  Lancy,  third  Baron,  in  whose  favor  the  territory 
of  Nery  in  the  Valois  was  erected  into  the  Marquisate  of  Ra- 
ray in  1654,  the  letters  of  creation  being  registered  on  the  17th 
of  January  in  that  year.  2.  Francois  de  Lancy,  Seigneur 
d'Aramont,  known  as  the  Chevalier  de  Raray,  who  died  un- 
married, being  killed  in  the  trenches  at  the  siege  of  Conde  on 
the  17th  of  August,  1674.  3.  Charles  de  Lancy,  Seigneur 
de  Ribecourt  et  Pimpre,  who  married  Madeleine,  widow  of 
Philippe  d'Aguesseau,  but  died  in  1675  without  issue.  4. 
Madeleine  de  Lancy,  married,  11th  of  November,  1619,  to 


654 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Charles  dc  Mornay,  Seigneur  de  Montchevreuil.  Henry,  his 
son  Gaston,  and  his  brother  Charles,  were  maternal  cousins 
of  the  famous  Madame  de  Sevigne,  and  as  such  signed  the 
contract  of  marriage  of  her  daughter  with  the  Compte  de 
Grignan,  and  were  present  at  the  ceremony. 

Henry  de  Lancy,  third  Baron,  and  first  Marquis  dc  Raray, 
married  Catherine  d'Angennes  January  20th,  1633,  and  had 
issue,  Gaston  Jean  Baptiste,  second  Marquis,  Charles  de 
Lancy-Raray,  killed  at  the  siege  of  Lille  in  1667,  unmarried  ; 
and  a  daughter,  Marie  Charlotte,  who  married  Louis  des 
Acres,  Marquis  de  L'Aigle,  and  died  at  Paris  on  the  27th 
August,  1724,  aged  82  years. 

Gaston  Jean  Baptiste  de  Lancy,  fourth  Baron,  and  second 
Marquis  de  Raray,  married  the  4th  of  May,  1660,  Marie  Luce 
Aubery,  daughter  of  Robert,  Marquis  de  Vatan,  and  had  two 
sons:  1.  Charles  Henri  de  Lancy,  third  Marquis,  made  a 
page  to  the  King,  Louis  XIV.,  in  1679,  who  died  unmarried. 
2.  Gaston  Jean  Baptiste  de  Lancy-Raray,  fourth  Marquis, 
who  likewise  died  unmarried.  Both  of  these  brothers  died  in 
16S0,  and  with  tJicir  death  this  youngest  branch  became 
extinct  in  the  males.  They  had  five  sisters  :  Henriette,  mar- 
ried to  the  Marquis  de  Crevecceur  and  died  without  issue ; 
Catherine,  married  the  Seigneur  de  la  Billarderie  and  died 
without  issue  ;  Francoise,  and  Annette,  who  both  died  un- 
married ;  and  Marie  Luce  de  Lancy-Raray,  who  married,  on 
the  26th  of  February,  1696,  Jean  Francois,  Compte  de  No- 
nant.  With  her  as  the  last  of  her  family  he  also  took  the 
name  of  Raray,  and  uniting  it  with  his  own  became  Compte 
de  Nonant-Raray.  He  died  24th  March,  1740,  aged  seventy- 
five  ;  and  she  the  16th  March,  1743,  aged  eighty;  their  de- 
scendant in  the  fifth  degree  is  the  present  Compte  de  Nonant- 
Raray. 

Thus  of  all  the  branches  of  the  family  the  Huguenot  one 
alone  exists  at  this  day,  and  the  name  of  de  Lancy,  for 
more  than  a  century  extinct  in  France,  is  a  familiar  one  in 
America,  to  which  it  was  borne,  simply  and  solely  for  fidelity 
to  religious  principle,  nearly  two  centuries  ago. 

The  law  of  1789  removed  all  legal  disabilities  from  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


655 


descendants  of  the  Huguenots,  and  gave  them  the  right  to 
recover  their  rank,  titles,  and  estates,  of  which  they  were  de- 
prived by  the  different  edicts  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  their  very 
names  forbidden  to  be  registered,  as  being  "  civilly  dead," 
unless  they  abjured  Protestantism  ;  but  few  of  them,  to  their 
credit,  have  ever  taken  advantage  of  it.  The  details  and 
genealogy  above  stated  are  condensed,  correctly  it  is  believed, 
from  the  official  MS.  "de  Lancy"  genealogies  in  the  "Armorial 
General  de  la  France,"  2d  Register,  2d  volume,  in  the  Na- 
tional Library  at  Paris,1  and  from  the  MSS.,  in  the  archives 
of  the  Department  of  the  Aisnc,  from  which  a  genealogy  from 
Guy  to  Charles  III.  is  given  in  the  Dictionnairc  Historique  du 
Departemcnt  de  U Aisnc,  by  M.  Melleville,  published  in  two 
volumes,  8vo,  in  1865  ;  3  also  from  the  "  Tablettes  Genealo- 
giques  des  Maisons  Nobles  de  France,"  under  "  Lancy-Ra- 
ray,"  "  Nonant,"  and  "  Aubery  de  Vatan,"  in  the  Annuaire 
de  la  Noblesse  for  1855,  by  M.  Borel  d*  Hauterivc  ;  from  the 
"  Dictionnairc  de  la  Noblesse  de  France,"  Vol.  VIII.,  by  M. 
de  la  Chenaye-Desbois,  Paris,  1784,  under  "  Lancy  ;  "  from 
"  Lc  Palais  de  1'honneur  "  by  le  Frcre  Anselme,  Paris,  1674, 
under  "  d'Angennes,"  and  from  "  Le  Nobiliaire  de  Picardie," 
Paris,  1693,  under  "  Land."  The  Roman  numerals  above 
prefixed  to  the  same  Christian  name  in  different  generations, 
are  so  given  in  the  first  two  authorities  above  named,  and  are 
commonly  used  in  French  genealogical  works,  especially  in 
the  older  ones.3 

•The  MSS.  forming  this  work  were  first  printed  in  173S-68,  by  order  of  Louis 
XV.  The  writer  examined  the  originals  himself,  in  1868.  They  were  also  examined, 
and  full  copies  of  those  of  "de  Lancy"  taken,  by  the  late  James  Fenimore 
Cooper,  in  1S33,  who  gave  translations  of  them  to  the  writer  some  years  before 
his  death. 

s  M.  Melleville  told  the  writer,  in  1S6S,  that  the  MSS.  whence  he  took  his  state- 
ment are  in  perfect  preservation. 

3  The  arms  are  thus  blazoned  in  the  Armorial  General  de  la  France,  "  Armes  : 
d'or,  a  l'aigle  eployte  de  sable,  chargee  sur  l'estomac  d'un  ecusson  d'azur,  a 
trois  lances  d'or,  posees  en  pal,  les  pointes  en  haut."  Arms  ;  or,  an  eagle  wings 
displayed,  sable,  charged  on  the  breast  with  a  shield  azure,  three  tilting  lances, 
or,  in  pale,  points  upward.  These  arms,  originating  before  crests  were  introduced 
in  heraldry,  were  modified,  like  his  name,  by  Etienne  de  Lancey,  on  becoming  a 
British  subject,  to  make  them  more  like  English  arms,  most  of  which  have  crests. 


6j6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  L. 

JAMES  DE  LANCEY,  CHIEF  JUSTICE,  AND  LIEUTENANT-GOV- 
ERNOR OF  NEW  YORK,  AND  HIS  DESCENDANTS. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  155. 

THE  commissions  of  James  de  Lancey  as  Chief  Justice,  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  York,  are  in  the  writer's  pos- 
session, the  first  dated  September  14th,  17441,  the  latter  dated 
October  27th,  1747,  under  the  sign  manual  of  George  II., 
and  countersigned  by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  being  the  iden- 
tical commission  kept  back  by  Governor  George  Clinton  for 
six  years,  as  stated  by  the  author  in  the  text. 

On  the  tragic  death  of  Sir  Danvers  Osborn  by  suicide  on 
the  12th  of  October,  1 7 5 3 »  the  command  of  the  Province  de- 
volved upon  Chief  Justice  de  Lancey.  He  retained  it  for 
about  two  years  till  the  arrival  of  Admiral  Sir  Charles 
Hardy  as  Governor,  on  September  2d,  1755.  After  ten  months 
residence  Sir  Charles,  on  the  declaration  of  war  with  France, 
preferring  his  professional  duties,  asked  leave  to  resign  and 
take  a  Naval  command/  His  request  was  finally  granted, 
and  receiving  the  command  of  an  expedition  to  Louisburgh, 
he  sailed  from  New  York,  July  2d,  1757,  just  twenty-two 
months  after  his  arrival,  leaving  the  government  of  the 
Province  again  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  de  Lancey. 

As  thus  modified  they  were  borne  by  his  sons,  and  the  shield  appears  on  the  privy 
''seal  of  arms"  of  James  de  Lancey  as  Governor  of  New  York.*  They  are 
thus  blazoned  : — Arms:  azure,  a  tilting  lance  proper,  point  upward,  with  a  pen- 
non argent  bearing  a  cross  gules,  fringed,  or,  floating  to  the  right,  debruised  of 
a  fesse,  or.  Crest  :  a  sinister  arm  in  armor  embowed,  the  hand  grasping  a  tilting 
lance,  pennon  attached,  both  proper.  Motto  :  Certum  voto  pete  finem.  Though 
they  are  given,  as  so  modified,  in  English  armories,  the  change  was  never  officially 
registered  in  the  English  "College  of  Arms." 

1  Given  by  Governor  Clinton  "during  good  behavior."  The  first  one  "during  ' 
pleasure"  dated  21st  August,  1733,  has  not  been  preserved. 

'See  his  letter  of  August  2,  1756,  to  this  effect.    Col.  Documents  of  N.  Y., 
Vol.  VII.,  p.  122. 

*  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  IV.,  p.  557,  where,  however,  it  is  incorrectly,  and  badly, 
engraved. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


657 


It  was  then,  and  is  still,  the  policy  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment never  to  appoint  a  native  of  a  Colony  to  its  supreme 
command.  The  Ministry,  therefore,  were  unable  to  commis- 
sion Mr.  de  Lancey  Governor,  though  desiring  to  do  so,  but 
they  effected  the  object,  practically,  without  breaking  the  rule, 
by  declining  to  appoint  any  new  Governor  as  long  as  he 
lived,  and  thus  kept  the  office  and  the  power  in  his  hands 
under  his  old  commission  as  Lieutenant-Governor.  He 
therefore  remained  the  ruler  of  New  York  till  his  death  on 
the  30th  of  July,  1760,  a  little  more  than  three  years  after- 
wards. 

He  was  the  ablest  Governor  New  York  ever  had  as  a  Col- 
ony, and  possessed  greater  personal  influence  and  power 
in  the  Province  than  any  other  single  individual  ever  ob- 
tained. 

It  is  a  very  remarkable  fact,  and  as  true  as  it  is  striking, 
that  neither  he  nor  his  brothers,  Peter  and  Oliver,  who,  to- 
gether with  their  father,  wielded  during  the  British  rule,  the 
strongest  political  and  social  power  and  influence  in  New 
York,  had  a  single  drop  of  English  blood  in  their  veins.  Pa- 
ternally, as  their  genealogy  shows,  they  were  French  for  cen- 
turies, and  maternally  they  were  Dutch  from  a  time  unknown. 
Not  till  the  third  generation  in  America — the  children  of 
these  three  brothers — did  any  of  the  de  Lanceys  possess 
any  British  blood  whatever.  And  Oliver,  the  youngest,  and 
the  survivor  of  the  three,  who  was  the  Senior  Loyalist  Briga- 
dier General  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  died  after  its 
close  an  exile  in  England,  had  not  a  particle  of  blood  derived 
from  the  land,  for  which  he  unhesitatingly  risked  and  lost  all 
he  possessed  in  America. 

Lieutenant-Governor  de  Lancey  married  Anne,  eldest 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Caleb  Heathcote  of  the  Council  of  the 
Province,  Judge,  and  Colonel  of  Westchester  County,  Mayor 
of  New  York,  and  Surveyor-General  of  the  Customs  for  all 
North  America.  By  her  he  had  four  sons,  1.  James,  2. 
Stephen,  3.  Heathcote,  4.  John  Peter,  and  four  daughters, 
Mary,  wife  of  William  Walton  of  New  York,  died  in  1767  ; 
Susannah,  born  1 8th  November,  1737,  died  unmarried  in 
42 


658 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


1 8 1 5  ;  Anne,  born  1745,  died  1 8 1 7,  wife  of  Judge  Thomas 
Jones  of  New  York,  the  author  of  this  History,  and  Martha 
who  died  unmarried  in  1769,  in  her  19th  year. 

James,  the  eldest  son,  born  1732,  died  April,  1800,  men- 
tioned on  page  154,  and  so  often  referred  to  by  the  author,  the 
head  of  the  family  and  of  the  party  known  by  his  name  from 
his  father's  death  to  the  Revolution,  married  August  19th, 
1771,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Chief  Justice  William  Allen  of 
Pennsylvania,  sister  of  the  wife  of  Governor  John  Penn  (Anne 
Allen)  and  aunt  of  the  late  Mrs.  Harry  Walter  Livingston  (Mary 
Allen)  who  died  in  1855.  By  her  he  had  two  sons  :  Charles, 
in  early  life  an  officer  of  the  British  Navy,  who  died  a  bache- 
lor in  London,  May  6th,  1840,  and  James,  Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel of  the  First  Dragoon  Guards,  who  also  died  a  bachelor, 
May  26th,  1857,  at  Cheltenham  in  England  ;  and  three  daugh- 
ters: Margaret,  who  married,  17th  July,  1794,  Sir  Jukes 
Granville  Clifton  Jukes,  Baronet,  and  died  June  11th,  1804, 
without  living  issue.  Anna  died  at  Cheltenham  unmarried, 
August  10th,  185 1,  and  Susan,  who  died  at  the  same  city 
unmarried,  April  7th,  1866,  when  this  line  of  the  family  be- 
came extinct. 

Stephen,  the  second  son,  received  a  large  part  of  his  father's 
lands  in  the  Manor  of  Cortlandt,  forming  what  is  now  the 
town  of  North  Salem,  Westchester  County,  which  he  settled. 
His  great  double  house  still  standing,  has  been  ever  since  he 
presented  it  to  the  town  for  the  purpose,  the  "Academy  of 
North  Salem,"  and  was  the  first  incorporated  Academy 
founded  in  this  State  after  the  Revolution.  He  married 
Hannah,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Sackett  of  Crom  Pond, 
Westchester  County,  but  died  without  having  had  issue,  6th 
May,  1795.  Heathcote,  the  third  son,  died  young,  before  his 
father. 

John  Peter,  the  fourth  son  of  Lieutenant-Governor  de 
Lanccy,  born  15th  July,  1753,  died  30th  January,  1828, 
educated  at  Harrow  School  in  England,  and  at  the  Military 
School  at  Greenwich,  entered  the  regular  British  army  in  1 771, 
served  as  captain  in  the  1 8th ,  or  Royal  Irish,  Regiment,  and 
as  Major  of  the  Pennsylvania  Loyalists,  a  Provincial  corps 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


659 


commanded  by  Col.  William  Allen  of  Philadelphia.  He 
received  the  Heathcote  estate  of  his  mother  (who  died  in 
November,  1778)  in  the  Manor  of  Scarsdalc,  now  the  towns 
of  Mamaroneck  and  Scarsdale,  and  a  small  portion  of  that  of 
his  father  in  New  York.  He  returned  to  America  in  1789,  and 
resided  at  Mamaroneck,  Westchester  County,  till  his  death 
on  the  30th  of  January,  1828.  He  married,  28th  September, 
1785,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Col.  Richard  Floyd  of  Mastic, 
mentioned  by  the  author  in  this  work,  the  very  urbane 
head  of  that  old  Long  Island  family  and  the  possessor  of 
its  large  estate  in  Suffolk  County,'  and  had  three  sons  :  1. 
Thomas  James,  born  12th  August,  1789,  a  lawyer,  who 
died  December  22d,  1822.  2.  Edward  Floyd,  born  1 8th  of 
June,  1795,  died  19th  of  October,  1820,  from  an  accidental 
cause.  3.  William  Heathcote,  born  8th  of  October,  1797, 
an  Episcopal  clergyman,  Provost  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Philadelphia,  and  first 
Bishop  of  Western  New  York.  He  died  at  his  residence, 
Geneva,  N.  Y.,  April  5th,  1865,  in  the  68th  year  of  his  age 
and  the  27th  of  his  episcopate.  He  married,  November  22d, 
1820,  Frances,  daughter  of  Peter  Jay  Munro  of  Westchester 
County,  New  York,  only  child  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harry  Munro, 
Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Albany,  by  his  wife,  Eve  Jay, 
eldest  daughter  of  Peter  Jay  of  Rye,  whose  sixth  brother 
was  Chief  Justice  John  Jay.  He  had  five  sons  and  three 
daughters:  Edward  Floyd,  a  lawyer  of  New  York,  the  writer 
of  these  notes;  John  Peter,  who  died  without  issue  in  1870  ; 
William  Heathcote,  died  young  ;  Peter  Jay  Munro,  who  died 
a  bachelor  in  1849,  and  William  Heathcote,  2d,  a  lawyer  of 
New  York,  now  living.  Of  the  daughters,  Margaret  mar- 
ried Thomas  F.  Rochester,  M.D.,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and 
Elizabeth  Floyd,  and  Frances,  both  died  young. 

Of  the  four  daughters  of  John  Peter  de  Lancey,  Anne 
Charlotte,  the  eldest,  born  17th  September,  1786,  married 

1  William  Floyd,  of  a  younger  branch  of  this  family,  the  signer  of  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence  and  first  Senator  from  New  York  in  the  U.  S.  Congress, 
was  a  first  cousin  of  Col.  Floyd  and  as  strong  a  whig  as  his  cousin  was  a  loyalist, 
but  not  at  all  gifted  with  suavity  of  manner. 


66o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


ioth  December,  1827,  was  the  second  wife  of  John  Loudon 
McAdam,  the  celebrated  originator  of  McAdamized  roads. 
She  died,  29th  of  May,  1852,  at  Hoddesdon,  England,  without 
issue.  Mr.  McAdam  died  at  Moffat,  Scotland,  November  26th, 
1836,  in  his  81st  year.1  Susan  Augusta,  the  second,  born  28th 
January,  1792,  married,  1st  January,  181 1,  James  Fenimore 
Cooper,  the  eminent  American  novelist  and  author.  She 
died  20th  January,  1852,  shortly  after  her  husband,  who  died 
September  14th,  185 1,  leaving  one  son,  Paul  Fenimore 
Cooper,  of  Albany,  a  lawyer,  and  four  daughters,  now  living. 
Maria  Frances,  the  third,  born  3d  August,  1793,  died  17th 
January,  1806,  Elizabeth  Caroline,  the  fourth,  born  4th 
March,  1801,  died  unmarried  25th  February,  i860,  and 
Martha  Arabella,  the  fifth,  born  ioth  January,  1803,  is  still 
living  unmarried. 

It  is  a  striking  fact  that  in  this  family,  from  the  birth  of 
Etienne  de  Lancey,  in  1663,  (the  Huguenot  ancestor  who  first 
came  to  New  York)  to  the  death  of  his  great-grandson  Wil- 
liam Heathcote  de  Lancey  the  late  Bishop  of  Western  New 
York  in  1865,  there  were  but  four  generations  during  that 
long  period  of  tiuo  hundi  ed  and  two  years. 


NOTE  LI. 

PETER  DE  LANCEY,  OF  WESTCHESTER  —  GENERAL  OLIVER 
DE  LANCEY,  OF  NEW  YORK,  AND  THEIR  CHILDREN, 
SUSANNA,  LADY  WARREN,  AND  JANE,  MRS.  WATTS, 
AND  THEIR  CHILDREN. 

Vol.  156. 

Peter  de  LANCEY,  second  son  of  Etienne  de  Lancey  who 
left  issue,  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  Province,  Member 
of  Assembly  for  Westchester  for  many  years,  was  born  26th 

1  Mr.  McAdam's  first  wife,  the  mother  of  all  his  children,  was  Glorianna,  second 
daughter  of  William  Nicoll,  of  Islip,  Long  Island,  who  was  a  first  cousin  of  Eliza- 
beth Floyd,  the  mother  of  his  second  wife  Miss  de  Lancey. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


August,  1705,  and  died  17th  October,  1770;  he  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Gov.  Cadwallader  Colden,  Jan.  7th, 
1737—8,  and  had  issue  twelve  children.  I,  Stephen,  a  lawyer, 
Recorder  of  Albany  and  Clerk  of  Tryon  County;  2,  John, 
succeeded  his  father  as  Member  for  Westchester,  and  was  also 
High  Sheriff  of  the  same  county  ;  3,  Peter,  a  lawyer  of  Charles- 
ton S.  C.  ;  4,  Anne,  wife  of  John  Cox,  of  Philadelphia  ;  5,  Alice, 
wife  of  Ralph  Izard,  of  S.  C,  Delegate  in  Continental  Con- 
gress from  1780  to  1783  from  South  Carolina,  U.  S.  Commis- 
sioner to  Tuscany  in  1777,  and  U.  S.  Senator  from  South 
Carolina  178910  1795;  6,  Elizabeth,  died  single;  7,  James, 
High  Sheriff  of  Westchester  for  many  years  before  the  Revo- 
lution, Colonel  of  the  Westchester  Light  Horse,  the  famous 
Partisan  Chief  of  the  Neutral  Ground,  Member  of  the  Council 
of  Nova  Scotia,  died  2d  May  1 804,  at  Annapolis,  N.  S.,  aged 
58  ;  8,  Oliver,  Lieutenant  in  the  British  Navy,  resigned  because 
he  would  not  fight  against  his  native  land  in  the  Revolution, 
died  at  Westchester,  4th  Sept.,  1820;  9,  Susanna,  wife  of 
Col.  Thomas  Barclay,  mother  of  Henry,  de  Lancey,  Thomas, 
George,  Sir  Anthony,  and  Beverly,  Barclay,  and  of  Eliza, 
wife  of  Schuyler  Livingston,  Maria,  wife  of  Simon  Fraser, 
Susan,  first  wife  of  the  late  Peter  G.  Stuyvesant,  of  New 
York,  and  Ann,  wife  of  William  H.  Parsons  ;  10,  Jane,  wife 
of  her  cousin,  Hon.  John  Watts,  Jr.;  II,  Warren,  drowned 
a  child;  12,  Warren,  in  early  life  a  British  cavalry  officer, 
subsequently  of  Madison  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Oliver  de  Lancey,  the  third  of  the  sons  of  Etienne  de 
Lancey  who  left  issue,  born  16th  Sept.,  17 18,  died  at  Beverly, 
in  Yorkshire,  England,  27th  Nov.,  1785,  a  merchant,  but 
more  prominent  in  public  life,  was  Receiver-General  for  many 
years;  a  Member  of  Assembly  from  1756  to  1760;  Member 
of  the  Governor's  Council  from  1760  to  1783  ;  Colonel  of  the 
forces  of  the  Colony,  which  he  commanded  in  the  French 
War;  raised  three  regiments  called  De  Lancey's  Battalions 
in  1776,  of  which  he  was  Brigadier-General,  and  commanded 
on  Long  Island  till  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  He  married 
Phila,  daughter  of  Jacob  Franks  of  Philadelphia,  in  1742, 
and  had  issue,  two  sons  and  four  daughters. 


662 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


1.  Stephen,  a  lawyer,  born  1748,  died  6th  Dec.  1798  at 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  Lieut.-Colonel  of  one  of  his  father's 
battalions,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Bahamas,  and  Governor  of 
Tobago,  married  Cornelia  Barclay,  and  his  only  son  was  Sir 
William  Howe  de  Lancey,  K.  C.  B.,  Quartermaster-General  of 
Wellington's  army  in  181  5.  who  was  killed  at  Waterloo,  and 
who  married  Magdalen,  daughter  of  Sir  James  Hall  of  Dun- 
glas,  but  left  no  issue.  His  daughters  were  :  Susan,  married, 
first,  Col.  Wm.  Johnson,  eldest  son  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  Bart., 
and,  secondly,  General  Sir  Hudson  Lowe,  K.C.B.,  Governor 
of  St.  Helena  during  the  captivity  of  Napoleon  the  Great. 
Charlotte,  her  eldest  daughter  by  Col.  Johnson,  married  Count 
Balmain,  the  Russian  Commissioner  of  St.  Helena.  Phila, 
died  single;  Ann,  married  Wm.  Lawson,  of  Berbice  ;  Char- 
lotte, married  Col.  Child,  R.  A. 

2.  Oliver,  entered  the  Regular  British  Army  young,  was 
Colonel  of  the  17th  Light  Dragoons,  succeeded  Andre  as 
Adjutant-General  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  Army.  Barrack- 
Master  General  of  the  Empire  ;  M.  P.  for  Maidstone,  and  died 
unmarried  in  1 820,  a  full  General  of  the  British  Army. 

The  daughters  of  Brigadier-General  OLIVER  DE  LANCEY 
were  : 

1,  Susanna,  wife  of  General  Sir  William  Draper,  the  con- 
queror of  Manilla,  and  the  opponent  of  "  Junius."  2,  Phila, 
wife  of  Stephen  Payne-Galwey,  of  the  Governor's  Council  of 
the  Island  of  Antigua.  3,  Anna,  wife  of  Colonel  John  Harris 
Cruger,  the  gallant  defender  of  Fort  Ninety-Six.  4,  Char- 
lotte, wife  of  Field  Marshal  Sir  David  Dundas,  of  Beechwood, 
K.C.B.,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British  Army. 

Susanna,  Lady  Warren,  eldest  daughter  of  Ftienne  de 
Lancey,  married  Sir  Peter  Warren  in  1 73 1 ,  and  had  five 
children  ;  two,  Peter  and  Elizabeth,  died  infants,  and  are  - 
buried  in  the  de  Lancey  vault  in  Trinity  Church.  The  other 
three,  all  daughters,  were:  1,  Anne,  married,  1758,  Gen- 
eral Charles  Fitzroy,  first  Baron  Southampton  (see  any  British 
Peerage  for  descendants).  2,  Charlotte,  married,  1768,  Wil- 
loughby  Bertie,  fourth  Earl  of  Abingdon  (see  Peerage  for 
descendants).    3,  Susanna,  married  Lieutenant- General  Wil- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  663 

liam  Skinner,  of  New  Jersey,  her  second  cousin.  Her  only 
child,  Susanna  Maria,  married  her  cousin  Major-General 
Henry,  third  Viscount  Gage  (see  Peerage  for  descendants). 

Anne,  Mrs.  Watts,  youngest  daughter  of  Eticnne  de 
Lancey,  married,  1742,  John  Watts,  of  New  York,  and  had  : 

1 ,  Robert,  married  Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  the  titular  Karl 
of  Stirling,  one  of  the  American  Generals  of  the  Revolution. 

2,  Ann,  married  Archibald  Kennedy,  eleventh  Karl  of  Cas- 
silis,  whose  son  was  the  first  Marquis  of  Ailsa.  3,  Stephen 
and  Susan  died  infants.  5,  John — the  late  Hon.  John  Watts 
of  New  York.  6,  Susanna,  married  Philip  Kearny  of  New 
York.  7,  Mary,  married  Sir  John  Johnson,  Bart,  of  Johnson 
Hall,  N.  Y.  8,  Stephen,  Major  of  the  Royal  Greens,  wound- 
ed at  the  battle  of  Oriskany.  9,  Margaret,  married  Major 
Robert  Keake.     10,  James,  died  an  infant. 


NOTK  LII. 

SKETCHES  OF  THE  EARL  OF  CARLISLE,  WILLIAM  EDEN, 
AND  GOVERNOR  JOHNSTONE,  COMMISSIONERS  FOR  RE- 
STORING PEACE  TO  AMERICA,  AND  OF  ANDREW  ELLIOTT, 
COLLECTOR  AND  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Volume  /.,  page  160. 

Frederick  Howard,  the  fifth  Karl  of  Carlisle,  the  Chief 
Commissioner,  was  the  eldest  son  of  Henry,  4th  Karl,  by  his 
second  wife  Isabella,  daughter  of  William,  4th  Kord  Byron. 
He  was  born  28th  May,  1748,  married  Margaret,  daughter  of 
the  1st  Marquis  of  Stafford,  and  died  4th  Sept.,  1825.  He 
was  at  one  time  Viceroy  of  Ireland,  and  was  the  guardian  of 
George  Gordon  Noel,  6th  Kord  Byron,  the  Poet.1 

WILLIAM  KDEN  was  a  lawyer,  3d  son  of  Gov.  Robert  Kden, 
Bart.,  born  1745,  died  28th  May,  1814;  married  26th  Sept., 


1  Peerage,  "Carlisle." 


664 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


1776,  Eleanor,  daughter  of  Sir  Gilbert  Elliott,  3d  Bart., 
eldest  brother  of  Andrew  Elliott,  Lt.-Gov.  of  New  York,  and 
father  of  the  1st  Earl  Minto  ;  was  Secretary  of  Ireland,  and 
Ambassador  to  France  ;  created  an  Irish  Peer  18th  Nov.,  1789, 
as  Baron  Auckland,  and  an  English  Peer,  23d  May,  1793,  by 
the  title  of  Baron  Auckland  of  West  Auckland,  in  the  county 
of  Durham.1  He  was  a  brother  of  Robert  Eden,  the  last 
British  Governor  of  Maryland. 

George  Johnstone,  called  Governor  Johnstone  from  hav- 
ing been  Governor  of  Florida  by  the  appointment  of  Lord 
Bute  ;  was  son  of  Sir  James  Johnstone,  and  an  officer  of  the 
Navy,  a  Member  of  Parliament,  in  which  he  was  distinguished 
as  a  good  speaker,  but  a  man  of  versatile  politics.  He  it  was 
who  made  the  proposition  through  Mrs.  Ferguson  to  bribe 
Gen.  Joseph  Reed3  with  10,000  pounds  sterling,  which  that 
patriotic  officer  so  strikingly  and  indignantly  refused. 

The  Secretary  of  this  Commission  was  Dr.  ADAM  FER- 
GUSON, the  author  of  the  History  of  Rome,  who  died  in  18 16 
at  the  age  of  93.  "  His  life  comprised  varied  incidents.  He 
was  a  fighting  chaplain  at  Fontenoy  and  a  diplomatist  in  the 
wilds  of  America."3 

The  Commissioners  arrived  in  Philadelphia  June  6th,  1778, 
on  the  eve  of  Clinton's  evacuation  of  that  city,  and  returned 
to  England  from  New  York  in  November,  1778.  Their  mis- 
sion was  an  entire  failure. 

Andrew  Elliott  was  the  third  son  of  Sir  Gilbert  Elliott, 
2d  Baronet,  Lord  Justice  Clerk  of  Scotland,  by  Helen, 
daughter  of  Sir  Robert  Stuart,  Bart.,  of  Allanbank.  He 
succeeded  Archibald  Kennedy  as  Receiver-General  and  Col- 
lector of  New  York,  the  19th  January,  1764,  and  held  these 
offices  to  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  In  1780,  through  the 
intrigue  with  Smith  and  Robertson,  described  by  the  author, 
he  obtained  the  Lieutenant-Governorship  of  New  York,  and  , 
was  in  office  at  the  peace  of  1783. 

1  Peerage,  "Auckland." 

5  Reed's  Reed,  Appendix  No.  IV.,  Vol.  I.,  contains  the  fullest  and  best  ac- 
count of  this  transaction. 

3  Reed's  Reed,  Vol.  I.,  p.  425. 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK. 


665 


His  niece,  not  his  sister  as  the  text  states,  was  the  wife  of 
William  Eden,  one  of  the  Commissioners,  afterwards  Lord 
Auckland,  as  above  stated.1  His  daughter,  Eleanor,  married 
first,  on  23d  Sept.,  1773,  James  Jauncey,  son  of  James  Jaunccy, 
Member  of  Assembly  in  1768  and  1769;  and,  he  dying  the  11th 
August,  1777,  without  issue,  she  married  secondly  Admiral 
Robert  Digby,2  on  August  17,  1784,  and  died  in  England  in 
1830.  By  her  last  husband  she  had  an  only  child,  a  daugh- 
ter, Jane  Elizabeth,  who  married  in  1824  the  1st  Earl  of  Ellen- 
borough.3  Eloping  with  the  Austrian  Prince  Schwartzen- 
bcrgh,  this  marriage  was  dissolved  by  act  of  Parliament  in 
1830.  Her  son  by  Schwartzenbergh  was  killed  at  the  siege 
of  Sebastopol.  The  writer  of  this  note  met  her  in  1868,  at 
Damascus,  the  wife  of  the  Arab  Cheikh  Mijoel,  the  Cheikh 
of  the  Bedouins  of  Palmyra,  still  a  strikingly  handsome 
woman. 

Elizabeth,  another  daughter  of  Andrew  Elliott,  married  in 
New  York,  10th  April,  1779,  William,  tenth  Baron  and  first 
Earl  Cathcart,  an  officer  in  Sir  William  Howe's  army,  and 
chief  of  the  "Knights  of  the  Blended  Rose"  in  the  famous 
"  Meschianza,"  given  in  honor  of  him  and  Admiral  Lord 
Howe,  at  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1778. 


NOTE  LIII. 

JOHN  R.  LIVINGSTON  AND  THE  MURDER  OF  CAPTAIN  ERAS- 
MUS JOHN  PHILLIPS. 

Volume      page  171. 

The  "John  Livingston"  mentioned  in  the  text,  who  was 
concerned  in  the  death  of  Capt.  Erasmus  Phillips,  was  John 
R.  Livingston,  the  third  son  of  Robert  R.  Livingston,  the 
Colonial  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  York.  He 

1  Peerage,  "Auckland." 

s  Joseph  O.  Brown's  "  Jaunceys  of  New  York,"  pp.  17  and  19. 
3  Peerage,  "  Ellenborough." 


666 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


was  born  13th  February,  1755,  and  was  at  the  time  a  youth 
of  about  twenty  one.  In  after  life  he  became  a  merchant  in 
New  York,  was  finally  unsuccessful,  left  that  city  and  resided 
at  Redhook,  on  the  Hudson,  where  he  died  in  November, 
1 85 1,  at  the  age  of  96  years.1 

Capt.  Erasmus  Phillips  of  the  45th  Regiment,  or  Erasmus 
John  Phillips,  as  his  name  was  in  full,  was  of  the  family  of 
Phillips  of  Picton  Castle,  Pembrokeshire,  Baronets.  Colonel 
Richard  Phillips,  grandson  of  the  first  Baronet,  was  Governor 
of  Nova  Scotia  from  1 7 1 7  to  1749,  but  resided  in  that  Pro- 
vince only  from  1720  to  173 1.  His  Secretary,  and  subsequently 
a  Councillor  of  the  Province,  was  his  relative  Major  Erasmus 
James  Phillips,  who  in  1747  was  in  charge  of  all  civil  affairs 
at  Grand  Pre,2  and  was  Commandant,  or  "  Fort  Major,"  at 
Annapolis  Royal  under  Lieutenant-Governor  Peregrine  Hop- 
son,  from  1754  to  1 76 1 .3  He  was  father,  or  uncle,  prob- 
ably, of  Captain  Erasmus  John  Phillips,  who  entered  the 
British  army  as  a  Lieutenant  in  the  45th  Regiment,  Oct.  3, 
1755,  and  continued  in  that  regiment  till  March  25,  1777, 
when  he  was  transferred  and  made  Captain  in  the  35th  Regi- 
ment.4 He  was,  therefore,  a  Captain  in  the  35th,  and  not  in 
his  old  regiment,  the  45th,  as  stated  in  the  text,  at  the  time 
of  his  murder,  a  few  months  after  his  promotion. 


NOTE  LIV. 

CAPTAIN  DUNBAR  AND  THE  INHUMAN  TREATMENT  OF  HIS 
WIFE  BY  THE  AUTHORITIES  OF  CONNECTICUT. 

Volume  I.,  page  175. 

Tins  "Captain  Dunbar"  was  Captain  Moses  Dunbar  of 
Waterbury,  Connecticut,  and  a  native  of  that  Province.  The 

1  Holgate,  Am.  Genealogies,  "Livingston."  Clarkson's  History  of  Clermont 
Manor,  p.  156. 

s  Murdoch's  Hist,  of  Nova  Scotia,  Vol.  I.,  p.  467-S,  anil  II.,  p.  104.  Nova 
Scotia  Archives,  p.  17.    Burke's  Peerage  and  Baronetage,  "  Phillips  of  Picton." 
3  Army  Lists.  4  Army  Lists. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


667 


"  Pennsylvania  Evening  Post"  of  8th  March,  1777,  referring  to 
him,  merely  says:  "  Moses  Dunbar  of  Waterbury,  convicted 
of  having  a  Captain's  Commission  from  General  Howe,  and 
enlisting  men  to  serve  in  the  Ministerial  army — sentenced  to 
death,  but  the  time  of  his  execution  not  fixed  on." 


NOTE  LV. 

EXTENT  OF  THE  BURNING  OF  DANBURY. 
Volume  I.,  page  177. 

THE  expedition  landed  at  4  P.M.,  April  25th,  marched  all 
night  and  reached  Danbury  the  26th,  at  2  p.m.,  returned 
the  next  day  and  embarked  just  before  sunset  on  the  28th  at 
Compo.  The  Selectmen  of  Danbury  informed  the  Assembly 
of  Connecticut  in  a  memorial,  dated  May  8,  1777,  twelve  days 
after  the  fire,  "  that  the  British  troops  had  made  a  hostile  in- 
vasion into  said  town,  and  that  under  pretence  of  destroying 
public  stores,  consumed  with  fire  about  twenty  dwelling- 
houses,  with  many  stores,  barns,  and  other  buildings;  and 
that  on  their  retreat  they  had  driven  off  all  the  live  stock  they 
could  find,"  and  asked  for  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the 
losses  of  each  person  in  Danbury."  1 

Daniel  Sherman,  Nchemiah  Bcardslee,  Increase  Mosely, 
and  Lemuel  Sandford  were  appointed.  "The  committee 
repaired  to  Danbury  on  the  3d  day  of  June,  1777,  and  after 
having  notified  the  inhabitants,  and  from  day  to  day  examined 
the  losses  of  each  sufferer  upon  oath  and  by  other  evidence, 
and  allowed  to  each  his  damage  at  the  time  said  property  was 
destroyed  ;  they  found  that  by  reason  of  the  price  of  articles 
the  inhabitants  had  been  obliged  to  pay  large  sums  over  and 
above  the  value,  in  procuring  necessaries  for  their  families  ; 
that  many  of  them  had  their  teams  forced  from  them  to  re- 
move the  public  stores,  etc.    The  committee  reported  to  the 

1  Hinman's  Historical  Collection  from  Official  Records  of  Connecticut,  p.  278. 


668 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Assembly  the  name  of  each  sufferer  with  his  loss  allowed,  an- 
nexed to  his  name,  which  amounted  to  the  sum  of  ,£16,181  14 
(Connecticut  currency),  which  report  was  accepted  by  the 
Assembly."  1  The  above  sum,  it  will  be  seen,  includes  the  cost 
of  necessaries  purchased  to  replace  those  destroyed. 


NOTE  LVI. 

MAJOR  RETURN  J.  MEIGS'S  EXPEDITION  TO  SAG  HARBOR  AND 

HIS  PAROLE. 

Volume  I.,  page  182. 

The  officers  taken  prisoners  at  Quebec  were  lodged  in  the 
Seminary,  and  the  soldiers  confined  in  the  College  of  the 
Recollets,  in  that  city.  The  plot  to  escape  was  discovered  on 
31st  of  March,  and  the  confinement  was  stringent  thereafter. 
Sir  Guy  Carleton  sent  the  prisoners  home  by  sea  on  parole 
in  August,  not  July,  as  the  text  states,  their  paroles  being 
dated  August  7th,  1776.  They  arrived  in  New  York  Harbor 
on  the  nth  September,  and  were  exchanged  at  the  close  of 
that  month,  and  landed  at  Elizabethtown  point. 

Judge  Henry,  in  his  detailed  account  of  Arnold's  expedi- 
tion, says,  Major  Meigs  and  Captain  Dearborn  had  been 
permitted  to  return  on  parole  in  the  preceding  May,  in  the 
Niger  frigate  to  Halifax,  whence  by  another  ship  they  went 
to  Penobscot  Bay,  and  proceeded  by  land  to  Portland,  and 
were  exchanged  in  March,  1777. 2  The  Sag  Harbor  expedition 
took  place  on  the  23d  of  the  following  May,  about  eight 
weeks  afterwards.  The  author,  probably,  was  not  aware  that  « 
the  exchange  had  been  made  when  the  expedition  took  place, 
and  his  censures  on  Major  Meigs  and  Congress  are  unde- 
served, as  there  was  no  violation  of  the  parole  of  the  former, 
as  he  supposed.    Congress  voted  Meigs  their  thanks  and  a 

1  Hinman's  Historical  Collection  from  Official  Records  of  Connecticut,  p.  614. 
s  Maine  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  528. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


669 


sword  on  August  3d,  1777.  In  1779  he  commanded  a  regi- 
ment under  Wayne  at  Stoncy  Point.  After  the  war,  in  1788 
or  1789,  he  went  to  Ohio  among  its  first  settlers,  was  agent 
for  Indian  affairs  in  1816,  and  died  at  the  Cherokee  Agency, 
Jan.  28th,  1823.1 


NOTE   LVII  . 

THE  PLUNDERING  AND  BURNING  OF  THE  SEAT  OF  GENERAL 
DE  LANCEY  AT  BLOOM INGD ALE,  AND  THE  BARBAROUS 
TREATMENT  OF  THE  LADIES  OF  HIS  FAMILY  BY  THE 
AMERICANS,  NOVEMBER,   1 777. 

Volume  I.,  page  185. 

The  Miss  Charlotte  de  Lancey  mentioned  by  the  author, 
who  was  afterwards  the  wife  of  Field  Marshal  Sir  David 
Dundas,  of  Beechwood,  K.C.B.,  gave  the  writer  of  this  note, 
while  visiting  her  at  Beechwood  in  1835,  a  vivid  account  of 
the  burning  of  her  father's  house,  just  as  related  by  the  au- 
thor in  the  text,  but  in  greater  detail.  The  Miss  Floyd,  her 
fellow-sufferer,  was  afterwards  the  wife  of  John  Peter  de  Lan- 
cey, of  Mamaroneck,  mother  of  the  late  Bishop  de  Lancey, 
of  Western  New  York,  and  grandmother  of  the  writer.  Lady 
Dundas  said  that  she  and  Miss  Floyd  were  sleeping  together, 
and  were  roused  by  the  sound  of  voices  in  the  grounds. 
Thinking  it  was  some  of  the  negroes,  who  ought  at  that  hour 
to  have  been  in  the  house,  they  went  to  the  window,  and, 
throwing  it  open,  exclaimed,  "  Who  is  there  ?  "  "  Put  in  your 
heads,  you  bitches,"  was  the  reply,  and  instantly  the  house 
was  broken  into,  front  and  rear,  and  the  robbery  began. 
They  were  told  "  to  get  out  quick,"  as  the  house  was  to  be 
burnt.  Some  of  the  party  began  to  strike  them  with  their 
muskets,  and  were  also  inclined  to  keep  them  from  escaping, 
but  one  of  them  ordered  the  others  to  stop,  and  bid  the  ladies 


1  Allen,  Biog.  Diet.,  p.  57S. 


67O      .  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

"  be  off  as  fast  as  you  can."  Miss  Floyd  started  down  stairs 
first,  both  being  in  their  night-dresses  merely,  and  as  she  did 
so,  one  of  the  men  threw  a  lighted  window  curtain  directly 
upon  her.  Luckily  she  dashed  it  off  as  she  ran,  and  escaped 
the  horrid  fate  intended.  Miss  de  Lancey  rushed  for  the  baby 
of  her  brother,  and  followed  Miss  Floyd  instantly,  with  the 
child  in  her  arms,  its  mother  being  absent  at  the  time.  Mrs. 
de  Lancey  was  an  elderly  lady,  and  unable  to  run,  she  there- 
fore crept  into  a  dog-kennel  under  the  stoop,  which,  fortu- 
nately, was  of  stone.  The  other  ladies  fled  into  the  woods  and 
swamps,  in  what  is  now  the  Central  Park,  and  passed  the 
night  in  the  thickest  bushes  they  could  find,  sitting  upon  their 
feet  to  keep  a  little  warmth  in  them,  until  they  were  found 
and  taken  to  Mr.  Apthorpe's  in  the  morning.  Mrs.  Cruger 
got  out  and  off  by  herself,  and  walked  about  all  night,  instead 
of  hiding  in  one  place,  and  so  wandered  far  and  got  lost,  as 
the  author  states.  No  attempt  was  made  to  insult  them, 
Lady  Dundas  said,  "  as  the  rebels  were  too  eager  to  plunder, 
burn  the  house,  and  get  off  safe." 

The  Americans  were  "  the  water  guard,"  from  Tarrytown 
and  its  neighborhood,  not  a  part  of  a  regular  regiment,  and 
their  object,  it  is  said,  was  the  twofold  one  of  pillaging  and 
revenging  an  attack  by  Col.  Emmerick  on  that  place  and  its 
neighborhood,  a  short  time  before. 

Governor  Clinton,  in  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Council  of 
Safety,  written  from  his  house  at  "Little  Britain,"  1st  Dec, 
1777,  says  : 

"A  small  party  from  our  advanced  water  guard,  a  few  nights  ago 
slipped  down  on  a  dark  night,  passed  the  enemy's  shipping,  and 
burnt  General  De  Lancey's  house  at  Bloomingdale,  took  two  pris- 
oners, and  returned  safe."1 

The  Council  in  their  reply  to  him  on  December  16th,  1777, 
rather  amusingly  say  : 

"The  information  which  we  receive,  as  well  in  Your  Excellency's 
last  letter,  as  by  other  channels,  of  the  burning  of  General  De  Lan 


1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  p.  1093. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


67I 


cey's  house,  gave  this  Council  great  uneasiness.  We  think  this  a 
most  unequal  method  of  waging  war  on  the  enemy,  because  neither 
we  nor  they  can  possibly  destroy  what  are  properly  our  ow  n  houses ; 
and  we  fear  that  so  conspicuous  an  example  as  the  destruction  of 
Mr.  De  Lancey's  mansion  house,  will  be  industriously  followed  by 
the  enemy,  to  the  ruin  of  many  of  the  good  subjects  of  this  State. 
For  these  reasons,  sir,  we  most  earnestly  entreat  your  utmost  exer- 
tions to  put  a  stop  to  practices  on  our  part,  which  may  be  attended 
with  the  most  destructive  retaliations  by  the  enemy."  1 

They  objected,  not  to  the  barbarism  of  the  proceedings, 
but  to  the  destruction  "  of  what  are  properly  our  own 
houses!"  The  leader  of  "our  advanced  water  guard,"  as 
Clinton  calls  it,  was  a  farmer  of  Tarrytown,  named  Martling. 
A  few  of  the  articles  carried  off  on  this  occasion  have  since 
been  heard  of  by  the  family  ;  but  with  the  exception  of  a 
portrait  of  the  wife  of  Lieutenant-Governor  de  Lancey, 
now  in  the  writer's  possession,  they  have  never  been  able 
to  recover  any  of  them.  A  full-length,  life  size  portrait  of 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  himself,  in  the  robes  of  a  Fellow- 
Commoner  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge,  painted 
by  Sir  Godfrey  Kncller,  was  destroyed  at  this  time,  with 
other  pictures  and  articles  of  value  belonging  to  his  son  James 
de  Lancey,  the  then  head  of  the  family,  the  nephew  of  the 
General,  who  was  at  this  time  in  England,  which  had  un- 
fortunately been  sent  to  Bloomingdale  for  safe  keeping. 


NOTE  LVIII. 

HOWE'S   MOVEMENT  TO   THE   HEAD  OF   ELK.— LEE'S  CAP- 
TURE AND  TREASON. — COLONEL  HARCOURT. 

Vol.  T.,p.  190. 

Howe's  southern  movement  at  midsummer,  1777,  so  inex- 
plicable at  the  time,  and  so  utterly  confusing  to  Washington, 
is  now  known  to  have  been  influenced,  if  it  was  not  sug- 


1  Ibid.,  1101. 


672 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


gested,  by  the  American  General  Charles  Lee,  who  had  been 
captured,  as  stated  on  page  128,  on  the  13th  of  the  preced- 
ing December.  Lee's  treasonable  "  plan  "  has  been  given  to 
the  world  for  the  first  time,  with  full  details  of  the  man  him- 
self, by  Mr.  George  H.  Moore,  in  his  "  Treason  of  Major- 
General  Charles  Lee,"  a  most  able  discussion  of  the  whole 
subject.  That  "  plan,"  dated  29th  March,  1777,  was  probably 
but  the  mere  putting  in  written  form  what  had  been  verbally 
expressed  long  before  to  Howe.  The  latter's  dispatches  to 
Lord  Germaine,  first  indicating  a  southern  expedition,  were 
all  written  long  after  Lee  was  a  prisoner  in  New  York. 

The  annexed  most  interesting  account  of  Lee's  capture 
is  given  in  the  privately  printed  autobiographic  memoir  of 
herself  and  her  family,  written  by  the  venerable  lady  with 
whose  father  Lee  was  to  have  breakfasted  the  morning  he 
was  taken,  she  being  at  the  time  a  child  old  enough  to  re- 
member the  occurrence.1 

"The  capture  of  General  Lee  on  the  13th  of  December, 
1776,  occurred  soon  after  the  settlement  of  our  family  at 
Baskinridge.  He  had  come  from  the  American  camp  at 
Morristown  to  reconnoitre,  and  put  up  for  the  night  at  Mr. 
White's  tavern,  not  half  a  mile  from  our  house — up  the  hill 
beyond  the  church.  My  father,  who  was  always  attentive  to 
every  officer  of  the  army,  called  on  General  Lee,  and  invited 
him  to  breakfast  the  next  day.  He  accepted  ;  but,  as  he  did 
not  appear  at  the  appointed  time,  Mr.  Morton  became  im- 
patient, and  walked  up  the  hill  to  meet  his  expected  guest. 
On  his  way  he  encountered  many  of  the  country  people  run- 
ning in  great  consternation,  exclaiming,  '  The  British  have 
come  to  take  General  Lee.'    My  father  hurried  on  and  saw 

1  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Eliza  Susan  Morton  Quincy,  wife  of  President  Quincy,  of 
Harvard  University,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Morton,  of  New  York, 
and  his  wife,  Maria  Sophia  Kemper.  Mr.  Morton  had  removed  his  family  for  ' 
safety  to  Baskinridge,  in  1775,  where  they  were  living  when  Lee  was  taken. 
Her  autobiographic  memoir,  with  a  continuation,  by  her  daughter,  Miss  Eliza 
Susan  Quincy,  was  privately  printed  in  1S61.  The  last  lady  kindly  permits  the 
editor  to  use  the  memoir  in  these  notes.  The  venerable  authoress  of  the  memoir 
he  well  remembers  when  he  was  a  student  in  the  Law  School  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


673 


Lee,  without  hat  or  cloak,  forcibly  mounted,  and  carried  off 
by  a  troop  of  horse  ;  and,  as  he  had  but  few  attendants,  little 
resistance  was  attempted.  One  of  his  men,  who  offered  to 
defend  him,  was  cut  down  and  wounded  by  the  sabres  of  the 
horsemen.  He  was  brought  down  to  our  house,  where  he 
was  taken  care  of  until  he  was  carried  on  a  litter  to  a  surgeon 
at  Mendon,  and  after  three  months  he  recovered,  and  came 
to  thank  my  mother  for  her  kindness  to  him. 

"  Information  of  the  unguarded  situation  of  General  Lee  at 
Baskinridge  was  given  by  a  countryman  to  Colonel  Harcourt 
of  the  British  army,  who,  with  a  body  of  cavalry,  had  been 
sent  from  New  Brunswick  to  watch  his  movements.  A  de- 
tachment of  seventy  light  horse  surrounded  the  house  where 
Lee  stayed,  before  he  had  any  intimation  of  their  approach, 
and  carried  him  off  in  triumph. 

"The  terror  of  the  inhabitants  of  Baskinridge  was  very 
great;  they  feared  the  army  of  the  enemy  was  upon  them, 
and  could  hardly  believe  the  troops  were  gone  as  soon  as 
they  heard  they  had  come.  At  that  time,  however,  they 
remained  undisturbed,  except  by  their  own  apprehensions." 

Major-General  Charles  Lee,  of  a  Cheshire  family, 
son  of  General  John  Lee,  of  Dernhall,  in  that  county,  and 
of  the  British  army,  was  born  in  1731,  died  in  Philadelphia, 
October  2,  1782,  and  was  buried  in  the  yard  on  the  south 
side  of  Christ  Church,  in  that  city.  His  mother  was  Isa- 
bella, second  daughter  of  Sir  Henry  Bunbury,  Bart.,  of  Stan- 
ney,  Cheshire.1 

COL.  HARCOURT.  The  Hon.  William  Harcourt,  afterwards, 
April  20,  1809,  third  Earl  Harcourt,  G.C.B.,  Field-Marshal, 
and  Colonel  of  the  16th  light  dragoons  (with  a  squadron  of 
which  he  took  Lee),  son  of  Simon,  first  Earl  Harcourt,  was  born 
20  March,  1743,  died  18  June,  1830,  married  21  September, 
1778,  Mary,  widow  of  Thomas  Lockhart,  of  Coning  House, 
and  daughter  of  William  Danby,  Esq.  He  was  Equerry  to 
Queen  Charlotte,  in  1 76 1 ,  afterwards  Groom  of  the  Chamber 
to  George  III.,  and  M.P.  for  the  city  of  Oxford,  from  May, 


Moore's  Treason  of  Lee  ;  Watson's  Annals  of  Philadelphia. 

43 


674  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

1768,  to  June,  1774.  Peerage  "  Harcourt."  Cornwallis  Cor- 
respondence,  Vol.  1,  p.  26. 


NOTE  LIX. 

THE  RELATIVE  FORCES  OF  THE  TWO  ARMIES  IN  THE 
BURGOYNE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1777,  AT  ITS  COMMENCE- 
MENT,  AND   AT   THE  SURRENDER. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  198. 

American  Army. 

In  July,  1777,  General  Schuyler  had  only  2,500  men  under 
him  at  Fort  Edward,  and  after  St.  Clair  joined  him  there  with 
the  retreating  garrison  of  Ticonderoga,  his  numbers  were  only 
4,500,  of  which  2,000  were  militia,  and  2,500  continentals, 
including  Nixon's  brigade.'  "  Nearly  one-half  utterly  dis- 
pirited and  insubordinate  left  his  camp."  "Two  Massachu- 
setts regiments  deserted  in  a  body  and  went  home."5  Schuy- 
ler retreated  to  Saratoga  on  the  31st  of  July,  and  on  the  4th 
of  August  to  Stillwater,  to  await  re-enforcements. * 

The  appeals  of  Schuyler  and  Washington  to  the  different 
State  Committees  and  Brigadiers,  and  other  public  authori- 
ties, for  more  men,  had,  practically,  no  effect  till  after  the 
defeat  of  Baum  at  Bennington  on  the  16th  of  August,  and 
the  retreat  of  St.  Leger  from  Fort  Stanwix  on  the  22d.  On 
the  13th  of  August,  Schuyler  retreated  to  Half-Moon,  one  of 

1  Letter  of  17  July,  of  Brockholst  Livingston  to  his  father,  Gov.  Livingston,  of 
N.  Y.    Sparks'  Rev.  Correspondence,  vol.  ii.,  p.  514. 

*  Lossing's  Life  of  Schuyler,  vol.  ii.,  p.  230.  Schuyler's  letter  to  Washington, 
of  14  July,  1777. 

1  On  the  28th  of  June,  Schuyler  had  700  men,  only,  south  of  Lakes  Champlain 
and  George  ;  and  on  July  9,  at  Fort  Edward,  "not  above  I.500."  See  his  letters 
of  those  dates  to  Washington.  Sparks'  Rev.  Correspondence,  392  and  395.  On 
the  4th  of  August  he  had  "not  above  4, OCX),"  one-third  negroes,  boys,  and  men 
too  old  for  service.    His  letter  cited  in  Gordon,  vol.  ii.,  p.  4S9. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


675 


the  islands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk.  On  the  19th  Gates 
arrived  and  took  command  under  the  resolution  of  Congress 
of  August  1st,  which  also  directed  Schuyler  "  to  repair  to 
Headquarters."  Gates  was  authorized  by  Congress  to  call 
out  the  militia  of  the  Eastern  Colonies,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  and  their  authorities  were  notified 
of  the  fact.  On  the  15th  of  August,  four  days  previously, 
Schuyler  says,  in  his  letter  of  that  date  to  Congress,  "  the 
Eastern  papers  contain  accounts  of  vast  bodies  of  militia 
having  been  ordered  thence  to  this  quarter.  I  hope  my  suc- 
cessor will  have  the  happiness  of  seeing  them  arrive  in  time 
to  prevent  the  enemy's  progress  ;  but  we  have  not  yet  the 
satisfaction  of  being  joined  by  any  from  thence,  and  have 
only  about  sixty  or  seventy  on  the  ground  from  this  State."  1 
When  Gates  took  command  of  Schuyler's  army,  on  the 
19th,  it  numbered  about  5,500  men  ; "  when  Burgoyne  surren- 
dered on  the  17th  October,  Gates's  own  official  return  gives 
its  number  as  1 1 ,098.  The  difference  denotes  all  the  increase 
from  subsequent  re-enforcements  sent  by  Washington,  and 
from  the  militia  that  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  could 
raise  and  put  in  the  field  under  the  great  pressure  of  this  ter- 
rible crisis,  when  New  England  was  more  alarmed  for  her 
own  safety  than  at  any  other  period  of  the  war,  and  her 
"committees"  were  most  efficient.  Even  at  the  surrender 
on  October  17th,  as  appears  by  the  following  MS.  return  of 
Gates's  forces,  the  entire  militia  only  numbered  3.382,  as 
the  result  of  all  efforts  to  raise  men  to  serve  from  August  3d 
to  November  15th,  as  called  for  by  Congress,  about  three 
months,  and  yet  it  has  been  gravely  said,  that  when  Gates 
took  command,  "touched  by  the  ringing  appeals  of  Wash- 
ington, thousands  of  men  of  Massachusetts,  even  from  the 
Counties  of  Middlesex  and  Essex,  were  in  motion  towards 
Saratoga."  1  The  truth  is,  that  loyalty  or  Toryism  was  vastly 
greater  than  it  has  suited  American  historians  to  admit. 

1  Letter  cited  in  Life  of  Schuyler,  vol.  ii.,  p.  302. 

■  Washington's  re-enforcements  of  continental  troops  brought  it  up  to  this 
number. 

3  Bancroft,  vol.  9,  p.  3S6,  ed.  1S66. 


6;6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


In  volume  9  of  the  Manuscript  Papers  of  Geneial  Gates,  in 
the  Library  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  is  the  official 
written  return  of  the  numbers  of  Gates's  army  present  at  the 
surrender  of  Burgoyne.  It  is  entitled  "  A  General  Return 
of  the  Army  commanded  by  Major-General  Gates  at  the  Con- 
vention of  Saratoga,  Oct.  17th,  1777,"  and  gives  the  numbers 
and  commands,  as  follows  : 


Continental  Brigades  and  Corps. 

Nixon's   1,43° 

Poor's   1,466 

Glover's   i,479 

Patterson's   1,300 

Learned's   1,257 

Morgan's  Corps   712 

Engineers  &  Artifrs   72 


7,716 

Militia. 

Brigades  and  Corps. 

Warner's   1,371 

Annexed  to  Poor's   933 

"         Glover's   610 

"         Patterson's   468  3,382 


11,098 

Burgoyne  in  his  "  Narrative  "  says,  "  I  shall  close  the  whole 
of  this  by  delivering  at  your  table,  from  the  hands  of  my  Sec- 
retary, an  authenticated  return  of  the  force  of  General  Gates, 
signed  by  himself,  and  the  truth  of  it  will  be  supported  from 
ocular  testimony  by  every  officer  of  the  British  Army."1  It 
is  dated  October  16th,  1777,  and  is  printed  in  full  in  his 
appendix,  and  it  states  his  whole  force  as  18,624. 

How,  or  why,  there  is  such  a  great  discrepancy  from  the 
original  MS.  return  above  given,  I  cannot  explain.     I  merely 
mention  the  fact.    Colonel  Kingston,  Burgoyne's  Adjutant-  ' 
General,  testifies  as  follows  : 

Q.  Whence  is  the  account  of  the  strength  of  Mr.  Gates's 
army  taken  ? 

A.  From  a  return  voluntarily  given  by  General  Gates  to 

1  State  of  the  Expedition,  p.  17. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


677 


mc  for  my  own  satisfaction  when  at  Albany,  and  that  return 
was  signed  by  General  Gates.1 

British  Army. 

Note  33,  of  volume  6  (Appendix),  of  Bcatson's  Naval  and 
Military  Memoirs  of  Great  Britain  gives,  from  official  sources, 
the  following  "  List  of  the  Forces  sent  to  Canada  in  Spring, 
1776,  along  with  Major-General  Burgoync  :" 

"  British  Infantry,  8th,  9th,  20th,  21st,  20th, a  29th,  31st,  ) 

34th,   47th,  53rd,  and  62nd  regiments,  10  companies  V  7,117 


each  ) 

Ditto  Artillery,  6  Companies   486 

Brunswick  Infantry   4>278 

Ditto  Artillery   316 

Hanau  Infantry   668 

Ditto  Artillery   128 

Waldeck  Infantry   670 

Ditto  Artillery   14 


Total   13,677" 


Of  these,  according  to  the  same  authority,  note  57,  on  page 
69,  there  were  included  in  the  expedition  to  the  Mohawk  and 
left  for  the  defence  of  Canada,  as  follows  : 

"  Sent  in  the  expedition  to  the  Mohawk,  under  Brigadier-General 


Barry  St.  Leger 

"  Detachment  from  the  8  Regiment   too 

"  km  24  ditto   100 

Hanau  Chasseurs   342 

542 

Sir  John  Johnson's  Regiment,  of  New  York   133 


675 

1  Burgoyne's  State  of  the  Expedition,  p.  118.  The  following  extract  from 
Gordon's  History,  vol.  ii.,  p.  578,  bears  on  this  point,  and  perhaps  explains  it. 
'•  Burgoyne  was  desirous  of  si  general  return  of  the  army  commanded  by  Gates  at 
the  time  of  the  convention.  The  latter  understood  him,  and  was  careful  not  to 
lessen  the  return  a  single  man.  The  continentals,  all  ranks  included,  were  9,093, 
the  militia,  4,129,  in  all,  13,222  ;  but  of  the  former,  the  sick  and  on  furlough  were 
2,103,  and  of  the  latter  562.  The  number  of  the  militia  was  continually  varying, 
anil  many  of  them  were  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  camp."  He  gives  no 
authority  for  these  figures. 

8  So  in  original,  probably  a  misprint  for  "24th." 


678        .  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Left  for  the  defence  of  Canada  : 

The  8th  regiment,  deducting  100  for  the  expedition  to  the 

Mohawk   460 

Battalion  Companies  of  the  29th  and  34,h  regiments   896 

Ditto  of  the  34th  regiment,  deducting  100  for  the  expedition 

to  the  Mohawk   348 

Eleven  additional  companies  from  Great  Britain   616 

Detachment  from  the  two  brigades   300 

"  German  troops   650 


3»27o 

Royal  Highland  Emigrants   500 


Total  3.77o" 

Burgoyne's  total  force  as  above   I3>357 

Deducting  the  British  and  German  troops  sent  to 

the  Mohawk   542 

And  those  left  in  Canada   3, 2  74 

  3.816 


The  remainder   9,861 

is  the  number  of  regulars,  sick  included,  with  which  Burgoyne  en- 
tered upon  his  campaign  early  in  June,  1777.' 

Note  56  of  the  same  work  gives  Burgoyne's  forces,  "  sick 
included,"  on  July  1st,  1777  : 

"Total  regular  troops  6,740 

Garrison  left  out  of  the  above  at  Ticonderoga,  British  troops, 

462,  German,  448   910 


To  force  a  passage  to  Albany,  i5t  July   5,830 

British  Artillery   257 

German  ditto   100 

Recruits  under  Lt.  Nutt   154 

Canadians   148 

Indians,  never  more  than   500 

(Before  embark  fell  off  to  90) 

Provincials  at  most   682 

(Oct  Ist  no  more  than  456) 
In  September  the  additional  companies  joined  at  Fort  Miller  300 


Total  7,97i" 

1  Lord  George  Germaine's  letter  of  March  26,  1777,  to  Gen.  Carleton,  fixes 
the  above  numbers  for  the  Mohawk  and  Canada,  and  for  Burgoyne,  7,173  only; 
the  latter  therefore  had  more  troops  than  the  Minister  originally  intended,  if 
Beaton's  figures  are  right. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


679 


Burgoyne's  own  "Narrative,1"  gives  his  numbers  on  the 
1st  of  July,  as  "  6,740  regulars,  exclusive  of  artillery  men, 
250  Canadians  and  400  Indians  " — or  7,390  in  all.  Col.  King- 
ston, his  Adjutant-General,  testifies  that  the  force,  all  in- 
cluded, amounted  to  7,636.''  The  difference  between  all 
these  statements  is  very  remarkable. 

Mr.  Fonblanque  in  his  "  appendix  D,"3  however,  gives  the 
following  table  as  "  the  army  which  took  the  field  in  July, 
1777  •" 

"  The  total  force  was  : 

British   4>x35 

German   3,116 

Canadian  Militia   14S 

t  .1:...-  -     >  Rank  and  file. ' 

Indians   503 


7,902  J 

He  does  not  state  his  authority,  and,  as  will  be  noticed, 
leaves  out  entirely  the  Provincials.  He  includes  in  the  above 
number  *'  nearly  1,000  men  to  garrison  Ticonderoga  before 
he  crossed  the  Hudson,"  which  would  leave  Burgoyne's 
actual  force  in  the  field,  "  in  July,  1777,"  6,902.  All  the  British 
writers  on  this  campaign  seem  to  have  been  unjust  to  their 
Provincial  forces,  or  to  have  ignored  them  altogether,  as  in 
this  statement. 

The  British  Adjutant-General  Kingston  testifies  that  the 
"  rough  number"  of  Burgoyne's  army  "  at  the  time  of  sign- 
ing the  Convention,"  "  taken  in  a  great  hurry,"  was  : 

British   1-905 

Germans   i>594 

3.499 

And  that  by  the  monthly  return  of  November  1st  (after  the 
surrender)  there  were  fit  for  duty, 

British   2,086 

Germans   J.633 


3.719* 

1  State  of  the  Expedition,  p.  12.  8  Fonblanque' s  Burgoyne,  p.  488. 

'  State  of  the  Expedition,  p.  97.  4  State  of  the  Expedition,  p.  m. 


68o 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  MS.  return  of  James  Wilkinson,  Gates's  Adjutant- 
General,  in  the  Gates  MSS.,1  dated  31  Oct.,  1777,  of  the 


forces  surrendered,  is  : 

"  British  Troops   2>*39 

Germans   2,022 

Canadian  Establishment   830 

Total   4.991  ' 


General  Burgoyne's  original  MS.,2  "  State  of  the  British 
Troops  at  the  Convention  the  17  October  1777  "  and  "  Liste 
de  la  Force  du  corps  des  Troupes  Allemands,  le  jour  de  la 
Convention  le  17  "  d'Octobre  1777,"  both  on  one  sheet, 
signed  by  himself,  separately,  in  his  own  hand,  and  delivered 
to  General  Gates,  give  all  his  regiments,  the  strength  of  each, 


and  the  total  force  he  surrendered,  as  follows : 

Regiments.  Rank  and  file. 

"9   4" 

20   367 

21   412 

24.   440 

47   342 

62  4   277 

Canadian  Companies  of  Grenadiers  and  Light  Infantry. . . .  345 

Lt.  Nut  t  of  33d  Detachment  doing  duty  with  Artillery   95 

Royal  Artillery   212 


2901 

Officers  of  all  grades   478 


3379  " 
J.  BURGOYNE." 

"  Etat  General   33 

Regt.  des  Dragones   36 

Bat.  des  Grenadiers   270 

Regt.  de  Rhetz   420 

de  Ried&sel   457 

Specht   414 

Bat.  F.  L.  de  Barner   182 

Regt.  de  Hes  :  Hanau   525 

Artillerie  de  Hes  :  Hanau   75 


2412 

J.  BURGOYNE." 

1  Gates  MSS.,  Vol.  10,  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 
•  Gates  MSS.,  Vol.  10,  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  endorsement  on  the  back  of  the  return  is, 

English  

German  


3.379 
2,412 


In  All 


579i  ' 


Gordon  also  gives  579*  as  the  number  surrendered  by 
Burgoyne.' 


BURGOYNE — CAUSES  OF  HIS  FAILURE — HIS  INJUSTICE  TO  THE 
PROVINCIALS — COLONEL  JOHN  PETERS— ORIGINAL  DOCU- 
MENTS FROM  THE  PETERS  MSS.  — COLONEL  PHILIP  SKENE 
— HIS  FATAL  ADVICE  TO  THE  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


Ldzutenant-General  John  Burgoyne,  born  in  1722, 
was  the  second  son  of  Sir  John  Burgoyne  the  third  Baronet 
of  Sutton,  by  his  wife  Anna  Maria,  the  daughter  of  a  London 
merchant  named  Charles  Burnestone.  An  innuendo  in  a 
letter  of  Horace  Walpole  is  the  origin  of  the  common,  but 
utterly  false  statement,  often  reiterated,  that  he  was  a  natural 
son  of  Lord  Bingley.1  His  wife  was  Lady  Charlotte,  daugh- 
ter of  Edward,  1  ith  Earl  of  Derby,  who  died  7th  June,  1776. 
He  died  in  London  on  the  4th  of  August,  1792,  and  was 
buried  in  the  cloister  of  Westminster  Abbey  near  his  wife, 
privately,  at  his  own  request  set  forth  in  his  will/ 

The  primal  cause  of  the  utter  failure  of  the  Canada  expedi- 
tion was  a  political  one.  The  exigencies  of  party  in  the  House 
of  Commons  induced  Lord  George  Germaine  to  adopt  the 
policy  of  conciliating  the  opposition,  by  appointing  Burgoyne, 
one  of  their  friends,  to  the  command  of  the  expedition  from 
Canada  upon  which  the  Ministry  and  King  had  determined, 

1  Fonblanque's  number — 3500 — p.  310,  is  erroneous. 

*  Gordon's  History,  Vol.  2,  p.  578. 

3  See  Fonblanque's  Burgoyne,  p.  6,  where  the  falsity  of  the  statement  is  proved. 

*  Fonblanque's  Burgoyne,  p.  464. 


NOTE  LX. 


Volume  I.,  pp.  19S-210. 


682 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


instead  of  giving  it  to  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  the  Commander-in 
chief  in  Canada,  who  had  succeeded  so  well  in  the  campaign 
of  1776,  a  much  abler  man  in  every  way  as  a  soldier.  Though 
chivalrously  aiding  Burgoyne  and  the  expedition  as  much  as 
possible,  he  was  disgusted,  and  resigned  his  command  in  that 
province.  Had  he  been  appointed  the  result  would  probably 
have  been  very  different.  The  secondary  cause  was  the  gross 
neglect  of  Lord  George  Germaine,  the  Minister,  in  forgetting 
to  forward  the  despatch  to  co-operate  with  him,  to  Sir  William 
Howe.1 

The  proximate  cause  of  Burgoyne's  disaster,  was  the  same 
which  ruined  Braddock  in  1754,  and  which  lost  the  Loyalists 
so  many  battles  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  American  rebel- 
lion, nearly  a  century  later, — the  overbearing  pride  of  regu- 
lars, and  their  contempt  for  volunteers.  Conjoined  with  this, 
in  Burgoyne's  case,  was  his  following  the  selfish  advice 
of  Col.  Skene,  as  stated  by  the  author,  to  proceed  to  Fort 
Edward  from  Skenesborough,  instead  of  by  Ticonderoga  and 
Lake  George. 

His  expedition  was  a  complete  success  up  to  the  battle  of 
Bennington.  That  was  the  first  reverse,  and  it  was  directly 
owing  to  his  overweening  and  insulting  refusal  to  follow  the 
advice  of  his  Provincial  officers,  who  knew  the  dangers  of 
the  country,  and  remonstrated  against  the  paucity  of  the  corps 
detailed  for  the  purpose.  General  Fraser  coincided  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Provincial  officers,  at  which  Burgoyne  told  him 
"  when  I  want  your  advice  I  shall  ask  for  it. "  He  also  imputed 
the  views  of  the  Provincial  officers  to  disobedience  and  cow- 
ardice. At  this,  Colonel  John  Peters,  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
a  resident  of  Gloucester  County,  now  Vermont,  and  com- 
mander of  the  Provincial  Corps,  "The  Queen's  Loyal  Ran- 
gers," at  once  said,  "  1  am  ready  to  obey  your  orders,  General 
Burgoyne,  but  we  shall  not  return."'  Peters  is  the  unnamed 
"loyalist,"  spoken  of  by  Stedman  in  his  History  of  the 
American  War,  "  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  road, 
and  had  undertaken  to  accompany  Colonel  Baum,  who  stated 
to  General  Burgoyne  that  the  expedition  required  a  force  of 
See  note  lxi.  s  Defence  of  the  Provincials  in  the  Peters  MSS.  given  below. 


HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK. 


6S3 


not  less  than  3,000  men ;  for  the  roads  were  very  bad,  through 
a  thick,  woody  country,  and  the  tardiness  of  the  German 
method  of  marching  would,  he  knew,  enable  the  enemy  to 
prepare  for  their  reception.  The  General,  however,  paid  no 
attention  to  the  representation  of  this  gentleman,  whom  he 
piqued  on  the  point  of  honor."  1  Baum  marched  as  ordered, 
and  the  result  was  the  utter  destruction  of  his  force,  and  his 
own  death  on  the  Wollomschack,  six  miles  from  Bennington, 
called  the  battle  of  Bennington. 

The  following  paper  from  the  Peters  MSS.,  never  printed 
before,  a  defence  of  the  Provincials,  Canadians,  and  Indians 
against  the  strictures  of  the  General  upon  them,'  is  based 
upon  letters  from  Canada  to  its  author,  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Peters,  then  in  London.  It  gives  the  substance  of  the  letters 
he  received,  and  casts  much  light  on  this  subject.  To  whom 
it  was  addressed  is  unknown,  as  no  name  appears  on  the 
original,  which  seems  to  be  a  first  draft. 

Defence  of  the  Provincials  and  Indians  against  Burgoyne's  Charges. 
Sir  : 

As  much  has  been  said  about  Gen1  Burgoine,  and  as  he  has  wrote 
Letters  to  Canada  and  England  "that  his  Defeat  or  Convention  at 
Saratoga  in  1777  was  brought  on  him  by  the  ill  Conduct  of  the  In- 
dians, Canadians  and  Provincials  on  whom  he  found  too  late  was  no 
Dependence,"  I  have  presumed  to  (again)  trouble  you  witli  what  is 
said  by  the  Provincials  in  vindication  of  themselves  and  Indians 
which  has  been  conveyed  to  me  by  various  Letters  from  Canada. 

The  substance  of  all  is, — that  Gen1  Burgoine  while  at  Quebec  en- 
couraged the  Indians  to  join  him  under  their  own  Captains  and  to 
fight  the  Enemy  in  their  own  way,  the  only  Argument  that  could 
have  prevailed  with  the  Indians  to  join  him.  The  General  also 
encouraged  the  Canadians  and  Provincials  (Refugees  from  other 
Provinces)  to  inlist  and  be  under  their  own  Officers, — many  Colonels 
with  their  Regiments  composed  of  many  Gentlemen  went  with  the 
royal  Army  over  the  Lakes  and  landed  at  South-bay,  when  and  where 
the  General's  Humanity  overcame  his  Engagement  to  the  Indians, 
(tho'  Indians  were  employed  by  the  Enemy  against  him),  and  he  told 
the  Indian  Chief  that  he  and  his  Men  should  be  hanged  if  they  car- 
ried on  the  War  in  their  own  way.    At  which  he  cryed — "Maw-" 

1  Vol.  I.,  p.  330. 

5  See  Burgoyne's  State  of  the  Expedition,  and  evidence  annexed  thereto,  for 
his  charges  in  full. 


684 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


"Maw"-— that  is,  Death  in  the  Pot,  whereupon  they  set  up  theii 
Howl, — fled,  and  left  him. — The  General  next  told  the  Provincial 
Officers  that  as  they  knew  not  the  Art  of  War,  his  sergeants  and 
officers  should  take  the  Command  of  their  men,  [and  kept  back  their 
Commissions  which  had  been  promised  them  at  Quebec  when  they 
should  be  on  the  Lake,]  at  which  a  Mutiny  sprung  up  among  the 
Americans  and  they  resolved  to  follow  the  Indians  sooner  than  sub- 
mit to  the  order. 

N.B.  the  Americans  had  no  Boats,  nor  Provisions;  and  must 
obey  the  order,  or  return  to  Canada  through  the  Woods,  or  join  the 
Rebels. — In  this  situation  they  obstinately  chose  to  follow  the  Indians, 
— whereupon  an  order  came  that  they  should  proceed  with  their  men 
as  usual  [but  their  Commissions  were  not  given].  However,  the 
Americans  (not  the  Indians)  rejoined  the  royal  Army,  and  marched 
to  Fort  Miller  about  40  Miles  [on  the  Bank  of  Hudsons  River  where 
centred,  or  met,  the  three  Roads  from  the  three  New  England  Colo- 
nies with  that  from  New  York  and  Newjersey  and  become  one 
Road  to  the  Lake  Champlain  or  South-bay — by  which  single  Road 
the  royal  Army  must  have  supplies  from  Canada]. 

Here  (at  Fort  Miller)  the  General  ordered  a  Party  to  proceed  to 
Albany  on  Connecticut  Road  through  Bennington,  only  60  Miles 
out  of  the  way,  in  a  wilderness  where  nothing  could  be  obtained  if 
they  met  with  success,  [and  a  hundred  to  one  against  success].  This 
order  was  refused  by  several  Provincial  Colonels  because  they  knew 
the  certain  Danger,  and  the  Mountains  between  which  they  must 
pass.  General  Fraiser  gave  Countenance  to  the  Provincial  Colo- 
nels,— for  which  Gen1  Burgoine  told  Gen1  Frazer,  "  when  I  want  your 
Advice  I  shall  ask  for  it." — The  General  Added  that  the  Americans 
were  Cowards  and  disobedient. — At  this  Colonel  Peters  told  the 
General,  that  he  was  ready  to  obey  his  orders,  but  we  shall  not 
return.— Peters  was  the  Guide  to  Bennington,  but  between  the 
Mountains,  the  Rebels  secreted  behind  Rocks  and  Trees  killed  in 
half  an  Hour  above  one  thousand  Men. — Peters  returned  to  the 
royal  Army  at  Saratoga  with  only  117  of  his  Regiment  which  con- 
tained 603. — But  a  few  Rebels  were  seen. — The  royal  Army  having 
left  Fort  Miller  and  passed  the  River  to  Saratoga,  the  Rebels  soon 
seized  upon  and  kept  Fort  Miller,  which  cut  off  all  Intercourse  be- 
tween Canada  and  the  royal  Army.  The  General  received  Peters, 
and  those  who  had  escaped  Death  at  Bennington,  with  great  Good- 
ness and  Commendations.  The  Night  before  the  Convention  was 
signed  the  General  gave  Leave  to  Peters  and  others  to  return  to 
Canada  according  to  their  Petition. — 700  went  off  to  Canada  without 
Loss. — After  all  these  things  the  loyal  Provincials  were  traduced  by 
General  Burgoine  as  the  Cause  of  his  Misfortunes. — And  he  has  settled 
with  Government,  but  neglected  Payment  (contrary  to  his  Promise) 
which  was  due,  and  is  due,  to  the  Canadians  and  Provincials  under 
his  Command. 

The  Provincials  further  say,  that  if  Gen  Burgoine  had  conde- 
scended to  the  Advice  of  those  who  knew  the  Country  and  had 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


685 


stayed  at  Fort  Miller  until  he  could  hear  from  New  York,  all 
America  could  not  have  tarnished  his  Glory,  nor  hurt  or  stow'd1  his 
Army. 

The  Provincials  think  themselves  ill  treated,  as  their  Characters 
are  wounded  by  the  General  for  whom  they  went  to  die,  and  offered 
to  die  to  save  him,  if  he  would  retreat  from  Saratoga  to  Fort  Miller 
— a  thing  no  way  impossible  in  their  opinion. 

They  wish  that  Gen1  Burgoine  would  consider  this  Question,  —  as 
he  calls  the  rebel  Americans  bold  and  brave, — How  it  comes  to  pass 
that  loyal  Americans  are  Cowards,  when  he  (the  General)  knew  that 
they  had  had  Courage  to  leave  their  wives  and  Children  their  Friends 
and  Property  and  turn  Soldiers,  and  go  in  the  forefront  of  all  his 
Army  to  receive  the  first  Plows  of  the  Enimy,  and  be  Guardians  to 
each  wing,  and  Rear — when  in  fact  the  loyal  Provincials  under  his 
Command  were  killed  ten  to  one  of  the  royal  Army? 

If  any  one  can  consider  us  as  Cowards  for  what  we  did  under 
General  liurgoine  the  General  cannot  prove  it  from  our  obedience' 
to  his  Command  at  South-bay  which  was  called  a  Mutiny. 

N.B.  Neglect  is  a  Persecution  that  may  be  attended  with  ecmal 
bad  Consequences,  to  Insult,  or  reproach. 

Decembr  9th  79 — 

N°-  12  Dyers  Building. 

The  difference  of  numbers  present,  and  killed,  wounded, 
and  taken,  on  each  side,  in  the  accounts  of  the  battle  of  Ben- 
nington is  extraordinary.  "  The  whole  detachment  (under 
Baum)  amounted  to  about  500  men,"  Burgoyne  wrote  to 
Lord  George  Gcrmaine  on  August  20th.  The  monthly  re- 
turn of  Peters's  Provincials,  hereafter  given  in  this  note,  all  of 
whom,  Burgoyne  states,  were  in  the  battle,  shows  that  452 
of  that  corps  alone  were  present,  of  whom  298  were  killed  and 
taken.  Burgoyne's  "State  of  the  Expedition  "  docs  not  give 
the  number  of  Breyman's  corps,  neither  does  Gordon.  The 
latter  says  Baum  "  had  500  men  and  100  Indians." 

Lincoln's  letter  to  Schuyler,  forwarded  to  the  N.  Y.  Prov. 
Convention,  says  Starke  had  2,000,  "  the  enemy  "  1,500,  and 
that  of  the  latter  200  were  killed,  80  wounded,  and  656  taken, 
in  all — 936.'  Of  course,  both  the  British  detachments  are 
included  in  this  statement. 

Jehu  Brown,  an  escaped  prisoner  from  Baum,  testified 

'  This  word  means  the  same  as  "gobbled  up"  in  the  loyal  accounts  of  th« 
battles  and  fights  of  the  late  rebellion  of  the  Southern  States. 

1  So  in  original.  3  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I,  p.  1045. 


686 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


on  Aug-.  23,  that  his  force  was  "  500  Hessians,  about  30  or 
40  British,  200  Canadians,  150  Indians  (880  or  90  in  all), 
and  some  fortes."1  Gov.  George  Clinton  writes  Aug.  22d, 
from  Albany  to  the  Provincial  Convention  :  "  The  enemy 
came  out  1,300  strong,  and  being  quickly  routed  by  the  warm 
and  constant  fire  of  our  men,  were  reinforced  by  1,500  more. 
The  militia  then  charged  on  them  with  redoubled  fury,  and 
upon  receiving  the  first  or  second  fire,  the  enemy  beat  a 
parley.  This  our  people  unfortunately  did  not  understand, 
but  pressed  upon  them  and  obliged  them  to  fly,  pursuing 
them  with  a  brisk  fire  for  many  miles."  "  The  number  taken 
was  669,  of  which  about  100  were  wounded  and  the  rest  were 
commissioned  officers.    The  killed  are  222." a 

Neither  Starke  nor  Breyman  in  their  official  accounts  of 
the  battle  give  their  numbers  ;  the  former  says  he  marched 
"  with  all  the  men  that  were  present"  of  his  brigade,  and 
the  militia  ; 3  the  latter  with  "  a  battalion  of  grenadiers,  one  of 
chasseurs,  one  rifle  company,  and  two  pieces  of  cannon."4 
The  attack,  says  Starke,  was  made  under  cover  of  the  woods 
from  four  or  five  points  at  once,  ind  "  lasted  two  hours,"  we 
took  "about  700  prisoners,  207  dead  on  the  spot,  and  the 
number  of  wounded  unknown."' 

Colonel  John  Peters. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Peters  was  a  native  of  Hebron 
Connecticut,  and  the  son  of  John  Peters  as  strong  a  whig 
as  his  son  was  a  loyalist,  a  nephew  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Peters, 
the  author  of  the  History  of  Connecticut,  a  cousin  of  John 
S.  Peters,  Governor  of  Connecticut,  a  graduate  of  Yale 
College  of  the  class  of  1759,  a  lawyer,  and  a  member  of  the 
first  Congress  of  1774.  He  was  thoroughly  cognizant  of  the 
true  history  of  the  Burgoyne  expedition.  The  following 
documents  show  the  services  and  sufferings  of  the  loyalists 
therewith,  their  bad  treatment  by  the  British  Generals,  except 

'  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  1,  1047.       *  Dispatch  to  Gates  on  22d  August. 
'Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I,  p.  1048.    4  Letter  to  Burgoyne. 

1  Dispatch  to  Gates  on  221I  August. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


687 


Carleton,  and  the  cruel  neglect  of  their  rights  and  interests  by 
the  British  Government.  Colonel  Peters,  unable  to  obtain 
even  the  pay  due  him,  much  less  his  promised  commission, 
from  the  English  officials,  through  an  agent  in  London,  left  his 
family  in  Cape  Breton,  where  he  had  settled  after  the  war, 
and  went  himself  to  England  in  1785,  but  met  with  no  better 
success.  He  remained  there  about  three  years  vainly  urging 
his  claims  for  compensation  for  the  losses  of  his  estate  before 
the  "  Commissioners  of  American  Claims,"  and  for  his  seven 
years'  back  pay  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Loyal  Rangers. 
Burgoyne  never  having  given  the  Provincial  officers  their 
commissions,  the  pay  office  declined  to  pay  till  the  commis- 
sions were  produced  ;  thus  the  unfortunate  men  were  de- 
frauded. He  never  returned  to  America,  but  died  in  London 
while  still  pressing  his  claims  in  1788. 

The  annexed  documents  throw  new  light  on  Burgoyne' s 
campaign,  especially  on  the  Bennington  expedition  and  fight, 
and  the  action  of  Burgoyne  immediately  preceding  the  sur- 
render of  Saratoga  in  giving  written  permission  to  his  Prov- 
incials to  escape,  as  he  had  never  given  them  their  commis- 
sions. The  order  to  escape  is  printed  from  the  original 
document  itself  which  Peters  preserved  among  his  other  man- 
uscripts, which  after  his  death  passed  into  the  possession  of 
his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Peters,  from  whom  they  descend- 
ed to  Mr.  Samuel  P.  Bell  of  the  City  of  New  York,  who 
has  kindly  placed  them  for  use  in  the  editor's  hands.  Mr. 
Bell's  mother  was  a  favorite  ward  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Peters, 
who  resided  with  her  till  his  death  in  New  York,  on  the  19th 
of  April,  1826,  at  the  great  age  of  ninety  years.  The  head- 
ings have  been  added  by  editor. 

Colonel  Peters'  Memorial  to  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury. 

To  the  Right  Honorable  Lord  Sidney  one  of  his 
Majesty's  principal  Secretary's  of  State. 

The  Memorial  of  John  Peters  Esq'  late  Lieutenant-Colonel  Com- 
mandant of  the  Queens,  Loyal,  Rangers  in  Canada. 
Humbly  Showeth. 

That  your  Memorialist  was  Educated  at  Yale  College  in  Con 


688 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


necticut :  and  in  the  year  1772  was  appoint"5,  by  the  Governor  of 
New  York,  Colonel  of  the  Militia  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions  and  Common  pleas,  Surrogate  and  Register  of  the  County 
of  Gloucester,  in  the  Province  of  New  York,  in  which  offices  he  con- 
tinued to  serve  his  Majesty  till  1776,  when  after  being  often  Mobbed 
and  once  imprisoned  by  the  Malcontents  he  quitted  his  Family, 
Property,  and  Offices  and  Hed  to  Canada  to  avoid  Personal  Danger 
and  to  Support  the  British  Cause  against  its  Enemies. 

That  on  his  arrival  in  Canada,  he  joined  the  Royal  Army  and  went 
a  Volunteer  with  General  Carleton  on  Lake  Champlain. 

That  in  1777  he  was  constituted  by  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Commandant  of  the  Queens  Loyal  Rangers,  to  be  raised, 
that  he  Inlisted  his  Complement  of  Men,  joined  his  Regiment  and 
went  with  General  Burgoyne  on  his  Campaign,  was  in  every  Action, 
and  at  the  Battle  of  Bennington  lost  above  half  of  his  Corps,  many 
of  whom  had  never  been  Mustered  for  want  of  time. 

That  on  his  return  to  Saratoga,  General  Burgoyne  thanked  him 
for  his  Bravery  and  good  Conduct  at  Bennington. 

That  the  night  before  the  Convention  was  Signed,  General  Bur- 
goyne gave  your  Memorialist  a  written  permission  to  retire  from  his 
Camp,  and  with  others  (whose  safety  on  any  terms  was  doubtful)  to 
attempt  an  escape  to  Canada  which  he  fortunately  performed. 

Your  Memorialist  on  his  return  to  Canada,  from  the  disastrous 
events  at  Bennington  and  Saratoga,  was  allowed  nine  Shillings  per 
diem  on  the  Subsistance  List  by  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  till  an  Official 
return  should  be  made  by  General  Burgoyne,  and  the  said  Subsis- 
tance Money  since  continued  was  to  be  considered  as  part  pay  on 
the  Commission  of  Lieut.  Colonel  of  the  Queens  Loyal  Rangers. 

Your  Memorialist  at  a  Board  of  Commissioners  appointed  by  Gen1 
Haldimand  in  1780,  was  allowed  his  Pay  as  Lieu1.  Col".  Commandant 
of  the  Queens,  Loyal,  Rangers,  to  October  24th  1777  except  Bit  and 
forrage,  and  Warrant  Money,  which  was  not  allowed  by  the  Commis- 
sioners in  Consequence  of  Gen1.  Haldimands  instructions,  although 
General  Burgoyne  (in  General  Orders)  had  promised  the  same  pay 
to  the  Loyal  Provincials  as  the  Kings  Troops  received. 

Your  Memorialist  continued  to  serve  and  Inlist  Men  as  Lieu'. 
Colonel  Commandant  of  the  Queens  Loyal  Rangers,  from  his  first 
appointment  in  1777  till  November  12th  1788,  when  General  Haldi- 
mand was  pleased  (in  General  Orders)  to  appoint  "Lieu'.  Colonel 
John  Peters  (of  the  Queens  Loyal  Rangers)  "as  Cap',  of  Invalids" 
and  since  that  time  Gen1.  Haldimand  as  your  Memorialist  is  in- 
formed has  returned  "Lieutenant  Col0.  John  Peters"  for  reasons  un- 
known to  your  Memorialist  to  the  Secretary  of  States  Office  as  Cap*, 
in  Major  Edward  Jessups  Corps,  and  not  as  Lieu'.  Colonel  of  the 
Queens  Loyal  Rangers. 

Your  Memorialist  therefore  prays  your  Lordship  to  take  his  Case 
into  consideration,  and  to  give  him  that  Justice  which  his  Services 
and  Commission  as  Lieutenant  Colonel  Commandant  of  the  Queens 
Loyal  Rangers  merrit — humbly  conceiving  that  the  Justice  of  the 


0 

HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  689 

British  Nation  will  place  him  on  the  List  of  half- Pay  as  Lieu'.  Colo- 
nel and  not  as  Captain  only  in  Major  Edward  Jessups  Corps,  and 
that  if  his  Excellency  General  Haldimand  had  meant  in  his  Return 
to  degrade  your  Memorialist,  his  Excellency  would  first  have  taken 
care  by  a  Court-martial  to  have  had  him  Cashiered. 
And  in  duty  bound  will  pray 

John  Peters. 

N°  1  Charlotte  Street  ) 
Pimlico  6th  Sept'  1785  j 

Li  tter  of  Rev.  Samuel  Peters  submitted  with  Col.  Peters'  Memorial. 
To  Whom  it  May  Concern 

1  have  known  John  Peters  from  his  birth  at  Hebron,  in  Con- 
necticut, now  in  London.  He  was  educated  at  Yale  College  and 
afterwards  in  the  Law. 

In  the  year  1766  he  moved  with  his  family  from  Hebron  to  the 
County  of  Gloucester  in  the  Province  of  New  York,  where  he  erected 
some  mills  and  cultivated  his  lands.  After  some  years  was  appointed 
Colonel  of  the  Militia,  a  Judge  of  Quarter  Sessions  and  Common 
Pleas,  Surrogate  and  Register  of  said  County.  In  the  year  1772  I 
was  at  his  house  for  several  weeks  and  found  his  circumstances  very 
eligible.  In  1774  he  came  to  my  house  in  Hebron  on  his  way  to 
Philadelphia  to  meet  the  first  Congress,  having  been  nominated  by 
the  County  of  Gloucester  to  be  a  Member  of  it. 

In  conversation  with  him  on  that  Business  he  observed  "that  Inde- 
pendance  was  the  view  of  many  people,  especially  of  the  Dissenting 
Ministers  and  Smuggling  Merchants;  but  if  he  should  find  the  Con- 
gress inclined  that  way  he  would  leave  them  and  return  home." 

At  Philadelphia  he  wrote  me  in  London  "that  Independance  was 
the  sole  aim  of  Congress,  and  to  cover  their  design  had  tnjoined  an 
oath  of  secrecy  upon  each  member,  which  he  had  refused  and  was 
then  about  to  return  home." 

By  several  letters  from  America  I  was  informed  "  the  Mobs  had 
illtreated  him  for  his  Loyalty  and  for  quitting  Congress,  that  he 
had  Med  to  Canada  with  many  of  his  neighbours,  to  support  the  royal 
cause  and  was  raising  a  regiment  under  Governor  Carleton." 

John  Peters  was  always  loyal  and  faithful  to  the  Ring  and  the 
British  Constitution  till  I  left  America  in  1774, — altho'  he  is  a  son 
of  my  Brother,  who  was  an  inveterate  Republican  and  a  confirmed 
Rebel,1 — and  from  what  I  have  heard,  and  know,  of  his  education  and 
steadiness,  I  believe  all  possible  Neglects  in  future,  added  to  his  past 
sufferings  and  losses  will  prove  insufficient  to  make  him  a  Republican 
or  an  enemy  to  the  British  Constitution.  He  had  a  wife  and  six  chil- 
dren when  1  left  America,  and  sufficient  property  to  support  them  ; 


1  John  Peters  of  Hebron. 

44 


69O        •  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

but  is  now  poor  and  dependent  on  the  Benevolence  of  the  British 
Nation,  which  he  supplicates,  and  highly  merits,  for  his  virtues  and 
services. 

Samuel  Peters. 

No.  1  Charlotte  Street, 

Pimhco,  September  6th  1785. 

Official  Order  for  Lieutenant- Colonel  Peters 's  Regiment  to 
join  Burgoync 's  Army,  addressed  to  him  at  Montreal. 

St.  John's,  June  12th,  1777. 

Sir 

General  Burgoyne  has  directed  me  to  acquaint  you,  that 
you  are  to  March  your  Corps  to  St.  Johns,  with  as  much 
despatch  as  possible.  Batteaux  will  be  ready  to  take  them 
to  the  Army,  where  for  a  time,  they  are  to  act  under  the 
orders  of  the  Quarter  Master  General. 
I  am  sir 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant 

R.  Kingston,  D.  A.  G. 

To  Peters  Esq 

deceived  14th  June,  1777,  Eight  o'clock  morning  at 
Montreal. 

Extracts  of  General  Orders  Relative  to  the  Pay  of  the  Provincials. 

Extract  of  a  General  Order  dated  Battenkill  August  26"'  1777  : — It 
is  the  General's  intention  that  the  Loyalists  shall  receive  pay  the  same 
as  the  Kings  Troops  and  the  Brigadier  General  will  take  his  Excel- 
lency's pleasure  and  signify  the  Day  such  pay  shall  begin. 

Extract  of  Brigade  Orders  : — September  8th  1777— All  Provincials 
with  the  Army  to  be  paid  as  the  Kings  Troops  to  commence  from 
the  first  of  last  August. 

Simon  Fraser 

B.  Gen'. 

Strength  of  the  Queen's  Loyal  Rangers  at  the  Battle  of  Bennington, 
the  number  killed  and  taken,  and  who  remained  after  the  Battle. 

Monthly  return  of  the  Queens  Loyal  Rangers  commanded  by 
Lieutenant  Colonel  John  Peters.  Zadock  Wright  Major,  Justus 
Sherwood,  Jeremiah  French,  David  MTall,  Captains,  with  262  men, 
on  August  7th,  1777. 

After  this  return  Simeon  Covil,  Andrew  Palmitier,  Francis  Hogel, 
and  James  Pennock,  Captains,  with  above  190  joined  the  Queens 

1  This  memorandum  is  in  Col.  Peters's  hand-writing. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


691 


Loyal  Rangers,  and  were  in  the  battle  at  Bennington.  After  the  said 
Hattle  the  Monthly  return  on  October  2d,  1777,  was  154  remaining 
of  the  452  men — consequently  298  men  were  killed  and  made 
prisoners — vide  Colonel  Kingston's  Certificate  of  the  Returns,  and 
the  list  of  the  companies  of  Captains  Hogel,  Covill,  Palmitier,  and 
Pennock. 

Burgoyne's  Official  Permission  for  Colonel  Peters  and  officers  to 
escape  to  Canada  on  the  eve  of  the  surrender  of  Saratoga. 

I  certify  that  Colonel  Peters  with  his  officers  has  his  Ex- 
cellency Lieutenant-General  Burgoyne's  approbation  in  at- 
tempting to  escape  through  the  Woods  to  Canada. 

Camp  at  Saratoga  October  14th,  1777. 

W.  Phillips  Maj:  Gen'.' 

Lieutenant-  General  Burgoyne's  Certificate  given  to  Colonel  Peters. 

I  hereby  certify  that  Lieut.  Colo.  John  Peters  was  appointed  in 
the  year  1777  by  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  then  Governor  and  Commander- 
in-Chief  in  Canada  to  raise  a  corps  called  the  Queens  Loyal  Rangers, 
at  the  head  of  which  he  served  in  the  Army  under  my  Command 
during  the  Campaign  of  that  year,  and  behaved  with  great  spirit  and 
zeal  upon  all  occasions. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  him  a  considerable  sufferer  in  his  private 
Fortune  by  his  attachment  to  the  Royal  Cause. 

J.  El  RGOYNF. 

Hertford  St.  Nov  7th  1785.  Lieut.  General 

Extract  from  Gen.  Tryon's  Letter  regarding  Col.  Peters. 

Upper  Grosvenor  Street 
8th  October  1785 

My  Lords 

While  I  had  the  Government  of  the  Province  of  New  York  I  knew 
the  bearer  John  Peters  Esq',  who  was  one  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
County  of  Gloucester,  part  of  that  district  since  called  Vermont,  of 
which  he  had  been  before  my  arrival  in  that  Colony,  one  of  his 
Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace.  I  conceived  so  well  of  him  that  on 
the  fifth  of  March  1772,  I  appointed  him  to  be  Clerk  of  the  Common 
Pleas,  and  of  the  Peace,  and  of  the  Court  of  Sessions  of  the  Peace 
for  that  County,  and  on  the  28th  Apl.  following  gave  him  Com- 
mand as  Colonel  of  a  Regiment  of  Militia  there  ;  and  during  my 

1  Gen.  Phillips  took  great  credit  to  himself,  and  is  accorded  it  by  Burgoyne  in 
his  "  State  of  Expedition  "  and  by  others,  for  offering  to  try  to  escape  before  the 
surrender  and  bring  aid  from  Ticonderoga  and  Canada.  He  took  the  idea  from 
Peters's  proposal,  for  which  the  latter  demanded  and  received  the  above  order  in 
writing. 


692 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


absence  on  a  voyage  to  England,  I  understood  Mr.  Colden,  the 
Lieut.  Governor  of  that  Province  not  only  appointed  him  to  be  one 
of  Justices  of  the  Peace  but  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  the  said  County  of  Gloucester  *  *  *' 

To  the  Right  Honorable  )         Your  Lordships  Most 
the  Lords  Commissioners  L  Humble  Servant 

of  his  Majesty's  Treasury     )  WM.  Tryon 

From  Chief  Justice  William  Smith  ( subsequently  of  Canada )  relative 
to  Colonel  Peters, 

Delehay  Street  Westminster 
19  Novr  1785 

The  Bearer  John  Peters  Esq.  had  occasion  to  transact  business 
with  the  Government  of  New  York  very  often  shortly  before  the  late 
Commotions  on  the  Continent  of  North  America.  Being  myself  of 
the  Council  Board  for  that  Province,  which  met  frequently  respecting 
the  affairs  of  that  District,  then  a  Part  of  it,  and  since  called  Ver- 
mont, I  Knew  Mr  Peters  who  was  a  civil  officer  of  the  County  of 
Gloucester  in  that  Quarter  of  the  Colony.  He  supported  a  fair  repu- 
tation (as  far  as  I  was  informed)  among  the  People  of  that  Colony, 
and  I  believe  I  was  acquainted  with  nearly  all  its  respectable 
Inhabitants.  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  had  any  conversation  with 
him,  on  the  Subjects  which  afterwards  convulsed  the  Government 
of  the  Provinces,  but  1  considered  him  as  one  of  the  Kings  Friends, 
and  when  the  usurpation  took  place,  heard  that  he  was  among  the 
opposers  of  the  popular  Measures,  and  for  his  activity  against  them 
was  obliged  to  fly  to  the  Province  of  Quebec,  where  I  understand  he 
took  ii])  arms  for  the  suppression  of  those  Tumults,  which  have  un- 
fortunately terminated  in  the  Rent  of  the  Empire. — I  also  heard,  and 
believe  it  to  be  well  founded,  that  he  had  Lands  in  the  County  afore 
mentioned,  but  to  what  quantity  or  value  I  do  not  recollect — 

I  considered  him  as  one  of  its  principal  Inhabitants 

WM.  Smith 

Colonel  Philip  Skene. 

Colonel  Philip  Skene,  or  Governor  Skene,  as  he  was 
called  after  his  appointment  as  "  Lieutenant-Governor  of 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  and  Surveyor  of  his  Majesty's 
woods  and  forests  bordering  on  Lake  Champlain,"  was  a 
Scotchman,  and  the  grandson  of  John  Skene  of  Halyards  in 
Fifeshire,  Scotland,  and  his  wife  Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  Sir 
Thomas  Wallace  of  Craigie,  the  nearest  collateral  descendant 
of  the  famous  Sir  William  Wallace.3 

1  The  rest  of  this  letter  does  not  relate  to  the  subject. 
'  Gentleman's  Magazine,  Vol.  So,  p.  672. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  693 

He  entered  the  British  army  in  1739,  was  in  the  expedition 
against  Porto  Bcllo  in  that  year,  and  at  the  capture  of  Cartha- 
gena  in  1 741.  He  fought  at  Fontenoy  in  1745,  at  Culloden 
in  1746,  and  at  Laffeldt,  under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  in 
1747.  He  came  to  America  in  1756,  with  his  regiment,  when 
it  was  ordered  there  in  "  the  old  French  war,"  and  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  27th  Foot,  then  under  Lord  Loudon,  as  a  Cap- 
tain, in  1757.  The  next  year,  1758,  he  was  at  the  repulse  of 
Ticonderoga  under  Lord  Howe,  joined  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst 
in  1759  as  a  Major  of  Brigade,  served  with  him  through  the 
summer  on  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  being  present  at 
the  taking  of  Crown  Point,  and  Ticonderoga  ;  and  in  October 
was  left  in  command  of  the  former  fort.1  This  service  made 
him  thoroughly  acquainted  with  that  wild  and  noble  region. 
Appreciating  its  importance  in  peace  as  well  as  in  war,  its 
great  beauty  and  fertility,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  one  of 
nature's  "  highways  of  nations,"  he  determined  to  found  there 
a  settlement,  and  a  great  domain.  Choosing  the  junction  of 
Wood  Creek  with  the  extreme  head  of  Lake  Champlain  for 
the  site  of  a  town,  he  settled  there  a  few  families  in  1761, 
but  still  retained  his  commission  in  the  army.  Ordered  on 
Lord  Albemarle's  expedition  against  Havana  and  Martinique, 
he  was  among  the  first  to  enter  the  breach  at  the  storming  of 
Moro  Castle,  at  the  capture  of  the  former  in  1762,  upon 
which  event  he  was  appointed  its  town  Major.  The  next 
year,  on  returning  to  New  York,  he  pressed  on  his  enterprise 
and  his  application  for  a  grant  being  refused  by  Gov.  Coldcn,2 
he  went  to  England,  got  an  order  from  the  King  for  a  grant 
of  land,  returned  to  New  York,  and  in  March.  I/65,  obtained 
a  patent  for  a  great  tract  containing  25,000  acres,  embracing 
his  settlement,  which  he  called  Skaicsborongli.  Subsequently 
it  was  erected  into  a  township  of  the  same  name,  which  was 
changed  in  1 788  toWhitehall,  its  present  appellation. 

In  1768,  being  then  a  Major,  and  his  regiment  having 
been  ordered  to  Ireland,  he  exchanged  into  the  10th  Foot, 
in  order  to  remain  in  America,  but  in  December  of  that  year 

1  Ibid.  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  Vol.  viii.,  p.  415. 
!  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  Vol.  viii.,  p.  588. 


694 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


finally  sold  out  of  the  army  altogether.  In  1 770  he  erected 
a  large  house  at  Skenesborough  and  made  it  his  home.  He 
now  built  mills  and  forges,  made  roads  into  what  is  now  Ver- 
mont, brought  in  new  settlers,  and  devoted  himself  vigorously 
to  improving  his  property.  He  went  to  England  in  1774, 
and  while  there  was  appointed  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Ticon- 
deroga  and  Crown  Point.1  In  May,  1775,  while  still  absent, 
some  New  Englanders  made  an  attack  on  Skenesborough, 
seized  his  son  and  his  family,  and  plundered  and  destroyed 
much  of  his  property.  This  grew  out  of  his  sustaining  New 
York's  right  to  the  "  Hampshire  Grants."  He  arrived  at 
Philadelphia,  on  his  return,  the  7th  of  June,  1775,  and  the 
very  next  day  was  arrested  by  order  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress as  "  a  dangerous  partisan  of  administration,"  and  John 
Adams  was  appointed  Chairman  of  a  committee  of  three  to 
examine  him  and  his  papers.  On  the  27th  he  was  ordered  to 
be  sent  under  guard  to  Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  "  con- 
fined on  parole  to  Governor  Trumbull."  2  There  he  remained 
till  exchanged  in  October,  1776,  when  he  returned  to  the 
City  of  New  York,  and  after  serving  a  short  time  under  Sir 
William  Howe,  he  went  again  to  England.  He  volunteered 
to  join  the  proposed  expedition  under  Burgoyne,  became  an 
intimate  friend  and  companion  of  that  General,  returned  to 
Canada  in  the  spring  of  1777,  accompanied  and  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  expedition,  and  surrendered  with  it  at  Sara- 
toga on  the  7th  of  October,  in  that  year.  He  was  Burgoyne's 
friend  and  adviser  throughout,  and  the  person,  the  author 
says,  who  advised  him  to  proceed  direct  to  Port  Edward,  in 
preference  to  the  route  by  Ticonderoga  and  Lake  George, 
thus  insuring  the  construction  of  a  good  road  through  his 
grant,  uniting  the  waters  of  Lake  Champlain  with  those  of  the 
Hudson.3    His  name  was  put  in  the  New  York  act  of  attain- 

1  This  was  in  pursuance  of  a  plan  to  settle  the  contest  between  New  York  and 
the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  by  erecting  a  new  and  distinct  government  between 
them,  independent  of  both,  and  embracing  within  it  the  disputed  territory. 

5  Journals  Congress,  1774-5,  pp.  115,  116,  128  and  142. 

3  Gov.  Skene,  though  under  the  orders  of  the  House  of  Commons  at  the  time, 
was  not  called  as  a  witness  in  the  Parliamentary  investigation  of  Burgoyne,  by 
cither  side.    State  of  the  Expedition,  p.  121.    Gordon  says  (vol.  ii.,  p.  571), 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


695 


der  and  his  entire  property  confiscated.  After  the  war  he 
lived  in  retirement  in  England,  at  Addersey  Lodge,  near 
Stoke  Goldington,  Buckinghamshire,  where  he  died  on  the 
9th  of  October,  18 10,  at  the  age  of  nearly  ninety  years.' 
He  left  the  son  above  mentioned,  Major  Andrew  Philip 
Skene,  and  two  daughters.3  The  former  died  in  England 
in  1826,  aged  seventy-three  years. 


NOTE  LXI. 

SIR  WILLIAM  HOWE'S  ORDERS  TO  CO-OPERATE  WITH  BUR- 
GOYNE  FORGOTTEN  TO  BE  SENT  BY  LORD  GERMAINE, 
AND  FOUND  IN  LONDON  AFTER  THE  LATTER'S  SUR- 
RENDER. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  208. 

HOWE  had  no  orders  "  to  proceed  to  the  southward,"  as 
the  author,  like  most  writers,  believed,  and  has  stated.  Bur- 
goyne's  orders  from  Lord  George  Germaine,  "to  force  a 
junction  with  Sir  William  Howe,"  were  very  precise.5  They 

"it  is  believed  that  General  Burgoyne,  when  upon  the  point  of  retreating,  said  to 
Major  Skene  to  this  purport,  You  have  been  the  cause  of  getting  me  into  this 
difficulty,  now  advise  me  how  to  get  out  of  it,  —  referring  to  the  advice  the 
Major  gave  in  relation  to  the  Bennington  expedition,  and  that  the  Major  answered : 
Scatter  your  baggage,  stores,  and  everything  else  that  can  be  spared,  at  proper 
distances,  and  the  military  will  be  so  engaged  in  collecting  and  securing  the  same, 
that  the  troops  will  have  an  opportunity  of  getting  clear  off."  The  reference,  in 
view  of  the  author's  statement,  was  probably  to  the  advance  from  Skenesborough 
to  Fort  Edward  quite  as  much  as  to  the  Bennington  affair.  Skene  was  perfectly 
right  in  the  above  suggestion.  The  American  army  were  so  given  up  to  plundering, 
militia  and  continentals,  officers  and  men,  that  they  actually  robbed  each  other  of 
what  had  been  plundered  from  the  enemy.  Gates  was  compelled  on  the  12th  to 
issue  one  of  the  severest  orders  against  plundering  ever  written  by  a  commander. 
Gates's  order,  Gordon,  p.  570. 

1  Gent.  Magazine,  vol.  80,  p.  672. 

5  Sabine's  Loyalists,  vol.  ii.,  p.  305. 

3  Fonblanque's  Burgoyne,  p.  275. 


696 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


left  him  no  discretion  in  the  matter,  and  he  so  wrote  Sir 
William  Howe,  after  arriving  in  Canada.  But  Howe  received 
no  order  to  so  co-operate  with  Burgoyne,  beyond  this  casual 
phrase  in  a  dispatch  dated  the  1 8th  of  May,  and  received  on 
the  16th  of  the  following  August,  too  late  for  practical  pur- 
poses, even  if  he  had  wished  to  do  so  :  "I  trust,  however, 
whatever  you  may  meditate  will  be  executed  in  time  for  you 
to  co-operate  with  the  army  to  proceed  from  Canada."  1 

Lord  George  Germaine  did  write  Howe  a  full  and  explicit 
dispatch  to  do  so,  at  the  same  time  he  wrote  his  orders  to 
Burgoyne,  but  through  sheer  negligence  omitted  to  sign  and 
send  it,  and  it  was  actually  found  unsigned  in  the  Minister's 
office  in  London,  after  Burgoyne's  surrender.2  In  a  MS.  ac- 
count of  Germaine,  written  by  the  Earl  of  Shelburne,  and  first 
given  to  the  world  by  Lord  Edmond  Fitzmaurice,  in  his 
"  Life  of  William,  Earl  of  Shelburne"  (his  grandfather),  pub- 
lished in  1875,  the  disgraceful  fact  is  stated  in  these  words  : 

"  Among  many  singularities  he  had  a  particular  aversion  to  being 
put  out  of  his  way  on  any  occasion  ;  he  had  fixed  to  go  into  Kent  or 
Northamptonshire  at  a  particular  hour,  and  to  call  on  his  way  at  his 
office  to  sign  the  dispatches,  all  of  which  had  been  settled  to  both  of 
these  Generals.  By  some  mistake,  those  to  General  Howe  were  no1- 
fair  copied,  and  upon  his  growing  impatient  at  it,  the  office,  which 
was  a  very  idle  one,  promised  to  send  it  in  the  country  after  him, 
while  they  dispatched  the  others  to  General  Burgoyne,  expecting  that 
the  others  could  be  expedited  before  the  packet  sailed  with  the  first, 
which,  however,  by  some  mistake,  sailed  without  them,  and  the  wind 
detained  the  vessel  which  was  ordered  to  carry  the  rest.  Hence 
came  General  Burgoyne's  defeat,  the  French  declaration,  and  the  loss 
of  thirteen  colonies.  It  might  appear  incredible  if  his  own  Secretary 
and  the  most  respectable  persons  in  office  had  not  assured  me  of  the 
fact  ;  what  corroborates  it  is  that  it  can  be  accounted  for  no  other 
way.  It  requires  as  much  experience  in  business  to  comprehend  the 
very  trifling  causes  which  have  produced  the  greatest  events,  as  it 
does  strength  of  reason  to  develop  the  greatest  design."3  "  The  per- 
sons he  brought  into  office  were  all,  except  his  Principal  Secretary,  Mr. 
Popple  (who  came  about  him  [  don't  know  by  what  accident),  of  a 
very  obscure  description,  more  or  less  of  adventurers,  of  doubtful 
morals,  and  worse  than  doubtful  integrity."  * 


1  Dispatch  to  Howe  of  18  May,  1777.     Fonblanque's  Burgoyne.  232. 

!  Fonblaaque's  Burgoyne,  233. 

3Life  of  Shelburne,  Vol.  I.,  page  35S.  4  Ibid.,  page  36a 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


697 


Such  was  the  man,  and  such  the  office,  by  whom  and  by 
which,  through  criminal  carelessness,  "  one  of  the  fifteen  de- 
cisive battles  of  the  world  "  1  was  won,  the  British  Empire  rent 
asunder,  and  the  United  States  of  America  created  a  nation. 

When  it  was  known  in  England  that  Howe  had  sailed  for 
the  Chesapeake,  great  anxiety  for  Burgoyne's  army  was  felt 
and  expressed  privately  in  influential  quarters.  Mr.  Fon- 
blanque  well  condenses  the  proofs  in  his  "  Life  and  Correspon- 
dence of  Burgoyne,"  page  343  : 

"  As  early  as  August,  '77,  Walpole  (Last  Journals)  says  :  '  Lord 
George  Gerraaine  owned  to  Lord  Hertford  that  General  Howe  has 
defeated  all  his  views  by  going  to  Maryland  instead  of  waiting  to  join 
Burgoyne,  and  that  Clinton  had  not  force  enough  at  New  York  to 
send  him  any  relief.'  " 

And  again,  "The  Ministers  were  so  confounded  by  Howe's  expe- 
dition, when  they  wished  he  should  have  gone  north,  and  endeavored 
to  get  Washington  between  him  and  Burgoyne,  that  they  sent  orders 
to  Burgoyne  not  to  advance  beyond  Albany  till  he  could  hear  from, 
and  concert  with  Howe." 

"On  November  2d,  the  Duke  of  Richmond  writes  to  Lord  Rock- 
ingham : — 1  I  believe  it  is  also  true  that  a  very  great  man  said  with- 
in these  few  days,  that  he  expected  accounts  of  a  general  defeat  very 
soon.'  a 

"  Sir  George  Saville,  writing  to  the  same  statesman  a  few  days 
later,  says : — 'I  have  little  doubt  of  Howe's  leaving  Philadelphia, 
and  Burgoyne  being  obliged  to  retire.'  " 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  says  in  his  MS.  notes  to  Stedman  : 

"  I  owe  it  to  truth  to  say  there  was  not  a  man  in  the  army, 
except  L.  C.  (Lord  Cornwallis)  and  General  Grant,  who  did  not 
reprobate  the  move  to  the  southward,  and  see  the  necessity  of  co- 
operation with  General  Burgoyne." 

" General  Clinton  told  Lord  George  Germaine,  April  27th,  and 
Sir  William  Howe  repeatedly,  after  his  return  to  America,  his  humble 
opinion  that  Philadelphia  had  better  close  than  open  the  campaign, 
as  it  required  an  aimy  to  defend  it." 

Howe,  before  sailing  for  the  Chesapeake,  tried  to  inform 
Burgoyne  of  his  intention.  He  released  from  the  new  jail  in 
New  York  one  Williams,  on  condition  of  taking  a  message  to 


1  Creasy. 


Rockingham's  Correspondence. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Burgoyne.  He,  however,  broke  his  promise,  came  into  Col. 
Philip  van  Cortlandt's  outpost  at  Eastchester,  and  taking  from 
the  inside  of  his  coat,  where  it  was  sewed,  gave  up  a  slip  of 
silk,  containing  the  following  words  written  thereon  : — "  To 
General  Burgoyne — Our  destination  is  changed.  Instead  of 
going  to  L.  D.,  we  shall  in  three  ways  sail  for  B.  N.  Regu- 
late your  conduct  accordingly. — Howe."  1 


NOTE  LXII. 

CONGRESS  AND  THE  CONVENTION  OF  SARATOGA. 

Vol.  L,  p-  212. 

The  action  of  Congress  on  the  Convention  of  Saratoga  was 
utterly  unjustifiable,  a  violation  of  justice,  and  of  military 
law  and  usages.  They  were  determined  to  prevent  England 
from  deriving  any  aid  directly  or  indirectly  from  so  large 
a  force  of  regulars,  and  did  so,  without  regard  to  the  means, 
or  to  Gates's  honor  and  obligations,  and  against  the  wishes  and 
advice  of  Washington.2 

The  pretexts  on  which  their  action  was  based  were  an  alleged 
non-delivery  at  Saratoga  of  all  the  cartouch-boxes  and  other 
military  accoutrements  of  the  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates  of  Burgoyne's  army ;  and  an  alleged  belief  that 
Burgoyne  was  going  to  violate  it  himself. 

The  following  are  the  resolutions  which  Congress  passed, 
January  8th,  1778,  by  a  vote  of  five  States  only,  out  of  ten 
represented  :  namely,  ayes,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia  ;  noes,  Rhode  Island 
and  Connecticut;  divided,  New  Jersey  and  Virginia;  de- 
clined voting,  Massachusetts.' 

1  Diary  of  Col.  Philip  van  Cortlandt,  quoted  in  a  sketch  of  him  in  the  N.  Y. 
Genealogical  and  Biographical  Record,  Vol.  V.,  page  128. 

5  See  his  Letters  to  Congress  in  1777,  especially  that  of  March  7,  1778.  Sparks, 
Vol.  V.,  p.  283. 

'Journals  of  Congress,  1778,  p.  17. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


699 


Resolved,  That  as  many  of  the  cartouch  boxes  and  several  other 
articles  of  military  accoutrements  annexed  to  the  persons  of  the  non- 
commissioned officers  and  soldiers  included  in  the  Convention  of 
Saratoga  have  not  been  delivered  up,  the  Convention  on  the  part  of 
the  British  Army  has  not  been  strictly  complied  with. 

Resolved,  That  the  refusal  of  Lieutenant-General  Burgoyne  to  give 
descriptive  lists  of  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  belong- 
ing to  his  army,  subsequent  to  his  declaration  that  the  public  faith 
was  broke,  is  considered  by  Congress  in  an  alarming  point  of  view  ; 
since  a  compliance  with  the  resolution  of  Congress  could  only  have 
been  prejudicial  to  that  army  in  case  of  an  infraction  of  the  Conven- 
tion on  their  part. 

Resolved,  That  the  charge  made  by  Lieutenant-General  Burgoyne 
in  his  letter  to  Major-General  Gates,  of  the  14th  of  November,  is  not 
warranted  by  the  just  construction  of  any  article  of  the  Convention 
of  Saratoga  ;  that  it  is  a  strong  indication  of  his  intention,  and  affords 
just  ground  of  fear  that  he  will  avail  himself  of  such  pretended  breach 
of  the  Convention,  in  order  to  disengage  himself  and  the  army  under 
him  of  the  obligations  they  are  under  to  these  United  States  ;  and 
that  the  security  which  these  States  have  had  of  his  personal  honor 
is  hereby  destroyed. 

Resolved,  therefore,  That  the  embarkation  of  Lieutenant-General 
Burgoyne  and  the  troops  under  his  command  be  suspended  till  a 
distinct  and  explicit  ratification  of  the  Convention  of  Saratoga  shall 
be  properly  notified  by  the  Court  of  Great  Britain  to  Congress.' 

General  Gates  himself  writes  the  President  of  Congress,  on  3d 
December,  1777  :  "  Many  of  the  cartouch-boxes  were  left,  and  seme 
were  carried  away.  The  mentioning  the  accoutrements  was  forgotten 
in  the  Convention.    Those  that  have  been  carried  oft'  have  been  sold 

on  the  road  to  Boston  for  drams   Many  arms  w-ere  lost  in 

the  two  hundred  batteaux  that  were  taken  from  the  enemy  on  their 
retreat  from  Freeman's  farm,  and  many  others  were  plundered  by 
the  militia  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  The  bayonets  were  also 
pilfered  by  our  own  people.  The  very  guards  themselves  supplied 
their  wants  from  the  piles.  Many  of  the  scabbards  for  the  bayonets 
were  disposed  of  in  like  manner.  1  believe  there  was  no  destruction 
of  military  stores  after  the  Convention  by  or  with  the  privity  of  Gen. 
Burgoyne  and  his  officers."  ...  "  1  do  not  conceive  that  anything 
of  sufficient  consequence  was  done  to  justify  our  charge  of  their  hav- 
ing violated  the  Convention."  ' 

1  Journals  of  Congress,  177S,  p.  iS. 

2  Gordon's  History,  Vol.  II.,  p.  46. 


700       .  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  LXIII. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  ORISKANY,  AND  ITS  EFFECT— HERKIMER, 
WILLETT,  GANSEVOORT. 

St.  Leger's  corps  passed  through  the  Oneida  Lake  on  the 
31st  of  July,  1777,  his  van  appeared  before  Fort  Stanwix1  on 
the  2d  of  August,  and  the  siege  began  on  the  3d.  His  forces 
were,  200  British  Regulars,  342  Germans — the  Hanau  Chas- 
seurs— -Sir  John  Johnson's  Royal  Greens,  numbering  133,  to- 
gether 675,"  with  1,000  Indians  under  Brant,  in  all  1,675  men. 
His  artillery  was  only  "  two  six  pounders,  two  threes,  and 
four  cohorns."  * 

Nicholas  Herkimer,  or  Herckheimer,  as  the  name  was  ori- 
ginally spelled,  was  appointed  Brigadier-General  of  the  Tryon 
County  militia,  when  it  was  separated  from  that  of  Albany 
County,  and  formed  into  a  Brigade  by  itself,  by  the  Pro- 
vincial Convention,  September  5th,  1776. 4  John  Frey 
at  same  time  being  appointed  his  Brigade-Major.  An 
official  letter  of  the  Provincial  Convention  to  the  New  York 
delegates  in  Congress,  dated  August  14th,  1777,  written  by 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  says,  "  We  have  700  militia  out  in 
Tryon  County  "  and  the  Governor  "  has  also  ordered  two  hun- 
dred men  to  Scoary 6  where  the  whigs  are  besieged  by  tories 
and  Indians.""  The  Committee  of  Tryon  County,  on  the 
17th  July,  write  the  Committee  of  Safety  at  Kingston,  "  Fort 
Schuyler's  fortifications  are  not  yet  finished,  and  the  garrison 
consists  of  but  300  able  men.  General  Schuyler  ordered  200 
men  of  our  militia  for  a  reinforcement,  but  with  all  trouble 
possible,  and  repeated  orders,  no  more  but  about  80  men 

1  The  fort  just  after  it  was  erected  was  called  "  Fort  Schuyler  "  for  a  short  time. 
The  real  Fort  Schuyler  was  at  the  present  city  of  Utica. 

■  Beatson's  Naval  and  Military  Memoirs  of  Great  Britain,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  69. 

3  Journals  Council  of  Safety,  Vol.  I.,  p.  1038. 

4  Journals,  Vol.  I.,  p.  610. 

6  Scoharie.  *  Journal  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  1042. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  /OI 

could  be  brought  there."1  In  the  same  letter  they  say  that 
the  militia  were  in  such  a  discouraged  state  that  "  the  weak- 
hearted  (which  by  this  time  being  the  greatest  number)  are 
fully  resolved,  and  declare  openly,  upon  actual  invasion  of 
the  enemy,  to  render  themselves  up  to  their  protection,  if  the 
County  be  not  in  time  succoured  with  troops,"  and  that  from 
neglect  of  such  succors  "  more  than  half  of  our  inhabitants 
are  resolved  not  to  lift  up  arms  in  defence  of  this  county." 

Col.  Peter  Gansevoort,  with  the  3d  New  York  Continentals, 
took  command  in  April,  1777,  and  began  the  erection  of  the 
fort.  On  the  1st  of  August  he  received  a  reinforcement  of 
about  200  men,  with  several  batteaux  loaded  with  provisions 
and  ammunition,  the  tardy  result  of  Schuyler's  orders,  which 
increased  his  force  to  about  700  men. 

Herkimer  on  the  17th  of  July  had  issued  a  proclamation 
calling  out  all  the  Tryon  County  militia  from  the  ages  of  16 
to  60,  but  only  succeeded  in  getting  about  700 2  by  the  5th  of 
August,  when  he  encamped  at  the  confluence  of  the  Oriskany 
Creek  with  the  Mohawk.  He  sent  that  night  a  messenger  to 
Gansevoort,  asking  him  to  make  a  sortie  when  he  should 
appear,  and  to  notify  the  arrival  of  his  messenger  by  three 
guns  in  succession. 

His  officers  and  men  taunting  him  with  cowardice  for  de- 
laying to  move  the  next  day,  he  ordered  them  to  march 
before  the  signal  was  heard  ;  the  result  was  the  defeat  de- 
scribed by  the  author.  Helmer,  the  messenger,  arrived  at 
the  fort  at  1  P.M.,  at  2  Gansevoort  sent  out  a  sortie  of  206 
men  under  Marinus  Willet,  who  ransacked  and  plundered  the 
slightly  guarded  camp  of  Johnson,  who  was  engaged  in  the 
battle  about  a  mile  from  the  fort,  and  there  learning  the  de- 
feat of  Herkimer,  retreated  back  to  the  fort  with  their  plun- 
der, which,  in  the  words  of  Helmer,  "  at  a  reasonable  compu- 
tation amounted  at  least  to  one  thousand  pounds,"  "  not 
one  man  being  killed  or  wounded."3 

1  Journals,  Vol.  L,  p.  1006. 

*  Letter  of  Council  of  Safety  to  John  Jay  and  Gouverneur  Morris,  Journal,  Vol. 
I  ,  p.  1039.  This  was  the  same  force  referred  to  in  R.  R.  Livingston's  lettei 
ahove  quoted. 

"  Ilelmer's  testimony  in  Journals  Council  of  Safety,  Vol.  I.,  p.  103S. 


;o2 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Herkimer,  desperately  wounded  in  the  leg,  bore  himself 
most  nobly  in  the  action,  was  afterwards  removed  to  his  own 
home  in  the  town  of  Danube  on  the  Mohawk,  and  died  there 
after  an  amputation,  on  the  16th  of  August,  1777, 1  and  is 
buried  in  his  family  graveyard  near  his  house. 

The  remains  of  Herkimer's  command  retreated  to  old  Fort 
Schuyler  (now  Utica),  carrying  their  wounded,  but  without 
burying  their  dead,  and  made  no  further  attempt  at  relieving 
the  fort.  Except  the  rear  they  fought  bravely.  "  We  will 
not  take  upon  us  to  tell  of  the  behaviour  of  the  rear.  So  far 
we  know  they  took  to  flight  the  first  firing,"  say  the  Com- 
mittee of  German  Flatts  in  a  letter  informing  the  Albany 
Committee  of  the  battle  and  asking  succor. 

"  Gentlemen,"  their  letter  concludes,  "  we  pray  you  will  send  us 
succor.  By  the  death  of  most  part  of  our  Committee  members,  the 
field  officers  in  general  being  wounded,  everything  is  out  of  order,  the 
people  entirely  dispirited  ;  our  county  at  Esopus  unrepresented  ; 
that  we  cannot  hope  to  stand  it  any  longer  without  your  aid  ;  we 
will  not  mention  the  shocking  aspect  our  fields  do  show.  Faithful  to 
our  country,  we  remain,  your  sorrowful  brethren,  the  few  members  of 
this  committee, 

Peter  J.  Deggart,  Chairman!' ' 

St.  Leger  now  regularly  invested  the  fort,  by  opening 
trenches  and  running  parallels,  his  artillery  being  too  light  to 
effect  any  breach.  Five  days  afterward  Gansevoort  sent  YYil- 
let  and  Stockwell, — on  the  10th  of  August, — through  the 
woods  to  Schuyler  for  aid,  a  daring  enterprise,  who  at  once 
sent  Arnold  with  Learned's  Massachusetts  brigade,3  and  also 
ordered  Col.  Philip  van  Cortlandt,  with  the  2d  and  4th 
New  York  Continentals,  to  push  from  Albany  to  join  him. 
Arnold  arrived  at  the  German  Flatts — Fort  Dayton — on 
the  22d  of  August,  and  despatched  Han  Yost  Schuyler 
and  some  Indians  to  allow  themselves  to  be  taken  by  St. 

1  Letter  of  Dr.  Robert  Johnston,  who  performed  the  operation,  N.  Y.  His- 
toric Genealogical  Register  for  1864,  p.  31. 
5  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  1037-8. 

'  "Three  regiments  in  the  whole  about  five  bandied  and  fifty  effectives, 
marched  from  here  yesterday  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Schuyler."  Letter  from  Schuy- 
ler to  Pierre  van  Cortlandt,  dated  Stillwater,  Aug.  13th,  1777.  Journals  Prov. 
Con.,  Vol.  [.,  p.  1042. 


0 

HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  703 

Leger,  and  give  exaggerated  information  of  large  forces  he 
was  bringing  up,  stating  them  not  only  at  the  4,000  men- 
tioned by  the  author,  but  up  to  10,000.  The  ruse  was  effec- 
tual, and  St.  Leger,  whose  Indians  at  once  began  to  leave, 
after  vainly  summoning  the  fort  two  or  three  times,  raised 
the  siege,  and  retreated  towards  Canada  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  22d  of  August,1  after  an  ineffectual  siege  of  20  days. 
The  Americans  attempted  no  pursuit. 

The  author  knew  Marinus  VVillet,  and  his  early  life,  ex- 
ceedingly well,  as  he  belonged  to  a  younger  branch  of  the 
family  of  the  author's  mother,  hence  the  authentic  and 
amusing  description  of  both.  YVillct's  latter  life  after  the  war 
—  though  he  was  always  a  little  erratic — was  a  very  respect- 
able one  and  is  well  known.  He  died  quite  well  off  in  New 
York  in  1 830,  at  the  age  of  90  years.2 

Peter  Gansevoort,  Colonel  of  the  third  New  York  regi- 
ment, and  Brigadier-General,  of  an  old  Albany  family,  was 
born  in  that  city,  17th  July,  1749,  accompanied  Montgomery 
to  Canada  in  1775  as  Major,  commanded  at  Fort  Stanwix  in 
1777,  and  successfully  defended  it  against  St.  Leger,  for 
which  he  received  the  thanks  of  Congress  ;  was  made  Briga- 
dier-General in  1 78 r ,  and  died  at  Albany,  July  2,  1812,  aged 
62.3  His  son,  whom  the  writer  knew  well,  the  late  General 
Peter  Gansevoort,  died  in  Albany  on  the  4th  January,  1876, 
aged  87. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  remarks  of  this  expedition  of  St.  Leger  : 
"  If  Burgoyne  meant  to  have  established  himself  in  Albany, 
and  was  sure  he  could  be  subsisted  there,  perhaps  he  had 
better  have  made  this  his  principal  attack  ;  this  failed  from 
inadequacy  of  numbers  and  want  of  cannon  of  calibre."  4 

1  Gansevoort's  letter  to  Gates,  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  1049. 

*  A  speculative  purchase  of  some  lots  at  the  sale  of  the  confiscated  Bowery  estate 
of  James  de  Lancey,  just  after  the  peace,  at  the  low  prices  of  that  time,  was  the 
foundation  of  quite  a  good  fortune,  which  is  yet  enjoyed  by  his  descendants. 

s  Allen,  406.    Munsell's  Hist.  Collections  on  Albany. 

4  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  MS.  notes  to  Stedman's  Hist. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  LXIV. 

SIR  HENRY  CLINTON'S  MS.  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  HUDSON 
RIVER  EXPEDITION,  WHY  UNDERTAKEN,  AND  WHY 
ABANDONED  AFTER  THE  CAPTURE  OF  THE  HIGHLAND 
FORTS  AND  KINGSTON. 

Vol.  /.,/.  18. 

The  following  is  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  MS.  account  of  his 
Hudson  River  Expedition,  in  his  own  handwriting,  appended 
to  the  1 8th  chapter  of  the  first  volume  of  his  copy  of  Sted- 
man's  History,  which  treats  of  that  subject. 

"  When  Sir  H.  Clinton  had  received  a  reinforcement  of  1,700  re- 
cruits from  Europe,  and  had  determined  on  a  move  up  the  Hudson, 
he  wrote  Sir  W.  Howe  his  intentions,  and  his  motives  for  doing  it  ; 
tho'  he  considered  the  attempt  on  the  Forts  as  rather  desperate  he 
thought  the  times  required  such  exertions  ;  he  feared  he  should  not 
succeed,  but  flattered  himself  lie  had  nothing  to  apprehend  but  fail- 
ure without  any  fatal  consequences  to  New  York.  Sir  Wm.  Howe, 
in  answer,  told  him  that  if  his  object  was  not  of  the  greatest  conse- 
quence, and  almost  certain  of  success,  in  a  short  time,  he  was  ordered 
to  return  and  send  Sir  Wm.  Howe  the  troops  he  had  moved  with,  as 
Washington,  reinforced  by  Putnam,  had  been  enabled  to  attack  him 
the  9th  ;  and  that  if  he  was  not  joined  by  the  troops  I  had  moved 
with,  or  till  he  was,  he  could  not  open  the  Delaware.  I  mention 
this  fact  and  Sir  Wm.  Howe's  reasons  for  withdrawing  the  force  I 
had  moved  with.  Had  I  received  this  letter  of  Sir  Wm.  Howe's  before 
I  had  moved,  it  must  have  stopped  me  ;  but  receiving  it  afterward, 
by  a  miracle  succeeded  in  taking  the  Forts. 

"  I  should  have  felt  myself  satisfied  in  proceeding  had  I  any  hopes 
of  success.  I  had  despatched  G.  Vaughan  with  1,700  men  to  feel  for 
Burgoyne,  co-operate  with  him,  nay  join  him,  if  necessary. 

"  Vaughan  had  advanced  near  100  miles,  and  had  40  miles  to  go  to 
Albany,  and  60  more  to  join  Burgoyne!  He  wrote  me  word  the  19th 
he  could  hear  nothing  certain  of  Burgoyne,  but  had  apprehensions. 
Alas!  Burgoyne  had  surrendered  the  17th.  Had  1  moved  6  days 
sooner  I  should  have  found  McDougal  there,  [at  the  Forts]  and 
consequently  must  have  failed  ;  besides  I  could  not  wish  a  move  of 
that  sort,  unless  Burgoyne  had  expressed  a  wish  that  I  should,  and  I 
did  not  receive  his  answer  accepting  my  offer,  till  the  29th.  Had  I 
made  the  attempt  on  the  East  side  and  even  beaten  Putnam,  I  had 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


/OS 


still  the  Hudson  to  pass,  and  I  had  no  boats,  nor  no  vessel  to  pro- 
tect my  landing ;  thus  therefore  I  must  have  failed  had  I  delayed  my 
attack.  After  I  had  passed  the  Thunderbergh  6  hours  Putnam 
would  have  passed  that  river  and  gained  the  forts,  for  tho'  Sir  James 
Wallis  prevented  his  doing  it  at  Peakskille,  he  might  have  done  so  by 
a  detour,  and  I  must  have  failed.  I  tried  the  impossible,  a  tolerable 
good  arrangement,  good  luck,  and  great  exertion  of  officers  and  men 
succeeded. 

"From  the  information  I  received  just  as  I  was  landing  at  Howe's 
Point,  and  which  I  dare  not  communicate  to  any  Body,  I  had  little 
hopes  of  doing  more  than  covering  Burgoyne's  retreat  to  Ticonder- 
oga,  which  I  had  no  doubt  of  his  attempting  the  12th  ;  for  as  to  his 
supposing  I  could  take  the  Forts  and  penetrate  to  Albany,  and  keep 
up  the  communication  afterwards  he  could  not  expect  it. 

"C." 


NOTE  LXV. 

THE   AMERICAN   PRISON   SHIPS,    OR    "FLEET   PRISON,"  AT 
ESOPUS  LANDING. 

Vol.  I. ,  /.  220. 

As  early  as  the  21st  of  December,  1775,  more  than  sbc 
months  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  Provin- 
cial Congress  of  New  York  "  Resolved,  That  Ulster  County 
Jail,  or  such  part  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  be  used  and 
taken  as  the  jail  of  this  Congress,  and  for  the  confinement  of 
any  such  prisoners  as  may  be  ordered  to  be  confined  by  this 
Congress,  or  their  Committee  of  Safety."  They  were  to 
"  be  there  confined  at  their  own  expense  respectively,  but  if 
unable  to  pay,"  then  "  at  the  public  expense  of  this  Colony,"' 
and  John  Blackler,  the  first  prisoner,  was  ordered  to  be  sent 
there  the  same  day.1  How  the  Ulster  authorities  looked  on 
their  prisoners  this  extract  from  a  short  letter  of  the  8th  of 
July,  1776,  from  Johannis  Sleght,  Chairman  of  the  Ulster 
Committee  to  the  Congress,  for  powder,  shows  :  "  It  is 
well-known  our  town  [Kingston]  has  for  a  long  time  been 

'Journals  Prov.  Cong.,  Vol.  L,  p.  231. 

45 


jo6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


crowded  (and  is  yet)  with  a  set  of  Ministerial  cut-throats,  reg- 
ular officers  and  soldiers,  sent  here  as  prisoners."  1 

One  of  them,  Brian  Leffertse,  in  a  letter  of  April,  1776,  in 
the  Tomlinson  MSS.  in  the  Mercantile  Library  of  New  York, 
gives  a  terrible  account  of  their  sufferings. 

The  Prison  Ships  of  "  the  rebels,"  mentioned  in  the 
text,  or  the  "  Fleet  Prison,  at  Esopus  Landing,"  or  "the 
Strand,"  as  they  were  called  by  "the  rebels"  themselves, 
were  established  by  the  New  York  Provincial  Convention  Or 
Congress  to  supplement  "  the  jail  of  Ulster  County,"  and 
the  "jail-rooms"  under  the  Court  House  in  which  that 
body  held  its  sessions,  when  they  could  no  longer  hold  the 
number  of  loyalists  confined  by  the  Convention  or  its  "  Com- 
mittee to  inquire  into  and  detect  conspiracies."  They 
were  vessels  anchored  in  the  river  at  the  place  above  men- 
tioned, which  is  now  known  as  Rondout,  under  guard  of 
the  regular  "  privateers  "  of  the  Convention.  The  Conven- 
tion adjourned  from  Fishkill  to  Kingston  on  the  14th  of 
February,  1777,  and  by  the  1 8th  of  March — one  month — the 
prison  in  the  Court  House  was  so  full,  and  the  prisoners  so 
neglected,  and  in  such  a  horrid  state,  that  on  that  day,  on 
the  motion  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  the  Convention  passed  the 
following  resolutions  : 

"Whereas,  From  the  past  want  of  care  in  the  prisoners  now  con- 
fined in  the  jail,  immediately  underneath  the  Convention  Chamber, 
the  same  is  supposed  to  have  become  unwholesome,  and  very  nau- 
seous and  disagreeable  effluvia  arises,  which  may  endanger  the  health 
of  the  members  of  the  Convention  ;  therefore 

"Resolved,  That  for  the  preservation  of  their  health,  the  members 
of  the  Convention  be  at  liberty  at  their  pleasure  to  smoke  in  the 
Convention  Chamber,  while  the  House  is  sitting  and  proceeding  to 
business."  ' 

1  Journals  Prov.  Con  ,  Vol.  II ,  p.  305. 

'  How  severe  the  difficulty  was  may  be  known  when  it  is  stated  that  Mr.  Morris 
was  not  a  smoker  himself.  A  relative  of  the  writer  once  asked  him  in  his  own 
house,  after  his  return  from  his  embassy  in  Europe,  whether  gentlemen  smoked  at 
the  table  after  dinner  in  France.  "  Gentlemen  smoke  nowhere,"  was  the  prompt 
reply. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


This  remedy,  however,  did  not  go  far  enough  to  suit  John 
Jay,  and  the  record  thus  continues  : 

"  On  motion  of  Mr.  Jay,  who  was  seconded  : 

'■'■Resolved,  That  Capt.  Piatt,  Mr.  Cuyler,  and  Mr.  Duane  are 
hereby  appointed  a  Committee  to  devise  ways  and  means  for  clearing 
the  jail  below  and  removing  the  prisoners."  1 

The  result  was,  that  on  the  report  of  the  Committee,  four 
days  afterwards,  fourteen  were  discharged  on  taking  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  State,  and  the  remainder  continued  in 
prison.2 

About  six  weeks  afterwards,  so  great  was  the  number  then 
arrested  and  confined,  the  capacity  of  the  prison  had  become 
exhausted,  and  to  remedy  this  difficulty,  on  May  2d,  1777, 
the  Convention  established  "  Prison  Ships,"  by  these  resolu- 
tions : 

Wliereas,  A  number  of  artful  and  designing  persons  in  every 
county  within  this  State  are  daily  endeavoring  by  exaggerating 
accounts  of  the  power  of  the  enemy,  and  other  wicked  and  criminal 
practices,  to  work,  upon  the  fears  of  weak  and  timid  persons,  and  to 
betray  the  liberty  of  this  country  ;  therefore 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  any  two 
or  more  of  the  vessels  now  lying  in  Hudson's  River,  for  the  reception 
of  such  persons  as  may  be  sent  thereto,  and  that  Captains  Benson 
and  Castle,  or  either  of  them,  be  directed  to  see  the  said  vessels 
properly  guarded  by  the  privateers,  of  which  they  have  the  command, 
and  that  tney  suffer  no  person  to  go  on  board  said  vessels  who  is  not 
properly  authorized  thereto. 

Resolved,  That  the  Commissioners  for  detecting  and  defeating  con- 
spiracies, etc.,  be  directed  to  cause  to  be  apprehended  such  of  the 
persons  in  each  county  whose  characters  are  suspicious,  and  who,  by 
their  influence  in  the  county  in  which  they  reside,  may  be  supposed 
dangerous  to  this  State,  and  send  them  on  board  the  said  vessels, 
appointing  a  commissary  to  supply  them  with  provisions  at  their  own 
expense. 

Resolved,  That  every  person  who  shall  be  found  on  shore,  after 
having  been  confined  on  board  of  the  said  vessels,  or  either  of  them, 
without  being  properly  discharged,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  felony 
without  benefit  of  clergy,  and  on  conviction  before  the  said  commis- 

1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  842.  At  this  time  the  first  Constitution 
of  t he  State  was  being  discussed,  having  been  reported  six  days  before  by  Mr 
Duane. 

:  Report  of  the  Committee,  Calendar  Rev.  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  63. 


708 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


sioners,  who  are  hereby  directed  and  empowered  to  issue  a  summons 
to  the  sheriff  or  other  officer  to  empannel  a  jury  for  their  trial,  shall 
be  immediately  executed} 

A  few  days  after,  on  the  ioth  of  May,  "  a  letter  from  the 
Committee  of  Albany,  informing  Convention  of  their  per- 
plexities in  consequence  of  their  successes  in  apprehending 
tories  ;  their  jails  are  full,  and  the  inhabitants  are  apprehen- 
sive the  jail  distemper  will  soon  take  place  ;  they  therefore 
request  the  direction  of  Convention;  was  read,"3  and 
referred  to  Messrs.  Jay  and  Morris,  who,  on  the  1 2th, 
reported  resolutions,  which  were  adopted,  authorizing  the 
Albany  Committee  "to  prepare  any  two  or  more  vessels 
in  Hudson's  river,  near  the  said  city,  for  the  reception  of 
all  such  prisoners  as  they  may  think  proper  to  confine  on 
board  the  same." 3 

Two  weeks  and  a  half  after  the  Convention  had  thus 
established  the  prison  ships — on  the  19th  of  May,  1777 — the 
sheriff,  who  was  Egbert  Dumond,  returned  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  persons  as  the  number  of  "  prisoners  on  board  the 
vessels  at  the  Strand."  4 

Great  complaints  being  made  by  the  prisoners  of  starvation 
and  cruelty,  very  many  being  in  irons,  on  the  21st  of  June  a 
committee  of  the  Convention5  framed  a  set  of  rules  for  the 
care  and  custody  of  the  prisoners,  fixed  the  rations  and  ap- 
pointed a  warden,  Capt.  Henry  Benson  ;  a  victualler,  Capt. 
Charles  Giles,"  at  9  pounds  per  months  ;  a  commissary  of 
provisions,  at  18  pounds  per  month,  Cornelius  Klmendorph  ; 
and  a  clerk,  Henry  Benson,  to  be  paid  a  fee  of  6  shillings 
and  sixpence  from  each  prisoner  when  discharged.  The  rations 
fixed  were  ^  lb.  beef,  pork,  or  mutton,  and  I  lb.  bread  per 
day,  with  a  reasonable  allowance  of  salt  and  vinegar,  to  be 

1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  908.    The  italics  are  the  editor's. 
'Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  921. 
'Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  927. 

4  Ibid.,  937. 

5  Mr.  Hobart,  Mr.  Jay,  and  Mr.  Jacob  Cuyler.  Ibid. 

8  He  was  removed  on  July  ii,  and  his  duties  ordered  to  be  performed  by  the 
Warden.    Ibid.,  992. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


served  out  three  times  a  week  in  summer  and  twice  in  winter, 
all  to  be  paid  for  by  the  prisoners.1  This  was  reduced  as 
being  "  too  great,"  on  a  report  of  the  same  committee,  on  the 
27th  of  August,  to  1^  lb.  meat,  y2  lb.  fish,  and  \y2  lbs.  flour, 
daily,  and  once  in  every  ten  days  y2  a  pint  of  vinegar,  1  ounce 
salt,  and  2  quarts  peas  ;  the  distribution  to  be  once  in  two 
days.  And  this  shorter  allowance  went  into  effect  on  the 
1st  of  September  ;  and  on  the  same  day  the  commissary  was 
"  directed  to  supply  the  State  prisoners  in  Kingston  jail  with 
one  pound  and  a  half  of  bread  per  day,  and  that  the  jailor 
supply  them  with  water. " '  The  very  next  day,  somewhat  singu- 
larly, Dr.  Luke  Kierstead  "  was  authorized  and  requested  " 
by  the  Convention  to  "  visit  the  Fleet  Prison  and  Kingston 
jail  at  least  twice  a  week,"  and  whenever  called  on  by  the 
warden  or  the  jailor.'  And  on  the  3d  of  September,  Elmen- 
dorph,  the  commissary,  having  "  neglected  to  supply  the 
State  prisoners  in  jail  with  bread,  agreeable  to  the  order  of 
the  1st  instant,"  was  peremptorily  ordered  to  do  so,  and 
"  informed  that  a  resignation  of  his  office  would  not  be  ac- 
cepted of  until  another  commissary  be  provided,  and  suf- 
ficient time  allowed  him  to  procure  a  supply  of  provisions."  4 
The  Albany  prison  ships  authorized  as  above  stated  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  established — probably  suitable  vessels  could 
not  be  had — for  on  the  6th  of  July  all  the  prisoners  at  Albany 
were  ordered  to  be  sent  "  to  the  warden  of  the  Fleet  Prison 
at  Esopus  Landing,"  and  on  the  10th,  they  arrived  in  two 
sloops  to  the  number  of  80.*  On  the  22d  those  in  one  prison 
ship,  under  Andries  Ten  Eyck,  rose,  disarmed  the  guard, 
and  fourteen  of  them  escaped,  but  not  Ten  Eyck,  who  was 
put  in  irons.  Six  weeks  after  he  petitioned  the  Convention 
that  his  irons  be  taken  off  that  he  might  clean  himself;  where- 
upon they  "  ordered  that  his  irons  be  taken  off  for  the  pur- 
pose of  cleaning  and  shifting  himself,  as  often  as  the  warden 
shall  think  the  same  necessary,  and  that  they  be  immediately 
put  on  again."  1 


1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  973-4.  1  Ibid.,  1050  and  1053. 

3  Ibid.,  1054.  4  Ibid.,  1055.  1  Ibid.,  98S,  991.         '  Ibid.,  1057. 


710 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  treatment  was  terrible  for  cruelty  and  starvation — the 
common  lot  of  military  prisons  in  times  of  war  in  all  ages  and 
countries — as  the  letters  and  petitions  of  prisoners  for  relief 
preserved  in  the  Secretary  of  State's  office  at  Albany  show. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  1777,  two  days  after  Sir  Henry 
Clinton's  capture  of  Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton,  the  Con- 
vention in  alarm  ordered  all  the  prisoners  in  the  jail,  "  and  on 
board  the  Fleet  prison,"  forthwith  sent  to  Hartford  to  Gov. 
Trumbull.1  Peter  Cantine  at  once  started  with  about  1 50,  who, 
"  except  such  as  escaped  by  the  way,"  arrived  at  Hartford  on 
the  20th  of  October.'  On  the  15th,  the  keeper  of  the  jail  of 
Kingston  was  ordered  to  provide  for  such  of  the  State's 
prisoners  as  are  not  able  to  provide  for  themselves.  The  very 
next  day — Oct.  16th— Kingston  was  captured  and  burnt  by 
Vaughan.3 

How  many  were  left  behind  is  not  known,  the  jail,  Court 
House,  and  Fleet  Prison  being  all  full  and  overflowing  at  the 
time  Cantine  took  his  party  to  Hartford.' 

The  prison  ships  were  run  up  Rondout  or  Esopus  Creek 
and  burnt.  A  letter  in  the  Pennsylvania  Ledger,  of  the  26th 
of  November,  1777,  written  from  Kingston,  Oct.  16 — the  day 
it  was  taken — says  :  "  This  was  effected  with  only  the  loss  of 
ten  men  wounded,  many  were  burnt  in  the  river  and  Esopus 
Creek,  besides  some  stores,  a  mill,  etc."  What  authority 
the  author  had  for  his  statement  that  150  men  were  burnt  is 
not  known,  and  it  is  hoped  and  believed  that  he  was  mis- 
informed. 


1  Journals  Prov.  Con.,  Vol.  I., 'p.  1063.  5  Ibid. ,  1073,  and  Vol.  II.,  487 
3  Letter  of  Gov.  Clinton.  4 Ibid.,  11 15  and  11 16. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


711 


NOTE    L  X  V  I. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT,  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF 
CHIEF-JUSTICE  DE  LANCE Y  IN  1760  TO  THE  REVOLU- 
TION. 

Volume  I. ,  chapter  X.,  pp.  221-235. 

THE  author's  clear,  distinct,  and  authentic  account  of  the 
Supreme  Court  from  1760  to  the  end  of  the  British  rule,  its 
members,  their  appointments,  and  their  characters,  contained 
in  chapter  ten,  is  the  most  important  and  valuable  contribu- 
tion to  the  judicial  history  of  New  York  during  this  period 
that  exists.  He  knew,  personally  and  perfectly,  every  one 
connected  with  the  court  and  government,  and  was  himself 
one  of  its  judges  from  1773  to  the  end  of  the  Revolution, 
prior  to  which  he  had  been  the  Recorder  of  the  city  for  some 
years.  He  succeeded  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  his 
own  father,  Judge  Samuel  Jones,  who  himself,  prior  to  his 
elevation,  had  been  for  twenty  years  Speaker  of  the  Assem- 
bly. And  he  was  the  son-in-law  of  that  James  de  Lanccy 
who  for  the  twenty-seven  years  prior  to  1 760  had  been  its 
Chief-Justice.  His  means  of  knowledge,  therefore,  were  the 
most  perfect  and  fullest  possible,  and  he  speaks  of  all  parties, 
himself  included,  with  directness  and  simplicity. 

The  correspondence  between  Governors  Colden,  Moore, 
and  Moncton,  and  the  Government  in  England,  which  of 
course  he  never  saw,  and  which  was  first  printed  in  "  the 
Documents  relating  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State  of 
New  York,"  issued  by  the  State  in  1 86 1 — especially  the  let- 
ters of  Governor  Colden — show  how  correctly  he  has  treated 
the  subject.1 


1  Col.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  Vol.  VIII. 


7 1  2 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  LXVII. 

JUSTICE   ROBERT    R.  LIVINGSTON — OPPOSED    TO  INDEPEN- 
DENCE OF  GREAT  BRITAIN — HIS  SUDDEN  DEATH. 

Vol.  233,  nod  1. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  the  Colonial  Judge 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  of  5th  May,  1775,  to  his  son  Robert 
R.  Livingston  (afterwards  Chancellor),  then  about  to  take  his 
seat  in  the  Congress  of  1775,  as  a  delegate  from  New  York, 
proves  that  his  political  views  were  opposed  to  indepen- 
dence.1 

"  Every  good  man  wishes  that  America  may  remain  free.  In  this 
I  join  heartily  ;  at  the  same  time  I  do  not  desire  that  we  should  be 
wholly  independent  of  the  mother  country.  How  to  reconcile  these 
jarring  principles,  I  profess,3  I  am  altogether  at  a  loss.  The  benefit 
we  receive  of  protection,  seems  to  require  that  we  should  contribute 
to  the  support  of  the  Navy,  if  not  to  the  armies  of  Britain.  I  would 
have  you  consider,  whether  it  would  not  be  proper  to  lay  hold  of 
Lord  North's  overture,  to  open  a  negotiation  and  procure  a  suspen- 
sion of  hostilities.  In  the  meantime  the  check  General  Gage  has 
received,3  and  our  non-importation,  will  perhaps  have  a  good  effect 
in  our  favor  on  the  other  side  of  the  water.  This  seems  to  be  the 
thought  of  our  Counsel 4  here,  as  Mr.  Jay  and  Mr.  Livingston  will 
inform  you.  I  should  think  if  you  offered  Britain  all  the  duties  usu- 
ally paid  here  by  our  merchants,  even  those  paid  since  the  disturb- 
ances began,  those  on  tea  excepted,  which  seems  to  be  too  odious, 
and  all  other  duties  they  may  think  proper  to  levy  for  the  regulation 
of  trade  shall  be  lodged  in  the  treasury  of  each  colony,  to  be  dis- 
posed of  by  their  respective  Assemblies  and  Legislatures,  on  an  en- 
gagement on  their  side  that  no  other  taxes  shall  be  imposed  on  them 
but  by  their  own  representatives,  we  ought  to  be  contented.  Some 

1  From  T.  S.  Clarkson's  "Biographical  History  of  Clermont  or  Livingston 
Manor,"  p.  36. 

*  So  in  original,  as  given  in  Clarkson. 

3  Bunker  Hill. 

4  This  was  probably  William  Smith,  subsequent  to  the  war  Chief-Justice  ol 
Canada,  whose  wife  was  Janet  Livingston. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


713 


specious  offer  should  be  made  to  increase  our  friends  in  England. 
This,  or  some  other  of  that  kind,  if  Lord  North  meant  anything  by 
his  motion  but  to  deceive  the  people  of  England  ought  to  put  a  stop 
to  his  proceedings  for  the  present  ;  otherwise  the  odium  he  lies 
under  must  increase.  The  Boston  Charter  ought  by  all  means  to  be 
restored,  and  were  the  tea  paid  for,  as  a  douceur,  by  the  whole  con- 
tinent it  would  be  no  matter." 

Justice  Livingston  died  on  the  9th  of  December,  1775,  very 
suddenly  in  his  58th  year.  The  author's  note  on  page  233, 
ascribes  it  to  suicide.  There  seems  to  be  no  mention  of  his 
death  in  the  contemporary  New  York  newspapers.  The 
Pennsylvania  Journal  of  20th  December,  1775,  under  the 
heading,  "  New  York,  December  1 8th ,"  says,  "  Died  on  the 
9th  inst. ,  the  Hon.  Justice  Livingston,  at  Claremont,  in  the 
Manor  of  Livingston.  The  event  was  so  sudden  that  he  re- 
tired from  company  to  his  bed,  and  in  a  few  moments  after 
expired  by  an  apoplectic  fit."  "  He  was  in  the  58th  year  of 
his  age."  Clarkson's  Biographical  History  of  Clermont,1  says, 
"  At  the  close  of  1775,  while  Mrs.  Livingston  and  her  daugh- 
ters were  at  the  dying-bed  of  her  honored  father,  Col.  Henry 
Beekman,  of  Rhinebeck,  the  beloved  husband  and  father,  at 
home,  was  taken  sick  and  died  with  a  sudden  attack  of  apo- 
plexy at  the  age  of  fifty-one."  The  age  Clarkson  mentions  is 
probably  an  error.    He  gives  no  authority  for  his  statement. 

In  a  letter  from  John  Jay,  dated  Philadelphia,  6th  January, 
1776,  to  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Jr.,  in  Jay's  Life  of  Jay,' 
evidently  in  reply  to  one  from  the  latter  on  his  father's  death 
(which  is  not  given),  the  former  thus  writes,  "  The  sensations 
which  the  first  paragraph  of  your  letter  has  occasioned  mock 
the  force  of  philosophy,  and  I  confess  have  rendered  me  the 
sport  of  feelings  which  you  can  more  easily  conceive  than  I 
express."  There  is  no  other  allusion  to  the  cause  of  the 
death  in  the  letter,  nor  any  explanation  of  the  remark  itself. 


P-  43- 


'  Vol  I.,  p.  58. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  LXVI  II. 

SIR  WILLIAM  HOWE'S  INEFFICIENCY  IN  1 778 — THWARTS 
GALLOWAY'S  MILITARY  EXPEDITIONS  AGAINST  THE 
AMERICANS — ADVISES  LOYALISTS  OF  PHILADELPHIA 
TO  SUBMIT  TO  WASHINGTON  ON  THE  EVACUATION 
OF  THAT  CITY — LOYALIST  POETRY  URGING  HIM  TO 
ACTION  IN  THE  SPRING  OF  1778. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  236. 

ISAAC  Ogden,  of  New  York,  wrote  on  the  22d  of  Novem- 
ber, 1778,  of  Howe's  inefficiency,  or  worse,  to  Joseph  Gallo- 
way, in  these  words  : 

"Thus  has  ended  a  campaign  (if  it  deserves  the  appellation)  with- 
out anything  capital  being  done  or  even  attempted.  Now,  will  the 
historian  gain  credit,  who  shall  relate  that  at  least  24,000  of  the  best 
troops  in  the  world  were  shut  up  within  their  lines  by  15,000,  at 
most,  of  poor  wretches,  who  were  illy  paid,  badly  fed,  and  worse 
clothed,  and  scarce,  at  best,  deserved  the  name  of  soldiers?  But  1 
forbear."  1 

On  page  73  of  Balch's  reprint  of  "  Galloway's  Examina- 
tion "  before  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  to 
investigate  Sir  William  Howe's  conduct  in  America,  Gallo- 
way, in  a  note,  states  that : — 

"  He  offered  to  raise  a  regiment  of  American  light  horse, 
but  received  a  warrant  for  raising  only  a  troop."  "  He  also 
embodied  eighty  refugees  from  the  county  he  lived  in,  who 
served  the  Crown  as  volunteers,  receiving  neither  pay  nor 
clothing.  Having  obtained  leave  to  operate  these  two  corps, 
he  kept  constantly  at  work  executing  plans  formed  by  him- 
self." *  *  *  He  also  laid  a  plan  for  seizing  the  rebel  Gover- 
nor Livingston,  his  Council  and  Assembly,  sitting  at  Tren- 

'  Letter  cited  by  Balch  in  a  note  to  his  edition  of  Galloway's  Examination,  p. 
68.  In  the  end  of  February  and  beginning  of  March,  1778,  Washington  had  not 
4,000  effective  men,  as  btatcd  by  the  people  then  in  his  camp,  and  by  officers  of  his 
army.    Galloway's  Examination,  p.  28,  and  note. 


HISTORV  OF  NEW  YORK. 


715 


town.  His  intelligence  was  so  good,  and  his  scheme  so  well 
concerted,  that  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  success  ;  but  he 
was  not  permitted  to  carry  this  design  into  execution." 

Galloway's  sworn  testimony  as  to  Howe's  advice  to  the 
Philadelphia  loyalists  to  go  to  Washington  and  make  their 
peace  when  the  city  was  evacuated,  and  Clinton's  action 
thereon,  is  as  follows  : 

"  Sir  William  Erskine  came  down  to  me  from  Sir  William  Howe 
and  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  to  give  me  notice  as  Superintendent  of  the 
City,1  that  it  was  to  be  evacuated.  1  sent  for  the  Magistrates  acting 
under  me,  immediately  to  consult  them  respecting  our  own  safety,  and 
that  of  the  inhabitants,  who  had  taken  a  decisive  part  on  behalf  of 
the  Crown.  In  our  conversation  Air.  Shoemaker2  repeated  what  he 
had  told  me  a  few  days  before,  that  Sir  William  Howe  had  advised 
him  to  go  over  to  Washington  and  make  his  peace.  It  was 
natural  for  us  to  consult  together  upon  the  consequences  of  that  ad- 
vice, and  we  all  resolved  not  to  follow  it.  However, — we  thought  it 
necessary  as  our  safety  was  still  unprovided  for,  (our  lives  being  at- 
tainted, and  all  that  we  had  in  the  world  confiscated3),  still  to  know 
what  was  to  become  of  us.  The  magistrates  therefore  requested  I 
would  wait  on  Sir  William  Howe  on  the  occasion,  which  1  accord- 
ingly did,  immediately,  when  he  gave  us  the  same  advice.  1  started 
a  difficulty  respecting  the  practicability  of  it ,  upon  which  he  advised 
us  to  apply  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  procure  a  flag  to  go  out  for  that 
purpose."  Upon  this  being  reported  by  Mr.  Galloway  to  the  magis- 
trates, they  "  unanimously  agreed  not  to  follow  it.  We,  however,  re- 
solved before  we  parted  to  communicate  our  circumstances  to  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  with  the  advice  that  had  been  given  to  us,  as  we 
knew  upon  him,  in  a  few  days,  the  command  of  the  whole  army 
would  devolve."  The  result  of  this  was,  that  through  Colonel  Innis, 
a  confidential  friend,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  unofficially,  he  then  not 
having  taken  the  command  of  the  army,  "  said  he  could  not  have 
granted  a  rlag  on  such  an  occasion,  had  we  requested  it — that  the 
game  was  not  up — that  the  war  was  not  over,  but  would  still  be  car- 
ried on  vigorously,  and  desired  that  we  would  not  entertain  a  thought 
of  going  over  to  the  enemy."  * 

The  loyal  men  of  Philadelphia  were  disgusted  with  Howe's 
inaction  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1778,  knowing  well  the 

1  Then  containing  in  city  and  suburbs  25,000  people,  within  the  British  lines. 
Galloway's  Examination,  p.  25. 

■  Samuel  Shoemaker,  an  eminent  merchant  of  Philadelphia. — Ed. 

5  By  the  Pennsylvania  Act  of  Attainder,  passed  March  6th,  1778. — Ed. 

*  Balch's  edition  of  Galloway's  Examination,  pp.  33,  34. 


7i6 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


strength  of  his  army  and  the  weakness  of  Washington's.  The 
following  stirring  "  Address  "  written  at  that  time  depicts 
their  impatience  at  his  conduct,  and  knowledge  of  his  char- 
acter. 

ADDRESSED  TO  SIR  WILLIAM   HOWE   IN  THE  SPRING. 


Awake,  arouse,  Sir  Billy, 

There's  forage  in  the  plain, 
Ah  !  leave  your  little  Filly, 

And  open  the  campaign. 
Need  not  a  woman's  prattle, 

Which  tickles  in  the  ear, 
But  give  the  word  for  battle, 

And  grasp  the  warlike  spear. 
Behold  each  soldier  panting 

For  glory,  and  renown, 
To  them  no  spur  is  wanting, 

March,  and  the  day's  your  own. 
Such  Troops  had  Alexander, 

Two  worlds  he  would  subdue, 
For  with  a  bold  Commander 

They'd  conquer  old  and  new.' 


NOTE  LXIX. 

THE  MISCHIANZA — ITS  SCENE,  ITS  ACTORS,  AND  THE 
STRANGE  SIMILARITY.  BETWEEN  THE  DEVICE  ON  THE 
INVITATION  TICKET,  AND  THE  ARMS  OF  THE  STATE 
OF  NEW  YORK  DEVISED  IN  THE  AUTUMN  OF  1 777  BY 
GOVERNOR  GEORGE  CLINTON  AND  CHANCELLOR  ROB- 
ERT R.  LIVINGSTON. 

Vol.  I.,  pp.  241-251. 

MISCHIANZA,2  an  Italian  word  meaning  "  mixture "  or 
"  medley,"  was  the  name  of  the  remarkable  fete  of  the  1 8th 

1  MS.  in  the  Editor's  possession. 

'  It  was  spelled  yJ/fxchianza  on  the  Invitation  Ticket  hereafter  described,  but 
the  true  Italian  spelling  is  iJ/;>chianza. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


717 


of  May,  1778,  given  by  twenty-two  officers  of  the  British 
army,  at  their  sole  expense,  to  Sir  William  Howe,  and  his 
brother,  Admiral  Richard  Lord  Howe,  on  the  retirement,  by 
his  own  request,  of  the  former  from  the  chief  command  of  the 
British  army  in  America.1  It  was  a  brilliant  mingling  of  regatta, 
naval  and  military  procession,  knightly  tournament,  fireworks 
and  ball.  Such  mixed  festivities  had  been  introduced  two  or 
three  years  before  in  England  ;  that  at  "  The  Oaks,"  Earl 
Derby's  seat  near  Epsom,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1774,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  marriage  of  his  eldest  son,  Lord  Stanley 
(afterwards  12th  Earl  of  Derby)  to  Elizabeth,  the  only  daugh- 
ter of  James,  sixth  Duke  of  Hamilton,  arranged  by  General 
Burgoyne,  the  groom's  brother-in-law,  and  for  which  he 
wrote  his  celebrated  drama,  "  The  Maid  of  the  Oaks,"  having 

1  It  was  also,  in  all  probability,  really  intended  in  part  as  a  graceful  return  to 
tlie  ladies  of  Philadelphia  for  the  civilities  and  courtesies  shown  to  the  officers  of 
the  army  during  the  preceding  winter.  The  following  lines  written  by  one  of  the 
ladies  are  interesting  as  showing  the  social  effect  of  the  British  Army  in  Philadel- 
phia : 

THE  WINTER  THE  BRITISH  ARMY  WAS  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 


O  halcyon  days,  forever  dear, 

When  all  were  happy,  all  were  gay, 

When  winter  did  like  spring  appear, 
And  January  fair  as  May  ! 

Then  laughing  Sol  went  gaily  down, 
Still  brighter  in  the  morn  to  rise, 

And  fondly  waking  o'er  the  town, 
On  Britain's  Ensign  beamed  his  eyes. 

Then  all  confest  the  valiant  knight, 
Had  learnt  in  camps  the  art  to  please, 

Respectful,  witty,  yet  polite, 
Uniting  fancy,  grace,  and  ease. 

Still  danced  the  frolic  hours  away. 
While  heart  and  feet  alike  were  light, 

Still  hope  announced  each  smiling  day, 

And  Mirth  and  Music  crown'd  each  night.* 


*  MS.  in  the  Editor's  possession. 


7  1 8  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

been  very  famous.  Howe's  officers  followed  the  new  fashion, 
and  with  such  success,  that  after  the  lapse  of  a  century  the 
fame  of  their  entertainment  still  endures. 

The  "  letter  from  an  officer  on  the  spot,  to  his  friend  in 
England,  dated  at  Philadelphia,  the  23d  of  May,  1778,"  quo- 
ted by  the  author,  was  written  by  Capt.  John  Andre,  of  the 
7th  Foot,  or  Royal  Fusiliers — afterwards  the  unfortunate 
Major  Andre;  and  "the  friend  in  England"  was  probably 
Miss  Anna  Seward.  It  was  published  first,  in  London,  in  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine  for  August,  1778,  and  in  America,  in 
"The  Ladies  Magazine,"  of  Philadelphia,  for  August,  1792. 

The  scene  of  the  part  of  the  fete  on  land,  was  the  splendid 
house  and  grounds  of  Mr.  Joseph  Wharton,  one  of  the  rich 
Philadelphians  of  the  day,  called  from  his  marked  manners, 
"  Duke"  Wharton.  It  stood  on  the  east  side  of  Fifth  street 
at  the  corner  of  Wharton,  in  Southwark.  The  lawn  and 
grounds  reached  towards  the  Delaware,  to  which,  near  the  old 
fort  where  the  landing  took  place,  (afterwards  the  U.  S.  Navy 
yard,  and  now  the  station  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad)  a 
gentle  slope  extended,  ending  in  a  gravelly  beach,  which  as 
late  as  from  1803  to  1806  was  still  existing  as  a  favorite  bath- 
ing place.1  The  house,  occupied  as  a  school  in  the  writer's 
boyhood  in  Philadelphia,  was  only  taken  down  in  June,  1862. 
Prior  to  its  use  as  a  school,  it  had  been  for  many  years  a 
coach  factory.  In  the  days  of  Andre  and  of  Howe  it  was 
one  of  the  finest  of  the  many  fine  country  seats  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Philadelphia. 

Watson,  the  author  of  the  "  Annals  of  Philadelphia,"  pub- 
lished in  1845,  who  knew  them  personally,  gives  the  reminis- 
cences of  two  of  the  ladies  who  took  part  in  the  Mischianza, 
in  these  words  : 

"  When  I  think  of  the  few  survivors  of  that  gay  scene  who  now 
exist,  (of  some  whose  sprightliness  and  beauty  are  gone  !)  I  cannot 
but  feel  a  gloom  succeed  the  recital  of  the  fete.    I  think,  for  in- 

1  The  venerable  Richard  S.  Smith,  now  88  years  old,  and  probably  the  only 
person  living  who  then  bathed  there,  mentioned  this  fact  at  a  meeting  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Historical  Society  on  the  1 6th  of  April,  1877.  Penna.  Magazine  of  His 
tory,  Vol.  I.,  p.  154. 


0  HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  719 

stance,  of  one  who  was  then  "  the  queen  of  the  Mischianza,"  since 
Mrs.  L.,1  now  blind,  and  fast  waning  from  "  the  things  that  be."  To 
her  I  am  indebted  for  many  facts  of  illustration.  She  tells  me  that 
the  unfortunate  Major  Andre  was  the  charm  of  the  company.  Lieut. 
Andre  his  esquire,  was  his  brother,  a  youth  of  about  nineteen,  pos- 
sessing the  promise  of  an  accomplished  gentleman.  Major  Andre 
and  Captain  Oliver  I)e  Lancey2  painted,  themselves,  the  chief  of  the 
decorations.  The  Sienna  marble,  for  instance,  on  the  apparent  side 
walls,  was  on  canvas,  in  the  style  of  stage  scene  painting.  Andre 
also  painted  the  scenes  used  at  the  theatre,  at  which  the  British  offi- 
cers performed.  The  proceeds  were  given  to  the  widows  and  or- 
phans of  their  soldiers.  The  waterfall  scene,  drawn  by  him,  was  still 
in  the  building  when  it  lately  burnt.  She,  assures  me  that,  of  all 
that  was  borrowed  for  the  entertainment,  nothing  was  injured  or  lost. 
They  desired  to  pay  double,  if  accidents  occurred.  The  general  de- 
portment of  the  officers  was  very  praiseworthy  therein.  There  were 
no  ladies  of  British  officers,  save  Miss  Auchmuty,  the  new  bride  of 
Captain  Montresor.  The  American  young  ladies  present  were  not 
numerous — not  exceeding  fifty.  The  others  were  married  ladies. 
Most  of  our  ladies  had  gone  from  the  city,  and  what  remained  were 
of  course  in  great  demand.  The  American  gentlemen  present  were 
aged  non-combatants.  Our  young  men  were  whigs  generally,  and 
were  absent. 

No  offence  was  offered  to  the  ladies  afterwards,  for  their  accept- 
ance of  this  instance  of  an  enemy's  hospitality.  When  the  Ameri- 
cans returned,  they  got  up  a  great  ball  to  be  given  to  the  officers  of 
the  French  army,  and  the  American  officers  of  Washington's  com- 
mand. When  the  managers  came  to  invite  their  guests,  it  was  made 
a  question  whether  the  "  Mischianza  ladies"  should  be  invited.  It 
was  found  they  could  not  make  up  their  company  without  them  ; 
they  were  therefore  included.  When  they  came,  they  looked  differ- 
ently habited  from  those  who  had  gone  to  the  country,  they  having 
assumed  the  high  head-dress,  &c,  of  the  British  fashion,  and  so  their 
characters,  unintentionally,  were  immediately  perceived  at  a  glance 
through  the  hall.  [It  was  in  the  Masonic  hall,  in  Lodge  Alley.]  But 
lots  being  cast  for  partners,  they  were  soon  fully  intermixed,  and 
conversation  ensued  as  if  nothing  of  jealousy  had  ever  existed,  and 
all  umbrage  was  forgotten. 

1  Logan,  probably  Ed. 

■  Of  the  17th  Light  Dragoons,  who  succeeded  Andre  as  Adjutant-General. 
He  was  the  second  son  of  Brigadier-General  Oliver  de  Lancey,  of  de  Lancey's 
Battalions,  whose  wife  was  Pliila  Franks,  of  Philadelphia.  Sargent,  in  his  life  of 
Andre,  p.  166,  confounds  him  with  his  father,  who  commanded  on  Long  Island, 
N.  Y.,  during  the  war,  as  do  many  writers.  He  never  married,  and  died  at  Beech- 
wood  near  Edinburgh,  the  scat  of  his  sister,  Charlotte,  Lady  Dundas,  the  widow 
of  Genera!  Sir  David  Dundas,  K.C.  B.,  while  making  her  a  visit  in  1820,  one  of 
the  oldest  Generals  in  the  British  service,  and  is  buried  in  St.  John's  Cemetery, 
Edinburgh. — Ed. 


720 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


The  same  lady  was  also  at  a  splendid  supper  and  dance  given  by 
Captain  Hammond,  on  board  the  Roebuck.'  The  ship  was  fully  il- 
luminated, and  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  persons  sat  down  to 
supper. 

Miss  J.  C  g,*  who  was  also  a  knight's  lady,  has  kindly  given 

me  her  original  invitation  from  Sir  Henry  Calder,  (an  officer  of  high 
rank),  and  also  an  original  drawing  of  Major  Andre,  of  the  dress  for 
that  fete.  He  sketched  it  to  give  the  ladies  an  idea  of  the  garb  they 
should  assume.  In  reality  it  was  this,  for  the  Blended  Rose,  a  white 
silk,  called  a  Polonaise,  forming  a  flowing  robe,  and  open  in  front  on 
the  waist — the  pink  sash  six  inches  wide,  and  filled  with  spangles — 
the  shoes  and  stockings  also  spangled — the  head-dress  more  tower- 
ing than  the  drawing,  and  filled  with  a  profusion  of  pearls  and  jew- 
els. The  veil  was  spangled  and  edged  with  silver  lace.  She  says 
the  whole  scene  was  like  enchantment  to  her  young  mind. 

The  ladies  of  the  black  knights  wore  white  sashes  edged  with 
black,  and  black  trimmings  to  white  silk  Polonaise  gowns.  "  The 
ticket  "  is  surmounted  with  Sir  William  Howe's  crest,  and  the  shield 
represents  the  sea,  which  Sir  William  is  about  to  cross — hence  "  Vive 
Vale."  The  setting  glory  of  the  sun,  and  the  Latin  scroll,  seems  to 
indicate  that  although  the  luminary  is  thus  receding  from  this,  it  shall 
rise  again  (resurgam)  in  another  hemisphere."  3 

1  The  frigate  lying  off  the  city,  in  the  Delaware. — Ed. 

s  Craig ;  she  was  the  second  named  of  the  Ladies  of  the  Blended  Rose.  Her 
Knight  was  Captain  Bygrove ;  his  Squire  was  Lieutenant  Nicholls,  and  his  motto, 
"  Without  End."— Ed. 

3  It  is  a  very  extraordinary  fact  that  the  device  of  the  shield  of  the  Arms  of  the 
State  of  New  York  designed  in  the  autumn  of  1777,  by  Governor  George  Clinton, 
and  Chancellor  Robert  R.  Livingston,  should  be  the  same  as  the  device  of  the 
shield  on  the  Mischianza  Ticket,  originated  by  Andre  and  the  other  officers  in 
May,  1778.  The  only  difference  is,  that,  in  the  former,  the  land  is  represented  by 
three  mountains,  and  in  the  latter  by  a  low  landscape.  The  sun  represented  in  the 
same  position  in  both,  is  described  as  rising  in  the  former  and  setting  in  the  latter. 
The  mottoes  were  different  and  there  were  no  supporters  to  the  shield  on  the  ticket. 
The  latter  shield  was  surmounted  by  the  Howe  crest,  five  ostrich  feathers  rising 
from  a  ducal  crown,  and  the  former  shield  by  a  crest  which  is  an  eagle  proper, 
regardant,  wings  displayed,  rising  from  a  demi-globe  argent,  the  parallels  of  lati- 
tude and  longitude  sable. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


721 


NOTE  LXX. 

THE  AUTHOR'S  SEVERE  REVIEW  OF  THE  SERVICES  OF  THE 
TWO  HOWES — WHY  THE  NUMBERS  OF  BOTH  ARMIES 
WERE  EXAGGERATED— LA  FAYETTE'S  TESTIMONY — WHO 
THE  HOWES  WERE,  AND  THEIR  TITLES. 

Vol.  /.,  /.  252-261. 

In  the  author's  very  severe  but  just  review  of  Sir  William 
Howe's  services  in  America,  the  numbers  of  both  armies  are, 
as  we  now  know,  somewhat  exaggerated.  T/ieti  none  but 
the  Commander-in-Chief  on  each  side  knew  what  his  own 
numbers  really  were.  Each  permitted  their  force  to  be  ex- 
aggerated, in  order  to  deceive  his  enemy,  and  the  public,  on 
both  sides  of  the  ocean.  The  British  Generals,  by  ill  treat- 
ment of  the  people,  and  contempt  of  the  Provincial  troops 
and  their  officers  in  the  King's  service,  disgusted  both, 
and  lost  to  the  royal  side  thousands  upon  thousands  of 
eager  friends  and  well-wishers  in  all  the  colonies.  They  were 
thus  compelled  to  rely  mainly  on  European  reinforcements, 
which  were  few  and  expensive  ;  hence  their  object  in  hav- 
ing their  numbers  exaggerated.  On  the  other  side,  Congress 
and  Washington  had  the  utmost  difficulty  in  getting  together 
and  keeping  an  army  at  all.  Immediately  after  Bunker  Hill, 
there  was  a  brief  outburst  of  volunteering,  chiefly  in  New  Eng- 
land, but  it  soon  expired  ;  and  long  before  the  siege  of  Bos- 
ton was  raised,  threats,  bounties,  and  draftings,  were  all 
Washington  depended  on  for  troops.1  He  never  dared  to 
tell  anybody,  not  even  Congress,  his  true  numbers,  nor  his 
full  and  real  difficulties  on  this  head  ;  hence  his  reason  for 
letting  immense  numbers  be  given  out  as  under  his  command. 
La  Fayette's  testimony  on  this  point,  in  his  autobiographical 

1  Letter  of  25th  Dec,  1775,  to  Reed,  as  to  drafting;  Letter  of  Feb.  I,  1776, 
as  to  a  "  bounty  of  20,  30,  or  even  40  dollars  "  to  all  who  will  enlist  for  the  war. 
More  than  half  of  the  letter  stating  this  fact  was  omitted  by  Sparks.     Reed's  re- 
print of  Washington's  letters  to  Reed,  p.  33,  and  p.  60. 
46 


722 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


memoir,  never  published  till  after  his  death,  places  the  truth 
of  these  facts  beyond  cavil,  to  say  nothing  of  the  numerous 
private  and  official  documents  given  to  the  public  within  the 
last  decade  or  two.  "  Throughout  this  revolution,"  says 
La  Fayette,  "  the  greatest  difficulty  was,  that  in  order  to 
conceal  misfortunes  from  the  enemy,  it  was  necessary  to  con- 
ceal them  from  the  nation  also  ;  that  by  awakening  the  one, 
information  was  likewise  given  to  the  other ;  and  that  fatal 
blows  would  have  been  struck  upon  the  weakest  points  before 
democratic  tardiness  could  have  been  roused  to  support  them. 
It  was  from  this  cause  that,  during  the  whole  war,  the  real 
force  of  the  army  was  aliuays  kept  a  profound  secret ;  even 
Congress  zvas  not  apprised  of  it,  and  the  generals  were  often 
themselves  deceived."  1 

George  Augustus,  3d  Viscount  Howe,  who  fell  so  bravely 
at  Ticonderoga  in  1758,  Richard,  Admiral  Lord  Howe,  4th 
Viscount,  and  Sir  William  Howe,  5th  Viscount,  the  com- 
mander in  America,  were  brothers,  sons  of  Emanuel  Scrope 
Howe,  2d  Viscount,  by  his  wife  Mary  Sophia,  an  illegitimate 
daughter  of  George  I.,  by  his  mistress  the  Hanoverian  Baron- 
ess Kilmanscgge,  and  consequently,  in  point  of  fact,  first 
cousins  once  removed  of  George  III.  The  peerage  was  an 
Irish  one,  created  in  1 701,  by  William  III.,  in  favor  of  their 
grandfather,  Sir  Scrope  Howe,  Knight,  as  Baron  Clenawley, 
in  the  County  of  Fermanagh,  and  Viscount  Howe.  On  the 
fall  of  his  brother  at  Ticonderoga,  the  Admiral  succeeded  to 
the  title,  was  made  a  peer  of  Great  Britain  as  Viscount  Howe, 
in  1782,  and  created  Earl  Howe  in  1788,  and  died  in  1799, 
without  male  issue,  leaving  three  daughters,  when  the  English 
dignities  expired,  and  the  Irish  peerage  passed  to  General  Sir 
William  Howe  as  5th  Viscount.  Sir  William  married  Fran- 
ces, daughter  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  Thomas  Conolly,  of  Castletown, 
Ireland,  by  whom  he  had  no  issue,  and  died  in  l8l4(  when 
the  dignity  became  extinct. 

The  English  earldom  of  Howe  was  revived  in  1821  in  favor 

1  Memoirs,  Correspondence,  and  Manuscripts  of  Gen.  La  Fayette,  published  by 
his  family,  p.  36.  XV.  A.  Duer's  edition,  N.  Y.,  1837.  The  italics  are  the 
Editor's. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


723 


of  Richard  William  Curzon,  son  of  the  Admiral's  oldest 
daughter,  Sophia-Charlotte,  who  had  married,  in  1787,  Peron 
Asheton  Curzon,  eldest  son  of  Viscount  Curzon,  which  is  now 
the  second  title  of  the  earldom.  The  Admiral's  second 
daughter  died  single,  and  the  youngest,  Louisa,  married  first, 
the  Marquis  of  Sligo,  and  secondly,  Lord  Stowcll,  the  famous 
judge  in  Admiralty,  brother  of  Lord  Chancellor  Hldon.1 


NOTE  LXXI. 

THE  MURDER  AND  ROBBERY  OF  JOHN  RICHARDS,  OF  PAS- 
SAIC, NEW  JERSEY,  IN  1778. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  280. 

The  bitter  message  of  Governor  William  Livingston,  of  the 
28th  of  May,  1777,  urging  severe  treatment  of  the  loyal  men 
of  New  Jersey,  and  the  confiscation  of  their  property,  and 
the  violent  hostility  of  his  articles  in  the  newspapers  of  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  under  noms-de-plume,  a  violent 
hostility  continued  even  after  the  war,  not  only  excited  the 
cruelties  perpetrated  against  them,  of  which  the  murder  of 
Richards,  mentioned  in  the  text,  was  an  instance,  but  led  to 
similar  cruel  retaliations.  The  man  who  killed  Richards,  as 
there  stated,  was  named  Brower.  Sabine  says  that  the  mur- 
der took  place  in  January,  1778,'  and  not  in  the  summer  of 
that  year. 

1  Burke's  Peerage,  "  Howe." 

•  Sabine's  Loyalists,  Vol.  I.,  p.  213. 


724 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


NOTE  LXXII. 

CARLISLE    AND   ROBERTS— THEIR   TRIAL    AND  EXECUTION 
AT  PHILADELPHIA  IN 

Vol.  I.,  p.  282. 

Abraham  Carlisle,  and  John  Roberts,  were  two  most 
respectable  men,  quakers  in  religion,  and  loyalists  in  principles. 
The  former  was  a  builder,  the  latter  a  miller  ;  and  both  men 
of  some  property,  and  well  advanced  in  years.  Carlisle  had 
a  wife  and  son,  and  Roberts  a  wife  and  ten  children.  They 
were  indicted  for  high  treason,  under  a  law  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania "  rebel  "  Assembly,  passed  February  11th,  1777. 

The  "  overt  act"  proved  against  Carlisle,  was  "  holding  a 
commission  from  Sir  William  Howe,  of  Superintendent  of  the 
City  Gates  of  Philadelphia,  with  power  to  grant  passes,"  and 
"  watching  over  and  guarding  "  the  said  gates.  The  "  overt 
act  "  proved  against  Roberts,  was  "  enlisting,"  and  attempting 
to  prevail  upon  another  man  to  enlist,  in  the  armies  of  the 
enemy.  The  "  enlisting"  of  Roberts  was  technical  ;  that  is, 
he  joined  the  British  army  in  Philadelphia,  fearing  personal 
danger  if  he  remained  at  his  home  in  Merion,  and  was  em- 
ployed not  in  fighting,  but  in  obtaining  and  carrying  infor- 
mation. Sergeant,  the  Attorney  General,  and  Joseph  Reed 
prosecuted,  and  Messieurs  Wilson  and  Ross  defended  the 
prisoners.  Under  a  harsh  charge  of  Judge  Thomas  McKean 
both  were  condemned  and  sentenced  to  be  hung. 

The  author  is  in  error  in  saying  they  were  not  permitted 
the  benefit  of  counsel ;  the  rest  of  his  statement  accords  with 
the  minutes  of  the  trial  of  Carlisle,  and  the  numerous  memo- 
rials and  petitions  from  hundreds  of  citizens,  the  judges,  the 
jurors,  and  the  clergy  of  the  city  (among  the  latter,  Provost 
Smith  of  the  College,  and  William,  afterwards  Bishop,  White) 
to  the  Supreme  Council  of  Pennsylvania  for  their  pardon, 
given  in  Volume  VII.  of  the  Archives  of  Pennsylvania,  pages 
21  to  58.    Their  cases  are  also  reported  in  I  Dallas's  Penna. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


725 


Reports,  39  and  42. 1  All  efforts  were  in  vain.  Political  and 
personal  resentment,  and  the  desire  for  the  proceeds  of  con- 
fiscation, were  too  strong  in  the  Council,  and  both  were  hung. 
They  met  their  fate  with  the  greatest  resolution.  At  the 
scaffold  Roberts  made  an  address  and  told  his  audience  "  that 
his  conscience  acquitted  him  of  guilt ;  that  he  suffered  for 
doing  his  duty  to  his  sovereign  ;  that  his  blood  would  one 
day  be  required  at  their  hands  ;  then  turning  to  his  children 
he  charged  and  exhorted  them  to  remember  his  principles, 
for  which  he  died,  and  to  adhere  to  them  while  they  had 
breath.  This  was  the  substance  of  his  speech,  after  which  he 
suffered  with  the  resolution  of  a  Roman."' 

"  They  were  walked  to  the  gallows  behind  the  cart,  with  hal- 
ters around  their  necks,  attended  by  all  the  apparatus  which 
makes  such  scenes  truly  horrible,  and  with  a  guard  of  militia, 
but  very  few  spectators.  Poor  Carlisle,  having  been  very 
ill  during  his  confinement,  was  too  weak  to  say  anything  ; 
but  Mr.  Roberts,  with  the  greatest  coolness  imaginable,  spoke 
for  some  time.  .  .  .  After  their  execution,  their  bodies  were 
suffered  to  be  carried  qway  by  their  friends  ;  and  Mr.  Car- 
lisle's body  was  buried  in  Friends'  Burying  ground,3  attended 
by  above  four  thousand  people  in  procession." 


NOTE  L  X  X  I  I  I  . 

COLONEL   MAITLAND    AT   THE   SIEGE   OF    SAVANNAH — HIS 
DEATH — CONTEMPORARY  TRIBUTE  TO  HIS  MEMORY. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  291. 

COLONEL  JOHN  MAITLAND,  to  whose  opportune  arrival  on 
the  16th  of  October,  with  800  men,  by  an' unfrequented  route 

'  There  is  nothing  in  either  of  these  official  authorities  to  justify  the  note  of  the 
translator,  inserted  in  the  translation  of  Chastellux's  Travels,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  283- 
285,  that  one  or  both  guided  the  British  troops  under  Col.  Abercrombie  to  attack 
(ien.  Lacy's  command  in  Bucks  County. 

'  Letter  of  Isaac  Ogden.    Balch's  Galloway's  Examination,  p.  77,  note. 

3  Letter  of  James  Humphreys,  of  23d  of  Nov.,  1778.    Ibid.  78,  note. 


726 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


from  Port  Royal,  and  subsequent  skill  during  the  siege,  the 
victory  over  the  French  and  Americans  was  owing,  though 
sick  all  the  time  with  the  fever  of  which  he  died  on  the  25th, 
was  a  son  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Lauderdale,  and  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  of  the  71st  Highlanders— a  man  of  fortune,  and  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

The  following  tribute  to  his  memory  is  copied  from  the 
original  MS.  of  its  author,  Mrs.  de  Lancey,  of  New  York, 
(Margaret  Allen,  daughter  of  Chief-Justice  Allen,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania) the  wife  of  James  de  Lancey,  the  head  of  that  family 
and  party  in  New  York  for  many  years  before  and  at  the 
time  of  the  revolution,  in  the  possession  of  the  writer  of  this 
note. 

"  On  the  death  of  Col.  Maitland,  occasioned  by  the  fatigues  he 
suffered  in  his  admired  march  from  Beaufort  to  the  relief  of  Savan- 
nah, and  whose  memory,  in  the  Charlestown  Gazette,  receives  its 
highest  panegyric  from  the  mouth  of  an  enemy. 

O'er  Maitland's  corpse,  as  Victory  reclin'd, 

Reflecting  on  the  fate  of  human  kind, 

'  Is  this,'  she  cried,  'the  end  of  all  thy  toils? 

What  now  avail  thy  laurels  and  thy  spoils  ! 

Worn  with  fatigues,  thou  cam'st  thy  friends  to  save, 

Gave  them  relief,  and  sunk  into  the  grave. 

Now  Grief  and  Joy  together  blend  their  cries, 

Savannah's  saved,  yet  gen'rous  Maitland  dies. 

In  vain,  around,  thy  conq'ring  soldiers  weep, 

Thy  eyes  are  clos'd  in  death's  eternal  sleep. 

Yet  while  a  grateful  King,  and  Country  sighs, 

O'er  thy  lov'd  ashes  Marbles  proud  shall  rise. 

Nay,  even  thy  Foes  reliev'd  awhile  from  fear, 

Confess  thy  virtues  and  bestow  a  tear  ; 

Own  that  as  valour  strung  thy  nervous  arm, 

So  gentle  pity  did  thy  bosom  warm. 

O,  double  praise,  to  make  the  haughty  bend, 

Yet  make  the  vanquish'd  Enemy  thy  Friend  ! 

Thus  Maitland  falls,  but  to  his  deathless  praise, 

Both  Friends  and  Foes  a  grateful  altar  raise.'  " 

Intended  merely  as  a  friend's  tribute  to  a  gallant  officer, 
these  lines  were  published  in  Rivington's  Gazette  for  April 
26,  1780,  by  some  one  now  unknown,  with  the  following  re- 


HISTORY  OK  NEW  YORK.  727 

ply  of  the  Spirit  of  Colonel  Maitland  to  Mrs.  de  Lancey,  the 
writer  of  which  is  also  unknown,  but  was  probably  Dr. 
Moore,  afterwards  Bishop  of  New  York,  some  of  whose 
verses  on  another  subject  are  in  the  writer's  possession. 

"  From  those  blest  Realms  where  joys  eternal  reign, 
Accept  my  thanks,  de  Lancey,  for  thy  strain. 
Within  a  world  to  malice  ever  prone, 
Where  generous  candor  is  but  seldom  known, 
Where  censure's  thousand  tongues  unceasing  wound, 
And  private  virtue  in  the  foe  is  drown'd. 
T'was  kindly  done,  a  Soldier's  Name  to  save 
Nor  let  it  perish  with  him  in  the  grave. 
What  tho'  my  Country  to  her  Warriors  gone, 
May  grateful  raise  a  Monumental  stone, 
A  few  short  years  their  courses  shall  roll  o'er, 
And  the  vain  structure  will  exist  no  more  ; 
But  far  beyond  what'er  a  Nation  pays, 
My  soul  esteems  the  fair  de  Lancey's  praise. 
Where's  now  the  haughty  Ileav'n  aspiring  Tomb, 
Rear'd  for  her  Cajsar  by  afflicted  Rome?  ' 
Fall'n  beneath  the  ruthless  hand  of  Age  ! 
Yet  Cassar  lives  in  Maro's  Sacred  Page! 
So  when  in  Ruin  lies  the  laurelled  Bust, 
And  Tombs  and  Statues  moulder  in  the  Uust, 
Thy  verse,  de  Lancey,  shall  transmit  to  Fame, 
Immortal  as  your  own,  your  Maitland's  Name." 


NOTE  LXXIV. 

GENERAL  MONTGOMERY — HIS  BIRTH — CAREER — THE  GAR- 
RISON OF  QUEBEC  READY  FOR  HIS  ATTACK  ON  THE 
3IST  OF  DECEMBER,  1 775,  IN  CONSEQUENCE  OF  AN 
OFFICER'S  PRESENTIMENT. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  309. 

General  Richard  Montgomery,  an  Irishman,  born  in 
Dublin,  was  the  youngest  of  the  three  sons  of  Thomas  Mont- 
gomery, of  County  Donegal,  Ireland,  a  descendant  of  the 


728  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Montgomeries  of  France.  Alexander,  the  oldest,  was  the 
Captain  Montgomery  who  was  at  the  capture  of  Quebec, 
under  Wolf,  in  1759,  and  who  subsequently  represented  Don- 
egal in  the  Irish  Parliament  for  forty  years.  John,  the  second 
son,  was  a  merchant  and  died  at  Lisbon.  They  had  an  only 
sister,  Sarah,  who  married  Charles  Jones,  4th  Viscount  Rane- 
lagh,  great  grandfather  of  the  present  peer.1  General  Mont- 
gomery when  quite  young  was  put  in  the  17th  Regiment  of 
foot,  after  being  some  time  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  Pie 
served  under  Amherst,  at  Louisburgh  in  Cape  Breton,  and 
accompanied  his  regiment  when  that  General  went  to  rein- 
force Wolf  via  Boston,  the  interior  of  Massachusetts,  and 
Albany,  who  however  succeeded  before  Amherst  reached 
Canada.  He  continued  in  the  army,  and  "  had  the  promise 
of  a  Majority  in  the  year  177 1,  and  had  lodged  his  money 
for  the  purchase,  when  he  was  overlooked,  and  another 
purchased  over  him.  This  gave  him  a  disgust  for  the  ser- 
vice." He  therefore  sold  out  in  1772,  came  in  January, 
1 773,  to  New  York,  and  purchased  a  small  farm  of  67  acres 
on  the  high  ground  in  Westchester  County,  near  Kings- 
bridge,  on  the  division  line  between  Yonkers  and  the  Manor 
of  Fordham,  upon  which  in  1776,  Fort  Independence  was 
erected,  and  which  he  devised  to  his  sister.  Lady  Ranelagh, 
"  as  "  in  the  words  of  his  will,  "  her  large  family  want  all  I 
can  spare."  His  wife  was  Janet,  a  daughter  of  Robert  R. 
Livingston,  the  Colonial  Judge  of  that  name,  whom  he  married 
in  July,  1773,  when  he  removed  to  Rhincbeck  in  the  Manor 
of  Livingston,  where  he  afterward  lived.  Some  years  before, 
while  on  his  way  up  the  Hudson  river  to  a  distant  post,  he 
had  come  on  shore  with  other  officers  at  Clermont,  Judge 
Livingston's  seat  on  that  river,  and  thus  saw  for  the  first 
time,  the  lady  he  afterwards  married.2    According  to  the 

1  Rurke's  Peerage,  "  Ranelagh." 

5  The  above  facts  are  taken  from  a  memorandum  written  by  Mrs.  Montgomery, 
the  General's  widow,  given  in  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "  Biographical  notes  concern 
ing  General  Richard  Montgomery,  with  unpublished  Letters  and  Manuscripts," 
by  Louise  M.  Hunt,  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Montgomery,  published  in  November,  1S76. 
Though  incorrect  in  her  historical  statements,  the  particulars  which  Mrs.  Mont- 
gomery says  she  had  from  her  husband,  are  doubtless  authentic. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Army  Lists,  the  dates  of  his  Commissions  were,  Ensign,  2ist 
September,  1756;  Lieutenant,  10th  July,  1758  ;  Captain,  6th 
May,  1762. 

The  late  Mr.  Justice  John  Gaulcy  Thompson,  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Canada,  whom  he  met  accidentally  at  Gaspe, 
while  travelling  in  Canada  in  the  summer  of  1866,  informed 
the  writer  that  his  father  James  Thompson,  who  was  tempo- 
rarily doing  duty  as  an  officer  at  the  time  of  the  siege  of 
Quebec,  told  him  that,  unable  to  sleep  from  a  presentiment 
of  impending  danger,  he  got  up  before  daybreak  on  the  31st 
of  December,  1775,  and  went  personally  to  examine  the  out- 
works on  the  St.  Charles  side  of  the  City.  Snow  covered  the 
ground,  and  it  was  snowing  slightly  at  the  time.  As  the  day- 
light began  to  come,  he  saw  indistinctly  some  white  objects  at 
a  distance  apparently  moving.  Satisfying  himself  that  they 
really  did  move,  he  at  once  went  to  General  Carleton  and  in- 
formed him  of  the  fact.  Carleton  instantly  sent  orders 
throughout  the  entire  lines  to  be  on  the  alert.  The  result 
was,  that  when  Montgomery  made  his  attack,  he  found  the 
British  prepared,  and  was  killed  at  the  first  fire.  Justice 
Thompson  said  his  father  found  Montgomery's  sword,  and 
that  he,  the  Judge,  then  had  it  at  his  own  house  in  Quebec. 
That  when  Montgomery's  remains  were  taken  to  New  York, 
his  father  offered  to  give  up  the  sword  ;  but  for  some  reason, 
he  never  knew  what,  it  was  declined.  His  father,  on  inquiry 
afterwards,  found  that  Arnold  had  made  his  men  put  their 
white  shirts  over  their  clothes,  so  as  to  destroy  the  contrast 
with  the  snow  on  the  ground,  and  prevent  their  being  dis- 
covered too  soon.  Thus  the  presentiment  of  James  Thomp- 
son was  really  the  cause  of  Montgomery's  defeat  and  death. 

With  the  writer's  party  then  travelling  in  Canada,  and  who 
heard  this  account  from  the  Judge,  strange  to  relate,  were 
two  granddaughters  of  Col.  Nicholas  Van  Rensselaer,  of 
Greenbush,  N.  Y.,  who  was  one  of  Montgomery's  aids  at 
Quebec,  and  with  him  when  he  was  shot,  and  who  were  also 
the  possessors  of  the  sword  their  grandfather  then  wore. 
Great  was  the  surprise  of  the  Judge  at  hearing  from  their  lips 
these  facts,  and  great  the  astonishment  of  all  parties  at  this 


73° 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


singular  meeting,  by  accident,  at  the  extreme  easterly  end  of 
Lower  Canada,  of  the  descendants  of  parties  so  intimately 
connected  on  opposite  sides  with  the  siege  of  Quebec,  and 
the  death  of  Montgomery,  ninety  years  before. 


NOTE  LXXV. 

ARNOLD'S  TREASON — ANDRE — WHO  HIS  CAPTORS  WERE — 
SIR  HENRY  CLINTON'S  Ms.  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  PLOT — 
DID  ANDRE  LAND  UNDER  THE  SANCTION  OF  A  FLAG  ? 
— SMITH'S  TRIAL — THE  FAMILIES  OF  ANDRE  AND  OF 
ARNOLD. 

Vol.  I.,  pp.  370-385. 

The  accounts  of  Arnold's  treason,  and  the  arrest  and  exe- 
cution of  Andre,  especially  of  the  arrest,  written  at  the  time 
of,  and  within  a  few  years  after,  the  events  themselves,  al- 
though agreeing  in  the  main  incidents,  differ  much  as  to 
their  details.  And  more  recently  published  statements  of 
contemporaries,  brought  out  by  the  researches  of  the  past 
few  years,  have  increased  the  difference.  At  the  time  the 
text  was  written,  there  were  many  stories  current  in  America 
and  in  England,  some  of  which  have  since  proved  to  have 
much  truth  in  them  :  especially  those  relating  to  the  persons 
who  arrested  Andre.  The  author  is  incorrect  in  stating  that 
Washington's  errand  to  the  eastward  was  "  to  the  Governors 
and  leading  men  of  New  England."  It  was  to  consult  Ro- 
chambcau  and  de  Ternay,  then  just  arrived  with  the  expedi- 
tion from  France.  He  errs,  too,  in  saying  that  the  captors 
of  Andre  were  "  militia  men."  They  did  not  belong  to  any 
militia,  or  military  company,  or  corps,  whatever.  They 
were  simply  seven  farmer's  boys  (many  accounts  call  them 
"  peasants,")  who  on  the  suggestion  of  John  Yerks,  one  of 
their  number,  had  banded  together  the  day  before  at  North 
Salem,  Westchester  County,  for  an  expedition  to  Tarrytovva 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


731 


to  rob  cattle  for  their  own  benefit  from  outlying  parties 
then  engaged  in  driving  stock  by  the  western  Westchester 
roads  to  New  York,  for  the  use  of  the  British  army.1  Four 
of  them,  John  Yerks,  the  originator  of  the  plan,  James  Romer, 
William  Williams,  and  Isaac  See,  posted  themselves  on  the 
top  of  Davis's  Hill,  in  Tarrytown,  to  watch  lest  they  should 
be  caught  by  the  Light  Horse,  and  three,  David  Williams, 
Isaac  Van  Wart,  and  John  Paulding,  the  first  two  of  whom 
could  neither  read  nor  write,'  placed  themselves  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  by  the  road  to  get  the  cattle  when  they  should 
appear,  where  they  were  playing  cards  when  Andre  came  in 
sight.  A  fact,  which  had  they  been  militia  on  duty,  would 
have  made  them  liable  to  condign  punishment,  and  which 
was  first  mentioned  by  Andre  himself.  According  to  Wil- 
liams, Paulding  procured  the  cards  at  the  house  of  one  Isaac 
Reed,  that  same  morning." 

Neither  was  Washington  present  at  the  execution,  as  the 
text  states.  With  the  greatness  naturally  belonging  to  him, 
he  absented  himself  from  it,  and  it  is  very  doubtful  whether 
he  even  saw  Andre  after  his  capture.  It  is  certain  he  never 
examined  him  personally,  as  he  did  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  when 
brought  to  the  Robinson  house. 

The  statement  that  Andre's  boots  were  pulled  off  after  he 
was  brought  to  Major  Tallmadge,  and  by  that  officer's  order, 
though  one  of  the  stories  of  the  day,  is  also  an  error.  Tall- 
madge, however,  did  refer  to  the  boots  twenty-four  years  after 
the  author's  death,  in  his  speech  in  Congress  in  1 8 1 7 ,  in  favor 
of  the  report  against  increasing  Paulding's  pension,  saying  in 
reference  to  the  captors,  "  that  when  Major  Andre's  boots 
were  taken  off  by  them  it  was  to  search  for  plunder  and  not 
to  detect  treason." 

The  overwhelming  greatness  of  the  benefit  resulting  from 
the  action  of  the  captors,  blinded  many  then,  and  has  blinded 

1  Bolton's  Hist.  Westchester,  Vol.  I.,  p.  213.  Yerks  himself  told  this  fact  to 
Mr.  Bolton.  The  N.  Y.  Act  of  24th  June,  1780,  authorized  this  freebooting  by 
private  persons  for  their  own  profit,  and  was  one  of  the  strongest  incentives  to  the 
general  rapine  and  crime  that  then  existed  in  Westchester  County. 

1  Sargent's  "  Andre." 

3  Williams's  statement  in  Simm's  History  of  Schoharie  Co.,  pp.  646-649. 


732 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


many  since,  to  their  true  characters,  and  the  real  cause  of 
that  action.  Moreover,  the  truth  about  them  was  known  to 
few  beyond  their  acquaintances  and  neighbors,  and  the  officers 
in  command  in  that  locality.  And  it  was  to  the  interest  of 
Congress,  and  the  American  cause,  and  to  the  benefit  of  the 
American  Army,  that  the  matter  should  be  made  as  much  of 
as  possible.  The  result  of  the  action,  not  the  motives  of  the 
actors,  was  the  object  on  which  attention  was,  and  has  gener 
ally  been,  fixed.  Had  the  seven  young  men  been  asked  early 
that  very  morning  before  they  left  the  hay  barrack  at  Clark's 
Corners  in  which  they  had  slept,  or  Romer's  House  where 
they  stopped  for  breakfast,  to  lay  in  wait  on  the  road, 
whether  they  were  "  incorruptible  patriots,"  how  amused 
and  astonished  they  would  have  been.  Paulding,  or  Pawling, 
as  he  is  called  in  the  record,  and  Williams,  made  their  first 
statements  under  oath  on  the  trial  of  Joshua  Hett  Smith  on 
the  4th  of  October,  1780,  which  are  those  usually  quoted  and 
are  well  known.  Van  Wart  was  not  examined;  why,  is  not 
stated.  Both  statements  are  silent  as  to  what  they  found  on, 
or  took  from,  Andre,  except  the  secreted  papers.  Paulding 
on  a  further  question  from  the  Court,  as  to  his  reason  for  not 
letting  Andre  go  on  the  production  of  Arnold's  pass,  an- 
swered :  "  Because  he  said  he  was  a  British  officer.  Had  he 
pulled  out  General  Arnold's  pass,  first,  I  should  have  let  him 
go."1 

British  officers  had  proved  to  be  valuable  captives  before, 
and  Paulding,  who  had  escaped  only  four  days  before  from 
confinement  in  New  York,  was  fully  aware  of  the  fact.  His 
evidence  also  proves  that  had  Andre  retained  his  presence  of 
mind,  he  need  not  have  been  taken  at  all.  How  slight  was 
the  thread  on  which  then  hung  the  salvation  of  America  ! 

In  "  The  Journals  of  Major  Samuel  Shaw,  with  a  Life  of 
the  Author,  by  Josiah  Quincy,"  is  a  letter  from  Shaw  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Eliot,  on  the  Arnold  treason,  dated  the  27th  Sep- 
tember, 1780,  four  days  only  after  the  arrest  of  Andre,  in 
which  he  says,  the  change  of  the  Vulture's  position, 

1  Smith's  Trial,  Hist.  Mag.,  Vol.  VI.,  supplement,  pp.  70-71. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


733 


"  determined  him  to  try  his  fortune  by  land.  Accordingly,  by  vir- 
tue of  a  pass  from  General  Arnold,  he  crossed  King's  Ferry  disguised 
as  a  citizen,  under  the  name  of  John  Anderson  ;  and  having  got 
without  all  our  patrols,  was  taken  up  by  some  militia,  or  rather  a 
species  of  freebooters,  who  live  by  the  plunder  they  pick  up  between 
the  lines.  There  was  something  extraordinary  in  the  manner  of  his 
capture.  As  soon  as  the  men  presented  themselves,  he  said,  suppos- 
ing them  to  be  some  of  De  Lancey's  corps,  that  he  was  a  British  of- 
ficer. But  on  finding  his  mistake,  he  produced  General  Arnold's 
pass,  and  offered  them  his  gold  watch  if  they  would  suffer  him  to  go 
on.  They  took  the  watch  and  searched  him  for  money  ;  but  not 
meeting  with  any  in  his  pockets,  they  pulled  off  his  boots,  on  which 
he  exclaimed,  "All's  gone,  by  God!"  .  .  .  (here  they  found  the  se- 
creted papers)  "  Andre,  on  this  discovery  offered  the  captors 

five  hundred  guineas,  and  indeed  anything  they  would  demand,  pro- 
vided they  would  permit  him  to  escape.  But  all  would  not  do."  And 
after  stating  his  being  carried  to  Jameson,  the  letter  concludes,  "  This 
matter  was  so  managed  by  Arnold  that  no  person  was  in  the  secret 
except  the  aforesaid  Smith,  who  was  a  necessary  agent.  He  was 
taken  in  bed  at  Fishkill  the  same  night  before  he  heard  of  the  discov- 
ery, and  will  meet  the  just  punishment  of  his  demerits." 

Thirty-seven  years  after  Andre's  death,  John  Paulding  pe- 
titioned the  fourteenth  Congress  for  an  increase  of  pension 
for  his  services  in  arresting  him.  The  petition  was  presented 
in  the  I  louse  of  Representatives,  and  referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Pensions,  who  reported  by  Mr.  Chappell,  their  Chair- 
man, against  the  increase,  on  the  13th  of  January,  1817, 
closing  with  a  resolution  that  the  petition  was  "  unreason- 
able "  and  ought  not  to  be  granted.1 

The  report  was  opposed  by  Messrs.  Wright,  Smith  of 
Md.,  Gold,  Forsyth,  Robertson,  and  Sharp,  and  supported 
by  Messrs.  Chappell,  Jewett,  Tallmadge,  and  Pickering,  "on 
the  ground  of  the  injustice  of  legislating  on  a  single  case  of 
pension  for  services  which  were  in  fact,  though  important, 
but  the  common  duty  of  every  citizen,  and  in  which  no  dis- 
ability was  incurred  ;  whilst  there  were  many  survivors  of  the 
Revolution  in  obscurity  and  want,  and  to  whom  no  relief  had 
been,  or  would  be,  extended."  The  motion  to  reverse  the 
report  and  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petition  was  decided  in 
the  negative  ;  ayes,  53,  noes,  80  or  90.    A  motion,  by  Mr. 


Journals,  Ho.  Rep.,  for  January,  I S 1 7 . 


734 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Little,  to  postpone,  was  voted  down,  and  "  the  report  was 
then  agreed  to."  1 

"What  gave  interest  principally  to  the  debate,"  says  the  report  in 
Niles's  Register,  "was  the  disclosure  by  Mr.  Tallmadge  of  Connecti- 
cut, (an  officer  at  the  time  and  commanding  the  advance  guard  when 
Major  Andre  was  brought  in)  of  his  view  of  the  merit  of  this  transac- 
tion, with  which  history  and  the  records  of  the  country  have  made 
every  man  familiar.  The  value  of  the  service  he  did  not  deny,  but, 
on  the  authority  of  the  declarations  of  Major  Andre  (made  while  in 
custody  of  Col.  Tallmadge)  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  if  Major 
Andre  could  have  given  to  these  men  the  amount  they  demanded  for 
his  release,  he  never  would  have  been  hung  for  a  spy,  nor  in  captivity 
on  that  occasion.  Mr.  T.'s  statement  was  minutely  circumstantial, 
and  given  with  expression  of  his  individual  confidence  in  its  correct- 
ness. Among  other  circumstances  he  stated  that,  when  Major 
Andre's  boots  were  taken  off,  it  was  to  search  for  plunder  and  not  to 
detect  treason.  These  persons  indeed,  he  said,  were  of  that  class  of 
people  who  passed  between  both  armies,  as  often  in  one  camp  as 
the  other,  and  whom  he  said  if  he  had  met  them  he  should  probably 
have  as  soon  apprehended  as  Major  Andre,  as  he  had  always  made  it 
a  rule  to  do  so  witli  these  suspicious  persons.  The  conclusions  to  be 
drawn  from  the  whole  of  Mr.  Tallmadge's  statement,  of  which  this  is 
a  brief  abstract,  was  that  these  persons  had  brought  in  Major  Andre, 
only  because  they  should  get  more  for  his  apprehension  than  for  his 
release." 

This  action  and  discussion,  brought  out  in  confirmation  of 
Major  Tallmadge's  declaration,  the  following  corroborating 
testimony  of  another  officer  personally  aware  of  all  the  facts, 
in  an  article  in  the  "  Gleaner,"  a  newspaper  of  Wilkesbarre, 
Pennsylvania,5  in  which  the  editor  says  : 

"There  is  now  living  in  this  town  a  gentleman  who  was  an  officer 
in  the  Massachusetts  line,  and  who  was  particularly  conversant  in  all 
the  circumstances  of  that  transaction.  It  was  this  gentleman  who,  in 
company  with  Captain  Hughes,  composed  the  special  guard  of  An- 

1  Journals  and  Proceedings  of  House  of  Representatives,  1817.  Benson's 
"Vindication."  The  latter  is  merely  a  republication  of  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Board  that  tried  Andre,  Tallmadge's  charges,  with  affidavits  of  Paulding  and  Van 
Wart  in  vindication  of  their  purity  and  honesty,  and  Judge  Benson's  statement  of 
his  belief  in  them.  Except  the  two  affidavits  it  gives  no  further  evidence  in  their 
favor. 

*  This  account  also  appeared  in  the  National  Intelligencer,  of  Washington ;  and 
in  the  N.  Y.  Courier,  of  24th  March,  1817. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


735 


die's  person — was  with  him  during  the  last  twenty-four  hours  of  his 
life,  and  supported  him  to  the  place  of  execution.  From  him  we 
have  received  the  following  particulars  : — it  is  needless  to  say  we 
give  them  our  implicit  belief,  since  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with 
the  person  to  whom  we  allude,  no  other  testimony  is  ever  necessary 
than  his  simple  declaration. 

To  this  gentleman  Andre  himself  related,  that  he  was  passing 
down  a  hill,  at  the  foot  of  which,  under  a  tree  playing  cards,  were  the 
three  men  who  took  him.  They  were  close  by  the  roadside,  and  he 
had  approached  very  near  them  before  either  party  discovered  the 
other  ;  upon  seeing  him  they  instantly  rose  and  seized  their  rifles. 
They  approached  him  and  demanded  who  he  was  ?  He  immediately 
answered,  that  he  was  a  British  officer;  supposing,  from  their  being 
so  near  the  British  lines,  that  they  belonged  to  that  party.  They  then 
seized  him,  robbed  him  of  the  few  guineas  which  he  had  with  him, 
and  the  two  watches  which  he  then  wore — one  of  gold  and  the  other 
of  silver.1  He  offered  to  reward  them  if  they  would  take  him  to  New 
York  ;  they  hesitated  ;  and  in  his  (Andre's)  opinion,  the  reason  why 
they  did  not  do  so,  was  the  impossibility  on  his  part  to  secure  to 
them  the  performance  of  the  promise. 

He  informs  [us],  also,  that  it  was  an  opinion  too  prevalent  to 
admit  of  any  doubt,  that  these  men  were  of  that  description  of  per- 
sons usually  called  "  Cowboys,"  or  those  who  without  being  consid- 
ered as  belonging  to  either  party,  made  it  a  business  to  pillage  from 
both.  He  has  frequently  heard  it  expressed  at  that  time  by  several 
officers  who  were  personally  acquainted  with  all  these  men,  and  who 
could  not  have  been  mistaken  as  to  their  general  characters." 

This  officer  was  Captain  Samuel  Bowman  of  the  Massachu- 

1  Andre's  gold  watch,  horse,  saddle,  and  bridle  were  sold  after  his  execution  at 
auction,  and  the  proceeds  divided  among  the  seven  persons  forming  the  party  who 
captured  him.  The  watch  was  bought  by  Col.  Smith,  who  subsequently  sent  it  to 
Andre's  sisters  in  England.  "  The  Rev.  A.  L.  Whitman  of  Groton,  Connecticut, 
has  presented  to  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society  the  pocketbook  taken  from 
Major  Andre  at  the  time  of  his  capture,  September  23d,  1780,  and  it  has  been 
placed  in  the  Exhibition  Hall  of  the  Society  in  Hartford.  This  interesting  relic 
was  for  a  long  time  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Joshua  Barrell,  a  revolutionary  sol- 
dier, and  at  his  death  passed  into  the  hands  of  his  grandson,  the  donor  named 
above.  It  will  hereafter  be  kept  by  the  side  of  Arnold's  watch,  which  has  been 
for  many  years  in  the  possession  of  the  Society."  Potter's  Monthly,  Vol.  II.,  p. 
64.  A  letter  of  the  present  distinguished  Fresident  of  the  Society,  J.  Ham- 
mond Trumbull,  to  the  writer  of  this  note  says,  The  Andre  pocketbook  was 
given  us  by  the  Rev.  A.  L.  Whitman,  who  was  personally  known  to  me,  and 
whose  veracity  is  above  suspicion.  He  received  it  many  years  ago  from  his  grand- 
father, Joshua  Barrell,  to  whom  it  was  given  or  sold  by  one  of  the  captors  of 
Andre,  as  he  informed  his  son  and  grandson."  The  silver  watch  is  said  to  be  in 
the  possession  of  a  gentleman  in  Missouri. — Ed. 


736  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

setts  line.  General  King,  of  Ridgefield,  Connecticut,  at  the 
time  a  lieutenant  in  Sheldon's  dragoons,  who  had  the  custody 
of  Andre  within  a  few  hours  after  his  arrival  at  South  Salem, 
also  stated,  nearly  in  the  same  terms,  the  story  Andre  told 
him.    The  part  relating  to  the  search,  is  as  follows  : 

"  You  said  you  was  a  British  officer,  and  no  money  says  they. 
Let's  search  him.  They  did  so  but  found  none.  Says  one,  he  has 
got  money  in  his  boots,  let's  have  them  off,  and  see.  They  took  off 
his  boots,  and  then  they  found  his  papers,  but  no  money.  They 
then  examined  his  saddle,  but  found  none.  He  said  he  saw  they 
had  such  a  thirst  for  money  he  could  put  them  in  a  way  to  get 
it  if  they  would  be  directed  by  him.  He  asked  them  to  name  their 
sum  to  deliver  him  at  Kings  Bridge.  They  answered  him  in  this  way. 
If  we  deliver  you  at  Kings  Bridge,  we  shall  be  sent  to  the  Sugar 
House,1  and  you  will  save  your  money.  He  says  to  them,  if  you  will 
not  trust  my  honor,  two  of  you  may  stay  with  me,  and  one  shall  go 
with  a  letter  which  I  shall  write.  Name  your  sum.  The  sum  was 
agreed  upon,  but  I  cannot  recollect  whether  it  was  five  hundred  or 
a  thousand  guineas — the  latter,  I  think,  was  the  sum.  They  held  a 
consultation  a  considerable  time,  and  finally  they  told  him,  if  he  wrote, 
a  party  would  be  sent  out  and  take  them,  and  then  they  all  should 
be  prisoners.  They  said  they  had  concluded  to  take  him  to  the  com- 
manding officer  on  the  lines."  2  Mr.  VYinthrop  Sargent,  whose  au- 
thoritative Life  of  Andre  leaves  little  to  be  desired,  thus  tersely  sums 
up  the  case.  "  It  is  evident  his  captors  were  of  wild  unsettled  dis- 
positions, engaged  now  on  an  expedition  that  was  certainly  unsanc- 
tioned by  the  laws  and  practices  of  the  American  Army.  That  they 
despoiled  their  prisoner  is  also  established  ;  and  but  for  the  papers  on 
his  person  the  matter  might  have  ended  there.  *  *  *  and  while  we 
can  see  that  young  men  in  their  position  delighted  in  enterprises  that 
had  a  zest  in  their  very  risks  and  unlawfulness,  it  is  as  plain  that 
when  love  of  plunder  and  love  of  country  were  conspicuously  bal- 
anced before  their  eyes,  the  former  kicked  the  beam."  *  *  *  *  That 
they  thought  him  a  spy  when  they  searched  him  is  more  than  I 
believe.  General  Heath  says  they  knew  not  what  he  was  ;  nor  he, 
whether  his  captors  were  Americans,  British,  or  Refugees.  It  is 
however  proper  to  state,  that  on  every  subsequent  occasion,  they 
solemnly  and  steadily  professed  the  entire  purity  of  their  conduct  and 
motives  in  all  this  transaction.3 

1  The  prison  in  Liberty  street,  New  York. — Ed. 
'  Sargent's  Andre,  317. 
3  Ibid.,  pp.  319-320. 


HISTORY  OK  NEW  YORK. 


737 


SIR   HENRY  CLINTON'S   MS.  ACCOUNT   OF  THE  PLOT. 

In  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  copy  of  Stedman's  "  History  of  the 
American  War,"  on  the  margin  of  the  249th  page  of  the 
second  volume  containing  the  account  of  Arnold's  treason — 
which  is  the  usual  one — is  written,  in  his  own  hand,  "  Igno- 
rance of  the  whole  transaction — too  tender  a  subject  to  explain 
upon  now.  C." 

Subsequently,  on  the  fly-leaves  at  the  end  of  the  volume, 
he  has  written  the  following  statement,  which  the  heading 
states  is  copied  from  his  MS.  History  of  the  War.'  It  is 
printed  precisely  as  written. 

"  About  eighteen  months  before  the  present  period,  Mr.  Arnold 
(a  Major  General  in  the  American  service)  had  found  means  to  inti- 
mate to  me,  that  having  found  cause  to  be  dissatisfied  with  many  late 
Proceedings  of  the  American  Congress,  particularly  their  Alliance 
with  France,  he  was  desirous  of  (putting  them  and  joining  the  cause 
of  Great  Britain,  could  he  be  certain  of  personal  security,  and  Indem- 
nification tor  whatever  loss  of  property  he  might  thereby  sustain.  An 
overture  of  that  sort  coming  from  an  officer  of  Mr.  Arnold's  ability 
and  Fame,  could  not  but  attract  my  attention  ;  and  as  I  thought  it 
possible  that  like  another  General,  Monk,  he  might  have  repented  of 
the  part  he  had  taken,  and  wished  to  make  atonement  for  the  In- 
juries he  had  done  his  country  by  rendering  her  signal  and  adequate 
benefit,  I  was,  of  course,  liberal,  in  making  him  such  offers  and 
promises  as  1  judged  most  likely  to  encourage  him  in  bis  present 
temper.  A  correspondence  was  after  this  opened  under  feigned 
names  ;  in  the  course  of  which,  he  from  time  to  time,  transmitted  to 
me  most  material  Intelligence  ;  and  with  a  view  (as  I  supposed)  of 
tendering  us  stdl  more  essential  service,  he  obtained  in  July  1780  the 
command  of  all  the  Enemy's  forts  in  the  Highlands,  then  garrisoned 
by  about  4000  men.  The  local  importance  of  the  posts  has  already 
been  very  fully  described  in  the  last  volume  of  this  History,  it  is 
therefore  scarcely  necessary  to  observe  how  that  the  obtaining  pos- 
session of  them  at  the  present  critical  period  would  have  been  a  most 
desireable  circumstance  ;  and  that  the  advantages  to  be  drawn  from 
Mr.  Arnold's  having  the  command  of  them,  struck  me  with  full  force, 
the  instant  I  heard  of  his  appointment.  Hut  the  arrival  of  the  French 
armament,  the  consequent  Expedition  to  Rhode  Island,  and  the 
weakness  of  my  own  force  together  with  the  then  daily  increase  of 

1  This  it  is  believed  was  never  published.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  if  it 
is  still  in  existence,  and  where. 

47 


;3S 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Mr.  Washington's  obliged  me  to  wait  for  some  more  favorable  oppor- 
tunity before  I  attempted  to  put  that  gentleman's  sincerity  to  the 
proof. 

In  the  mean  time  wishing  to  reduce  to  an  absolute  certainty 
whether  the  person,  I  had  so  long  corresponded  with  was  actually 
Major  General  Arnold  commanding  at  West  Point,  I  acceded  to  a 
proposal  he  made  me  to  permit  some  officers  in  my  confidence  to 
have  a  personal  conference  with  him,  when  everything  might  be  more 
explicitly  settled  than  it  was  possible  to  do  by  Letter,  and  as  he  re- 
quired that  my  Adjutant  General  Major  Andre  (who  had  chiefly  con- 
ducted the  correspondence  with  him  under  the  signature  of  John 
Anderson)  should  meet  him  for  this  purpose  on  Neutral  ground,  1 
was  induced  to  consent  to  his  doing  so  from  my  great  confidence  in 
that  officer's  prudence  and  address.  Some  attempts  towards  a  meet- 
ing had  been  accordingly  made  before  Sir  George  Rodney's  arrival. 
Hut  though  the  plans  had  been  well  laid,  they  were  constantly  frus- 
trated by  some  untoward  accident  or  other ;  one  of  which  had  very 
nearly  cost  Mr.  Arnold  his  life.  These  disappointments  made  him 
of  course,  cautious:  and  as  1  now  became  anxious  to  forward  the 
Execution  of  my  project  while  I  could  have  that  naval  chiefs  assist- 
ance, and  under  so  good  a  mask  as  the  Expedition  for  the  Chesa 
peake,  which  enabled  me  to  make  every  requisite  Preparation  with- 
out being  suspected,  I  consented  to  another  proposal  from  General 
Arnold  for  Major  Andre  to  go  to  him  by  water  from  Dobb's  ferry  in 
a  boat  which  he  would  himself  send  for  him  under  a  flag  of  Truce. 
For  1  could  have  no  reason  to  suspect  that  any  bad  consequence 
could  possibly  result  to  Major  Andre  from  such  a  mode,  as  1  had 
given  it  in  charge  to  him,  not  change  his  Dress  or  name  on  any  ac- 
count, or  possess  himself  of  writings  by  which  the  nature  of  his  Em- 
bassy might  be  traced,  and  I  understood  that  after  his  Business  was 
lmished  he  was  to  be  sent  Pack  in  the  same  way.  But  unhappily 
none  of  these  precautions  were  observed  ;  on  the  contrary,  Gen. 
Arnold,  for  reasons  which  he  judged  important,  or  perhaps  (which  is 
the  most  probable)  losing  at  the  moment  his  usual  presence  of  mind, 
thought  proper  to  drop  the  design  of  sending  Major  Andre  back  by 
water,  and  prevailed  upon  him,  (or  rather  compelled  him,  as  would 
appear  by  that  unfortunate  officer's  Letter  to  me,)  to  part  with  his 
uniform,  and  under  a  borrowed  disguise  to  take  a  circuitous  Route  to 
New  York  through  the  Posts  of  the  enemy  under  the  sanction  of  his 
passport.  The  consequence  was  (as  might  be  expected)  that  he  was 
slopped  at  Tarrytown  and  searched,  and  certain  papers  being  found 
about  him  concealed,  he  was  (notwithstanding  his  passport)  carried 
prisoner  before  Mr.  Washington,  to  whom  he  candidly  acknowledged 
his  name  and  quality.  Measures  were  of  course  immediately  taken 
upon  this  to  seue  General  Arnold;  but  that  officer  being  fortunate 
enough  to  receive  timely  notice  of  Major  Andre's  fate  effected  his 
escape  to  a  King's  sloop  lying  off  Taller's  point,  and  came  the  next 
day  to  New  York. 

1  was  exceedingly  shocked  by  this  very  unexpected  accident  which 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


739 


not  only  ruined  a  most  important  project,  which  had  all  the  appear- 
ance of  being  in  a  happy  train  of  success,  but  involved  in  danger  and 
distress,  a  confidential  friend,  for  whom  I  had  (very  deservedly)  the 
warmest  esteem.  Not  immediately  knowing,  however,  the  full  ex- 
tent of  the  misfortune,  I  did  not  then  imagine  the  Enemy  could  have 
any  motive  for  pushing  matters  to  extremity,  as  the  bare  detention 
of  so  valuable  an  officer's  person  might  have  given  him  a  great  power 
and  advantage  over  me  ;  and  I  was  accordingly  in  hopes  that  an  Of- 
ficial demand  from  me  for  his  immediate  release,  as  having  been 
under  the  sanction  of  a  (lag  of  Truce  when  he  landed  within  his  posts, 
might  shorten  his  captivity,  or  at  least  stop  his  proceeding  with  rigour 
against  him.  But  the  cruel  and  unfortunate  catastrophe  convinced 
me  that  I  was  much  mistaken  in  my  opinion  of  both  his  policy  and 
humanity.  For  delivering  himself  up  (as  it  should  seem)  to  the  ran- 
cour excited  by  the  near  accomplishment  of  a  plan  which  might  have 
effectually  restored  the  King's  authority,  and  tumbled  him  from  his 
present  exalted  situation,  he  burnt  with  a  desire  of  wreaking  his  ven- 
geance on  the  principal  actors  in  it ;  and  consequently  regardless  of 
the  acknowledged  worth  and  abilities  of  the  amiable  young  man  who 
had  thus  fallen  into  his  hands,  and  in  opposition  to  every  principle 
of  policy  and  call  of  humanity,  he,  without  remorse,  put  him  to  a 
most  ignominious  Death  ;  and  this,  at  a  moment  when  one  of  his 
Generals  was  by  his  own  appointment  in  actual  conference  with 
commissioners  whom  I  had  sent  to  treat  to  him  for  Major  Andre's 
release. 

The  manner  in  which  Major  Andre  was  drawn  to  the  Enemy's 
shore  (manifestly  at  the  instance  and  under  the  sanction  of  the 
General  officer  who  had  the  command  of  the  district),  and  his  being 
avowedly  compelled  by  that  officer  to  change  his  dress  and  name, 
and  return  under  his  passports  by  Land,  were  circumstances,  which, 
as  they  much  lessen  the  imputed  criminality  of  his  offence,  ought  at 
least  to  have  softened  the  severity  of  the  Council  of  War's  Opinion 
respecting  it,  notwithstanding  his  Imprudence  of  having  possessed 
himself  of  the  papers  which  they  found  on  him.  Which,  though  they 
led  to  a  discovery  of  the  nature  of  the  business  that  drew  him  to  a 
conference  with  General  Arnold,  were  not  wanted  (as  they  must  have 
known)  for  my  information.  For  they  were  not  ignorant  that  I  had 
myself  been  over  every  part  of  the  ground  on  which  the  Forts  stood, 
and  had,  of  course,  made  myself  perfectly  acquainted  with  every 
thing  necessary  for  facilitating  an  attack  of  them.  Mr.  Washington 
ought  also  to  have  remembered  that  I  had  never  in  one  instance 
punished  the  disaffected  Colonists  (within  my  power)  with  Death, 
but  on  the  contrary,  had  in  several,  shown  the  most  humane  Atten- 
tion to  his  Intercession  even  in  favor  of  avowed  spies.  His  acting 
therefore  in  so  cruel  a  manner  in  opposition  to  my  earnest  solicita- 
tions could  not  but  excite  in  me  the  greatest  surprise  ;  Especially  as 
no  advantage  whatever  could  be  possibly  expected  to  his  cause  by 
putting  the  object  of  them  to  Death.  Nor  could  he  be  insensible 
(had  he  the  smallest  spark  of  honour  in  his  own  breast)  that  the  ex- 


74© 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


ample  (though  ever  so  terrible  and  ignominious)  would  never  deter  a 
british  officer  from  treading  in  the  same  steps,  whenever  the  service 
of  his  country  would  require  his  exposing  himself  to  the  like  danger 
in  such  a  war.  But  the  subject  affects  me  too  deeply  to  proceed — 
nor  can  my  heart  cease  to  bleed  whenever  I  reflect  on  the  very  un- 
worthy fate  of  this  most  amiable  and  valuable  young  man,  who  was 
adorned  with  the  rarest  Endowments  of  Education  and  Nature,  and 
(had  he  lived)  could  not  but  have  attained  to  the  Highest  Honours 
of  his  profession.' 

DID  ANDRiS  LAND  FROM  THE  VULTURE  UNDER  A  FLAG  OF 

TRUCE  ? 

IT  is  very  clear  that  if  Andre  did  land  "  under  the  sanction 
of  a  flag,"  when  he  went  in  his  uniform,  with  Joshua  Hett 
Smith,  in  the  boat  rowed  by  the  two  Colquhouns  (tenants  of 
Smith)  to  the  beach  at  the  Long  Clove,  and  met  Arnold,  the 
Board  of  General  Officers,  to  whom  Washington  referred  his 
case,  could  not  legally,  as  their  record  expresses  it,  "  report 
that  Major  Andre,  Adjutant  General  to  the  British  Army, 
ought  to  be  considered  as  a  spy  from  the  enemy,  and 
that  agreeably  to  the  law  and  usage  of  nations,  it  is  their 
opinion  he  ought  to  suffer  death."  5 

That  he  did  "  land  under  the  sanction  of  a  flag"  as  the 
author  so  strenuously  insists,  was  the  undoubted  belief  of 
every  man  connected  with  the  affair,  including  Arnold  him- 
self, of  all  the  officers  on  the  British  side,  and  of  most,  if  not 
all,  on  the  American.  But  Andre  denied  the  fact,  and  thus 
by  his  own  words  actually  condemned  himself  to  death,  as  the 
official  record  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Board  of  General  Of- 
ficers shows.  That  record  is  as  follows,  and  it  is  the  whole 
of  it  on  this  subject : 

"The  Board  having  interrogated  Major  Andre  about  his 
conception  of  his  coming  on  shore  under  the  sanction  of  a 
flag,  he  said  that  it  zvas  impossible  for  him  to  suppose  he  came 

1  This  account  lias  been  printed  hut  three  times  before  ;  by  Lord  Mahon  in  the 
appendix  to  the  last  volume  of  his  History,  by  Sargent  in  his  Life  of  Andre,  and  in 
the  N.  Y.  Tribune  for  the  24th  May,  1S75. 

'■  Final  clause  of  the  "  Report  "  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  a  Board  of  General  Of- 
ficers respecting  Major  John  Andre,"  p.  25. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


74 1 


on  shore  under  that  sanction,  and  added,  that  if  he  came  on 
shore  under  that  sanction,  he  might  have  returned  under  it. 

Major  Andre  having  acknowledged  the  preceding  facts, 
and  being  asked  whether  he  had  anything  to  say  respecting 
them,  answered,  he  left  them  to  operate  with  the  Board. 

The  examination  of  Major  Andre  being  concluded,  he  was 
remanded  into  custody." 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  testimony  itself,  by 
question  and  answer,  was  not  reported.  The  whole  "  pro- 
ceedings," except  the  documents  recited,  being  merely  a 
brief  condensation  of  the  evidence  in  the  language  of  John 
Lawrence,  the  Judge  Advocate  General.  Except  Andr£,  no 
person  was  examined;  the  rest  of  the  evidence  was  documen- 
tary. No  other  witness  was  called,  Andre  was  not  given 
counsel,  and  the  Court  sat  but  part  of  one  day,  September 
29th,  1780. 1    With  such  extreme  haste  was  the  trial  pressed. 

We  could  then  have  judged  whether  Andre  did  or  did  not 
lose  his  presence  of  mind  on  that  occasion,  and  say  what  he 
ought  not  to  have  done,  as  he  did  on  the  occasion  of  his  ar- 
rest at  Tarrytown.  Had  he  said  that  he  came  on  shore  under 
the  sanction  of  a  flag,  his  execution  would  have  been  illegal. 
His  whole  correspondence  and  communication  with  Arnold, 
prior  and  up  to  the  landing,  was  by  means  of  flags,  and 
shows  that  '  Mr.  Anderson '  was  to  come  under  a  flag.* 
Arnold,  it  will  be  remembered,  went  to  Dobb's  Ferry  by 
water,  under  a  flag,  on  September  nth,  to  meet  Andre  and 
Beverly  Robinson,  but  was  fired  on  and  driven  off  by  the 
guard  boats.  A  result  that  compelled  those  two  officers  to 
come  to  the  Vulture  on  the  20th,  on  board  which  vessel  they 
expected  Arnold  would  come  under  a  flag,  as  he  could  not  come 
in  any  other  way.  And  it  is  inconceivable  that  when  it  was 
decided  by  Robinson  and  Andre,  as  Arnold  did  not  come  on 
board,  that  Andre  was  to  go  on  shore  to  him,  that  he,  Andre, 
should  have  believed  that  he  was  not  going  on  shore  under  a 
flag,  especially  as  he  went  in  uniform.  But  as  he  denied  be- 
fore the  Board  of  Officers  that  "  he  came  on  shore  under  the 

1  See  its  "  Proceedings"  which  were  published  by  order  of  Congress. 

1  He  expressly  says  so  himself  in  his  letter  to  Sheldon  of  7th  Sept.,  17S0. 


742 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


sanction  of  a  flag"  they  could  not,  possibly  under  the  law 
military,  report  otherwise  than  they  did — and  his  condemna- 
tion and  execution  by  Washington's  orders  as  a  spy,  by  hang- 
ing, was  therefore  perfectly  right  and  proper,  leaving  all  other 
questions  entirely  out  of  view.  If  Andre  did  not  lose 
his  presence  of  mind  on  his  examination,  and  make  some 
mistake,  then  he  must  have  considered  that  the  assumption 
of  the  name  of  John  Anderson,  and  appearing  as  John  Ander- 
son, forfeited  his  right  to  claim  immunity  under  a  flag  as 
Major  John  Andre.  The  record  does  not  show  that  Andre 
denied  that  "  John  Anderson  "  came  on  shore  under  the 
sanction  of  a  flag,  and  it  does  not  state  that  there  was  no  flag 
in  the  boat,  as  it  should  have  done,  if  the  evidence  showed 
that  such  was  the  fact. 

It  must  be  remembered  in  this  connection  that  Joshua  Hett 
Smith  and  the  two  Colquhouns,  or  Cahoons,  as  they  are 
called  in  the  report  of  Smith's  trial,  were  the  only  persons  in 
the  boat  when  it  went  to  the  Vulture,  and  Andre  the  only 
person  they  brought  back  ;  that  the  whole  transaction  was  at 
night,  and  the  time  the  bo.nt  remained  at  the  Vulture  was 
only  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ;  that  all  previous  communications 
with  the  Vulture  and  the  American  lines  had  been  by  flags 
of  truce,  and  the  firing  by  the  Americans  upon  a  flag  sent 
from  the  Vulture  to  meet  a  flag  displayed  by  themselves 
at  Teller's  Point,  caused  her  captain,  Sutherland,  to  send 
another  flag  with  a  letter  from  him  to  Arnold,  attested  by 
"John  Anderson"  as  secretary,  complaining  of  that  base 
act,  which  thus  was  really  the  means  by  which  Arnold  was 
informed  of  Andre's  presence  on  board  the  Vulture. 

At  the  trial  of  Smith,  Samuel  Colquhoun  made  no  state- 
ment, pro  or  con,  about  a  flag,  nor  was  any  question  asked 
him  on  the  subject ;  Joseph  Colquhoun  detailing  his  interview 
with  Smith,  when  the  latter  wished  him  to  row  the  boat, 
swears  "  on  asking  Mr.  Smith  where  he  wanted  to  go,  he 
said,  a  little  way  down  the  river.  On  asking  how  far,  and 
where,  he  said  I  think,  '  on  board  of  the  man-of-war,'  or 
'  ship,'  I  am  not  certain  which,  as  a  flag  on  business  of  Gen- 
eral Arnold."    This  was  all  he  stated,  and  neither  he  nor  his 


0 

HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  743 

brother  were  asked  if  there  was  any  flag  in  the  boat.  There 
is  no  evidence  either  way  from  these  men  on  that  point, 
except  as  here  stated.1 

General  La  Fayette  swore  on  Smith's  trial,  that  at  the  ex- 
amination of  Smith  by  Washington,  at  the  Robinson  House, 
in  the  presence  of  Knox,  Hamilton,  Tilghman,  and  himself, 
Smith  "said  that  he  had  been  sent  by  General  Arnold  on 
board  the  Vulture,  British  man-of-war,  with  a  flag,  in  the 
night,  in  order  to  bring  on  shore  Col.  Robinson." 
"  Being  asked  if  he  thought  himself  under  the  sanction  of  a 
flag  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  he  answered  '  Yes.'  "  a 

The  letters  of  Col.  Robinson  and  Capt.  Sutherland  on  the 
occasion  show  that  they  considered  that  Smith  came,  and 
Andre  went,  under  the  sanction  of  a  flag,  and  Arnold  himself 
expressly  wrote  Washington  that  such  was  the  fact.  Genl. 
Knox  says  nothing  in  his  testimony  on  the  trial  about  the  flag, 
but  swears  that  Smith  said,  "  he  with  two  other  persons  Went 
from  a  place  which  Mr.  Smith  called,  I  think,  Hay's  Creek,  in 
a  boat  on  board  the  Vulture  ;  that  when  he  came  near  the 
Vulture  he  was  hailed,  and  told  to  come  on  board  in  very 
violent  and  abusive  language." 

The  testimony  of  Harrison  and  Hamilton  as  to  Smith's 
statements  on  his  examination,  was  similar  to  Knox's.  Noth- 
ing either  way  as  to  a  flag  was  said  by  cither.' 

Such  is  a  brief  summary  of  all  the  evidence  on  this  point. 
Why  Andre  denied  that  he  landed  "  under  the  sanction  of 
a  flag  "  is  inexplicable,  unless  he  lost  his  presence  of  mind 
and  made  statements  when  alone  before  the  Board  of  General 
Officers  not  borne  out  by  the  actual  facts,  or  unless  his  high 
sense  of  military  honor  forbade  that  the  immunity  of  a  flag 
which  "John  Anderson  "  could  have  demanded,  could  also 
be  demanded  by  Major  John  Andre.  Probably  the  latter  was 
really  the  case. 

1  Smith's  Trial,  "  Examination  of  Samuel  and  Joseph  Cahoon,"  pp.  2  to  6. 
Hist.  Mag.,  Vol.  X.,  1st  series,  Supplement. 
a  Ibid,  La  Fayette's  testimony. 

3  Ibid,  testimony  of  Knox,  Harrison,  and  Hamilton  on  Smith's  Trial. 


744 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


JOSHUA  HETT  SMITH'S  TRIAL. 

Joshua  Hett  Smith  was  tried  after  Andre's  execution, 
not  arrested  then  as  the  text  states,  and  before  a  Court  Mar 
tial  of  field  officers.  He  claimed  a  jury  trial  on  very  much 
the  grounds  stated  by  the  author,  but  it  was  not  accorded 
him.  He  was  arrested  at  Fishkill  in  his  bed  the  very  night 
following  the  afternoon  on  which  Washington  first  learned  of 
the  treason,  and  was  examined  by  him  in  person  the  next 
morning  on  his  arrival  at  the  Robinson  House.  The  report 
of  this  trial  is  very  rare,  very  few  copies  were  printed,  and  it  is 
believed  the  author  of  this  History  never  saw  it — at  least  in 
full.  A  copy  having  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  late 
James  Gordon  Bennett,  he  reprinted  it  in  his  newspaper,  the 
New  York  Herald.  From  this  it  was  printed  in  "  The  Histori- 
cal Magazine,"  of  New  York,  in  1866,  and  afterwards  a  few 
copies  in  expensive  pamphlet  form  were  issued  by  a  gentle- 
man of  New  York.  These  are  the  only  reprints  that  have 
ever  been  made,  it  is  believed.  Smith  was  subsequently  con- 
fined at  Goshen  by  the  civil  authorities,  but  he  finally  es- 
caped from  the  jail  and  went  to  New  York.  He  never  had  a 
civil  trial. 

Smith's  "  Narrative  of  the  Death  of  Major  Andre,"  is  very 
much  more  common.  But  his  citations  and  references  in  it 
to  his  "  Trial  "  and  the  evidence  there  given  are  utterly  unre- 
liable, and  some  of  them  absolutely  false.  It  was  intended  for 
the  English  public,  and  written  accordingly,  by  that  most  un- 
principled and  treacherous  person. 

THE  FAMILIES  OF  ANDRE  AND  ARNOLD. 

Major  ANDR&  was  born  about  175 1,  and  was  the  eldest  son 
of  Anthony  Andre,  a  merchant  of  London,  by  Mary  Louise, 
daughter  of  Paul  Girardot,  of  Paris.  His  father  was  born  in 
Geneva,  in  Switzerland,  and  was  the  grandson  of  John  Andre, 
of  Nismes.  He  made  London  his  home,  was  naturalized  by 
an  Act  of  Parliament  in  1748,  and  died  there  (at  Hackney)  on 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


745 


the  14th  of  April,  1769,  leaving  two  sons,  John— the  Major — 
and  William  Lewis,  both  in  1780  in  the  Army  in  America, 
and  two  daughters,  Mary  Hannah,  and  Louisa  Catherine,  the 
former  of  whom  died  at  Bath,  December  25th,  1835,  aged  81, 
and  the  latter  at  the  same  city,  March  3d,  1845,  aged  93. 
Their  mother  died  at  Bath  as  late  as  181 3,  at  the  great  age  of 
ninety-one  years.  Captain  William  Andre,  in  memory  of  his 
brother's  services,  was  created  a  Baronet  of  Great  Britain, 
March  24th,  1781.  He  had  a  son  of  the  same  name  who  died 
in  his  father's  lifetime,  and  Sir  William  Lewis  Andre,  Bart., 
himself,  died  November  nth,  1802,  when  the  dignity  became 
extinct.1  The  mural  monument  in  the  south  aisle  of  the  nave 
of  Westminster  Abbey,  was  erected  shortly  after  Andre's 
death  by  order  of  George  III.,  and  his  remains  were  re- 
moved by  order  of  the  Duke  of  York  from  Tappan,  carried  in 
the  frigate  Phaeton  to  England,  and  interred  beneath  the  pave- 
ment of  the  Abbey  near  the  monument  in  1821.' 

General  Arnold  sailed  for  England  with  the  army,  was  dis- 
gusted with  his  experience  there,  and  went  to  St.  Johns, 
New  Brunswick,  in  1785,  and  entered  into  trade.  But  he 
was  disliked  by  the  loyalists,  who  founded  that  city,  and  was 
very  unpopular.  He  sued  his  partner,  Monson  Hoyt,  who  had 
said  some  harsh  things  about  his  connection  with  a  fire 
which  burned  his  store,  for  libel,  and  the  jury  gave  him  two 
and  six  pence  damages. s  He  was  unsuccessful  in  business, 
remained  about  seven  years,  and  returned  to  England  by  way 
of  the  West  Indies  in  1794. 

On  the  vexed  question  as  to  the  complicity  of  his  wife  in 
Arnold's  plot— the  writer  can  state,  that  he  was  informed  by 
his  personal  friend,  the  late  Richard  Varick  De  Witt,'  of 

1  Colonel  Chester's  Westminster  Abbey,  Sargent's  Andre. 

1  The  removal  of  the  remains  of  General  Montgomery  from  Quebec  to  New 
York  in  1818,  and  their  interment  at  St.  Paul's  Church,  suggested  the  idea  to 
Consul  Buchanan  of  that  city.  He  brought  the  subject  to  the  notice  of  the  Duke 
of  York,  who  at  once  carried  the  suggestion  into  effect  in  August,  1S21. 

3  The  record  of  the  trial  was  in  existence  in  1876,  when  the  writer  was  at  St. 
Johns. 

*  Son  of  Simeon  De  Witt,  geographer  to  the  American  army,  and  nephew  of 
Colonel  Varick,  whose  name  he  bore. 


746 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Albany,  one  of  the  most  upright  of  men — that  Col.  Varick, 
Arnold  s  aid,  told  him,  that  at  first  he  believed  Mrs.  Arnold's 
conduct  on  the  discovery  of  the  plot  was  the  genuine  result 
of  her  innocence  of  her  husband's  treachery,  but  that  subse- 
quently he  was  satisfied  that  it  was  nothing  but  a  piece  of 
splendid  acting. 

Benedict  Arnold,  the  traitor,  was  the  fourth  of  his  name 
in  four  consecutive  generations,  and  the  fifth  in  descent  from 
the  first  ancestor  of  the  family  in  America.  He  was  the  son 
of  Benedict  Arnold  of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  a  merchant, 
grandson  of  Benedict  Arnold  of  Rhode  Island,  a  member  of 
its  Assembly,  and  great  grandson  of  Benedict  Arnold  who 
came  from  Pawtucket  to  Newport  in  1653,  succeeded  Roger 
Williams  as  "  President  of  the  Colony"  under  the  first  char- 
ter, and  was  several  times  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  under 
the  second  charter.  He  it  was  who  refers  in  his  will  to  "  his 
stone  mill  in  Newport,"  and  is  supposed  to  have  built  that 
famous  structure.  This  first  Benedict  Arnold  was  a  son  of 
William  Arnold  of  Leamington  in  Warwickshire,  who  came 
with  his  family  to  New  England  in  1636,  was  a  friend  of 
Roger  Williams,  whom  he  accompanied  to  Providence,  and 
settled  on  the  Pawtucket  River.  General  Benedict  Arnold 
was  thus  of  the  fifth  generation  in  America  of  a  very  respect- 
able family,  and  was  born  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  July  3d, 
1740.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Waterman,  but  at  the 
time  she  married  his  father  she  was  a  widow  King.1  His  first 
wife  was  a  Miss  Mansfield,  who  died  in  1775,  while  he  was 
with  the  army  in  Canada.'  His  second  was  Margaret  Shippen, 
daughter  of  Edward  Shippen,  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania, 
whom  he  married  April  8th,  1779.  He  died  at  his  house  in 
Gloucester  Place,  London,  in  his  61st  year,  on  the  14th  of 
June,  1 801,  and  on  the  21st  was  buried  at  Brompton.  His 
wife  died  in  Bryanstone  street,  Portman  Square,  London,  in 

1  Arnold  Family  Chart  in  the  N.  Y.  GenM.  and  Hiog'l.  Society. 

*  liy  her  he  had  three  sons  :  Benedict,  an  officer  of  artillery  in  the  British  army, 
who  died  young  in  the  West  Indies  ;  Iletiry  and  Richard,  both  lieutenants  in 
their  father's  cavalry  legion,  and  subsequently  in  business  with  him  at  St.  John's. 
Later  they  were  merchants  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  removed  to  Upper  Canada,  where, 
in  1829,  they  were  men  of  some  property.    Sabine,  Vol.  I.,  p.  183. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  747 

1804,  at  the  age  of  44.  Just  after  the  peace  Mr.  Peter  Van 
Schaack,  a  New  York  loyalist,  while  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
saw  a  gentleman  and  lady  enter,  and  pass  to  the  monument 
then  recently  erected  by  the  King  to  Major  Andre,  near 
which  they  stood  and  conversed  together.  They  were  Gen- 
eral and  Mrs.  Arnold.  What  a  picture  !  The  traitor  and  his 
wife  in  Westminster  Abbey  before  Andre's  monument !  Mr. 
Van  Schaack  turned  from  it  with  disgust.1 

By  his  second  wife,  Margaret  Shippcn,  Arnold  had  five 
sons  and  one  daughter  : — 

1.  Edward  Shippen  Arnold,  Lieut  Bengal  Cavalry,  d. 

at  Singapore,  13th  Dec,  1813.  He  was  the  baby  at  the 
time  of  the  treason. 

2.  James  Robertson  Arnold,  named  after  the  last  British 

Governor  of  New  York,  Lieutenant-General,  K.  H.  and 
K.  C.,  m.  Virginia  Goodrich,  of  Saling  Grove,  Essex, 
and  d.  1834. 

3.  George  Arnold,  Lieut. -Col.,  Bengal  Cavalry,  m.  Anne 

Brown,  d.  in  India,  1st  Nov.,  1828. 

4.  William  Fitch  Arnold,  Captain  in  the  19th  Lancers, 

the  youngest  son,  who  alone  left  descendants.  He  was 
born  25th  June,  1794,  married  19th  May,  1 819,  Eliza- 
beth Cecilia  Ruddach,  of  Tobago,  and  had  issue  : — 

[.  Edwin  Gladwin  Arnold,  bom  25th  April, 
1823,  the  present  head  of  the  family,  m. 
27th  April,  1852,  Charlotte  Georgi- 
ANA,  eldest  daughter  of  Lord  Henry  Chol- 
mondeley.  He  is  a  clergyman,  and  Rector 
of  Barrow,  Cheshire,  and  has  issue,  nine 
children,  six  sons  and  three  daughters,  of 
whom  Edward  Cholmondeley  Arnold, 
born  15th  Dec,  1854,  is  the  eldest. 

5.  Sophia  Matilda,  m.  Col.  Pownal  Phipps,  of  the  East 

India  service,  who  died  in  1828,  leaving  issue.' 
The  seat  of  the  family  is  Little  Missenden  Abbey,  Buck- 


1  Van  Schaack's  Life  of  Teter  Van  Schaack,  p.  147. 
'Burke's  Landed  Gentry  —  "Arnold." 


748  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

inghamshire.  "  Whatever  may  have  been  the  failing  of 
Arnold,"  says  a  writer  of  a  sketch  of  the  family  in  the  Albany 
Argus,  in  1874,  "  there  is  no  denying  the  fact  that  his  sons 
and  grandsons  were  high-minded  and  honorable  men." 


END  of  vol.  1. 


1 


I 


I 

r 


